Joaquin Rodriguez is an ASU Cronkite Journalism student assigned to cover Tempe High School for AZPreps365.com

Tempe High School baseball coach Ed Johnson did not set out to become a high school baseball coach.

“I’m normally a football coach, but our baseball coach had left, and we were kind of in need of a baseball coach, so I jumped on it,” Johnson said. “At first, I was a little reluctant to coach baseball.”

A Valley native, Johnson’s journey through sports began in football at Arcadia High School before continuing at Phoenix College and eventually Colorado Mesa University. But his path into coaching was shaped less by the game and more by the people around it.

“I got into coaching because there was a coach that took me under his wing and helped me out and got me out of high school and into a position where I could go to college,” Johnson said. “That’s my way of giving back.” 

Now in his third season at the helm of Tempe High School’s baseball program, that sense of purpose defines everything he does.

“Just coaching kids and helping them see the bigger picture,” Johnson said. “Helping them gravitate to a place where they belong after they get out of high school.”

That bigger picture helps drive Johnson’s philosophy, one that exceeds far beyond the diamond.

“We’re really at a level where we start at ground level, so that’s kind of what we’re doing now is just trying to teach them the ground-level stuff,” Johnson said. “Baseball’s important, but there’s more to this than just baseball and wins and losses in school.”

For Johnson and his Buffaloes, success is not measured by just the scoreboard.

“We're playing games; obviously we want to compete,” Johnson said. “But one of our main goals is to have an academic GPA of 2.0 and up.”

That standard carries real weight within the program.

“Keep everybody eligible, keep everybody in the games, and that hopefully will lead to some more wins," Johnson said. "We just try to reiterate the fact that grades are more important than the wins and the losses. At the end of the day, you’ll forget about the wins and losses, but you won’t forget about the relationships and the lessons that you learned along the way.”

A standard that has already resonated with some of his team's leaders.

“Grades, trying new stuff, playing new positions, learning overall, making friendships,” senior right-hander Ronin Miller said of his team's goals this season.

That message shows up in the smallest details, both on and off the field.

“We try to tell them that details matter about everything,” Johnson said. “Details in baseball, details in fielding, details in hitting, details in school, details in relationships, details in life.”

On the field, the challenges are clear. Tempe won four games the past two seasons, and this year’s roster reflects a program still in transition. It finished the 2026 regular season 2-16, 1-9 in 4A Black Canyon. 

“We had a full JV team last year just full of juniors, so now this year we have a full team of varsity,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have the turnout from our freshmen and sophomore levels. Most of our players this year are seniors, so we all had to just do one big varsity team.”

That lack of depth creates both obstacles and opportunity.

“It actually points out the kids that we’re going to be able to rely on going into next season,” Johnson said. “Our seniors are a little inexperienced, so a lot of our underclassmen are in a better position to actually get on the field and play.”

For Johnson, progress is not solely building a roster or improving in the win column. It is about preparing his players for something bigger. Because long after the final out, the lessons that will resonate most will not be found in the standings.

They will be found in the lives his players go on to lead.

“This is to build character for their future, make them better parents, better brothers and sisters, better sons,” Johnson said.