Aaron Johnson '03 is one of the best players in Ripon College's storied baseball history. A two-time All-Region selection, Johnson was named to the All-Conference team three times, earning First Team honors in each of his final two seasons. His name remains littered in the school and conference record book, 18 years after his graduation. A Prior Lake, Minn. native, Johnson was inducted into Ripon's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020.
As great of a career as Johnson had in a Red Hawks uniform, he may have been overshadowed a bit due to the fact that he hit in the middle of arguably the greatest lineup in program history and was a part of the pinnacle of Ripon's baseball dynasty. Every single positional starter on Ripon's team was named to the All-Conference team during Johnson's senior season. He was one of eight First Team selections from Ripon that year, while also playing with the Midwest Conference Player of the Year (Nick Johnson '03) and the top two home run hitters in the history of the program (Nick Johnson and Nick Thoen '03).
"Aaron hit with outstanding power, but I felt sorry for him a bit because he would have been the conference Player of the Year on any other Ripon team, except for the fact that Nick Johnson was his teammate," legendary Ripon baseball coach Bob Gillespie said. "The best part was that Aaron couldn't have cared less about the individual honors because he was all about the team and winning championships."
And win championships he did, as Johnson was a part of two MWC Championships (2000 and 2001) and three NCAA Tournament appearances ('00, '01, and 2003). He was a member of three of the four highest single season win totals in program history, as the Red Hawks finished with a cumulative record of 110-43 during his four years, never losing more than nine games in any of his final three seasons.
"My experience at Ripon College meant a great deal to me," Johnson said. "I was able to continue playing the game that I love and met lifelong friends while doing so."
Johnson batted .240 in 27 games as a freshman, but he was just scratching the surface on what would end up as one of the greatest careers in program history. He followed that up by batting .306 with five doubles and three home runs as a sophomore. He would then establish himself as one of the best hitters in the country as a junior, leading the team with a .450 batting average, which still ranks 10th in school history for a single season and was 24th-best in all of Division-III that season, while also recording 10 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. He also ranked among the top 30 players in D-III that year for triples per game and runs per game (1.44). As a senior, Johnson raked once again, batting .373 with career-highs in doubles (11), home runs (12), runs batted in (47), and total bases (100).
Nearly two decades after his last college baseball game, Johnson's name remains prominent in the school record book, ranking fourth in both home runs (25) and triples (8), sixth in both hits (174) and RBI (117), seventh in runs scored (141), doubles (32) and total bases (297), and ninth in stolen bases (23). He also remains in the top 10 in conference history for both career triples and home runs. Despite his gaudy numbers, it is the simple things that Johnson misses and remembers most.
"My favorite memory is when we would have a doubleheader at home and smelling the fresh cut grass of Francis Field," Johnson recalled. "Everything about Francis Field is great."
Johnson credits much of his success and experiences during his baseball career to the man who recruited and brought him to Francis Field - legendary coach Gordie Gillespie, who at one time was the all-time winningest coach in the history of college baseball, across all divisions.
"Gordie was without question the biggest influence anyone has ever had on me," Johnson said. "He is quite possibly the greatest coach and human that has ever lived."
Johnson currently resides in Ripon, Wis. with his wife Jesi and their three children. After working for nearly 15 years as a National Sales Representative for Ripon Printers, Johnson has spent the last nearly two years serving in the same capacity for Walsworth, which is based in Marceline, Mo.
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