Yesterday was a big day for Aubrey Johnson, a standout junior infielder from Oklahoma as she got up early and made an important phone call to let the Knights of Central Florida know she’d be playing for them.

What makes her story unique is Aubrey played well enough all summer to garner three offers even though she was playing with two broken fingers on her throwing hand!

Here’s more on the recent commit and how she powered through the painful injury to help her Tulsa Elite 98 club team finish second at both ASA 16Gold Nationals and TCS/US 16U Nationals…

Name: AUBREY JOHNSON
Grad Year: 2016
Pos: 2B/SS
High School: Muskogee (Oklahoma)
GPA: 3.7 weighted
Club: Tulsa Elite 98                                                                
High School Stats: batting .510 currently, hit .439 with 22 RBI as a sophomore
Honors: 2013 – 1^st Team 6A-3 All-District, Muskogee Phoenix All-Area, Tulsa WorldAll-Metro 2^nd Team
College: Central Florida
Quotable: “Aubrey is very athletic with great range and hands in the middle infield with a mid-60’s arm. She hits with a very high average, has some power and is very quick on the bases. She played all summer with a broken finger on her throwing hand and was still able to attract the attention of many Division 1 programs.”

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FullCountSoftball.com: When did you commit?
Aubrey Johnson: This morning (Tuesday) at 6 am! I called all my coaches last night and declined the two others and Central Florida was my last call and they didn’t answer. Coach Hillary (Barrow) texted me 10 times this morning saying she’s sorry she fell asleep and missed my call. She’s an assistant coach and is easier to contact so she’s the one I go through. My parents knew I was going to commit but didn’t know when; I had called while getting ready for school so later in the morning they were texting me asking if I had done it, mainly because my dad wanted to post it on Facebook!

FCS: What was it about Central Florida that made you pull the trigger?
AJ: Well, it’s Florida, for one thing! I feel it’s a great opportunity for me, they’re a winning team –the University of Florida had to beat them to go to the World Series – and there are so many opportunities for work after school. It’s Orlando and when I went down for my visit, I met the after-college guy who said there are a lot of connections through the school and I would be prepared well for a job when I was done there. I’m going there to shape my future, get my career going and feel like that opportunity would be the best for me.

FCS: What do you want to study?
AJ: After I broke my finger, I decided I want to go into orthopedics, working with small bones and the joints.

FCS: Let’s talk about your broken finger this summer and how you played through it…
AJ: It was second tournament of the summer, right out of the gate. I was fielding the ball right in front of second base and going for the ball, timing it to get the ball with my hand in the glove. The girl slid into the bag and hit me directly on my hand. I was actually two fingers that were broken, the pinkie and ring finger on my right hand. I went into the dugout and told the coaches something was wrong and when I went back out on the field I couldn’t throw the ball but I finished the game and the tournament. Shortly after that tournament was Colorado—and that’s a huge tournament—and I hadn’t gone to the doctor at all. They weren’t going to tell me I couldn’t play and that I’d have to sit out! I played OK there, I could throw the ball and when I got back I saw a doctor and he told me to go to see an orthopedics doctor ASAP. That doctor told me to not use it for a while, but I told him I was going to keep playing so he just said to come back in a couple of weeks. In that time I played at the Atlanta Legacy Showcase and then ASA Nationals before I went back to the doctor who said it was a spiral fracture. At the time, he said I may have needed surgery, but that ended up not being the case.

FCS: It sounds really painful… how’d you play through that?
AJ: The tournament I broke it, it was only the third game and I had to play two more and drag bunted every time! The main thing at first was I couldn’t throw long distances so playing second wasn’t too bad. I just felt not playing wasn’t an option, I had to play to help support my team and get seen by the colleges.

FCS: Does it still bother you?
AJ: It only bothers me when I write at school. The ring finger is still swollen and it’s where you lay the pencil. It looks like an inter-tube around my bone.

 

Quick Hitters

 

Do you have any softball superstitions or rituals?
I always wear a bow—a green one for school team and an orange one for club—and if I do not have my bow I will not play well at all!

Other than family, who’s your hero or someone you look up to most?
My high school, Coach (Keith) Coleman, he’s there whenever you need him.

Team you love to hate:
I’d say OU (Oklahoma) as I’m a Pokes (Oklahoma State) fan. I like the underdog!

If you could have a super power, what would you want it to be?
Invisibility.

What’s playing in your earphones/buds right now?
Country music.

If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Kevin Durant, because he’s an inspiration in everything he does. His MVP speech, I cried.

What did you want to be when you were little?
I wanted to be a dentist. But every year when asked my goals, I would say I wanted to play Div. I softball. I wanted to be a dentist and a college softball player!

Favorite athlete:
Kevin Durant.

Something on your “must do” list:
Surf. I’m going to Florida so that works out.

Best thing about being from Oklahoma:
The sunsets. They’re ridiculous here.

Funniest person on your high school or club team:
I would say De’Leigh Emarthle on my high school team. She makes ridiculously weird faces.

Best prank you’ve ever pulled off or was done to you?
Our coach, to make us mad, made a fake webpage and said it was from a rival coach to get us all riled up before a game!