Brookdale Baseball Coach Johnny Johnson Reaches 900 Career Wins

A legendary baseball coach right in the Shore’s backyard has hit another impressive milestone. 

Brookdale Community College head coach Johnny Johnson picked up his 900th career win on Sunday with a 16-4 win over Bergen Community College in a Region 19 conference matchup. The victory completed a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs over the weekend. 

“It’s a nice number, but it’s really a reflection of all the coaches and kids who have played for me,” Johnson said. 

Johnson, who took over as the Jersey Blues head coach in 1999, was not even aware of the milestone until some friends from high school texted him the day before. 

“It was a nice feeling to see everybody happy for it, between the kids, the administration and the coaches,” he said. “That milestone is for everyone who has played for me for 27 years and for the guys who laid the foundation before me.” 

Johnson passed legendary Brookdale coach Paul MacLaughlin (858 wins) in 2025 to become the winningest coach in the history of a program that has sent countless players to four-year colleges over the years and had dozens taken in the Major League Baseball draft. Johnson, who played at Brookdale in 1982, is only the second head coach in the history of the junior college program in Middletown, which began in 1970. 

Johnson is also a former Shore Conference standout who was inducted into the Middletown South Hall of Fame in 2005 after starring in baseball, basketball and football for the Eagles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was an all-state catcher for Middletown South and went on to play at Miami Dade Community College after his season at Brookdale. He then became an All-American at UNLV in 1983-84.

Johnson also coached in the Shore Conference as the head man at Red Bank Catholic in the early 1990s before beginning his college coaching career at Bloomfield College from 1995-99.  

Shore talent has been a significant part of Brookdale’s success over the years, and Johnson’s 900th win was no different.

Former Shore Regional star Jeff Barham got the win on the mound, giving up four runs in six innings and striking out four to improve to 5-1 on the season. 

At the plate, former Southern standout Ray Mulhern went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base, and former Brick Memorial star Nicco Maribo had a double, three RBIs and a stolen base. Colts Neck grad Casey Gardiner also chipped in by going 1-for-2 with an RBI and a pair of walks. 

“There’s no question Shore Conference players have been a big part of it,” Johnson said. “Some guys go away, and they come back. They realize that we got more guys drafted and going D-1 and D-2 than any junior college in the tri-state area. Mostly every kid we have moves on to a four-year school.” 

The Jersey Blues are now 22-7-1 overall and 16-6 in Region 19 play this spring. 

While Johnson has reached a lofty win total, the record for the most wins in NJCAA history belongs to Perry Keith of Connors State College in Oklahoma. Keith has 1,937 wins through Monday in his 41st year with the program. 

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