farragutpress

The right move

Johnston’s journey to pro baseball

July 15, 2026 by Jake Nichols

On Sunday, July 12, Jett Johnston sat in his living room and watched his lifelong dream come true.

The 2023 Farragut High School graduate was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the 13th round of the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft.

In the process, he became Farragut’s 25th draft pick in program history.

“Obviously it’s been a dream for as long as I’ve been playing baseball,” Johnston said during an exclusive interview with the farragutpress. “This is a really great milestone, and I’m super pumped I got to spend it with my family.

“Anyone who knows baseball knows this is just the beginning, and there’s a long road ahead. Now it’s time to put my head down and go to work. God’s great, and I’m fired up for the opportunity.”

But that opportunity would not have come without Johnston’s two years as an Admiral, as well as a crucial decision that determined his future in professional baseball.

Formed at Farragut

From the moment Johnston arrived in Tennessee from Texas, Matt Buckner could tell he was different.

“He could throw really hard,” the former Farragut coach recalled. “Pretty elite velocity early in his career.”

Buckner molded Johnston throughout the two years he spent at FHS, as he led the Admirals to a pair of state titles with an All-State selection in 2023.

“Coach Buckner was very confident in my abilities, and he gave me every opportunity I could have asked for,” Johnston said. “I had some ups and downs, but he rolled me out there every day and told me that baseball is a hard game and to keep going.

“He reminded me I was good enough to play at the next level in pitching or hitting and reminded me to keep making adjustments.”

Little did Johnston know how that advice would pay off down the road.

In the meantime, he threw up to 94 mph on the mound and batted .368 with 13 home runs his senior season.

The plate presence drew the eye of then-Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle, and Johnston headed for College Station, intent on proving his worth.

A new chapter

Johnston started three times on mound as a freshman while the Aggies made a College World Series run before losing against Tennessee.

Schlossnagle departed for Texas soon thereafter, though, and Johnston headed to the Cape Cod League to prepare for a new start with the Auburn Tigers.

Only then he started 0-for-17 at the plate — enduring what Johnston called “the worst slump of my life.”

“At that point, I was trying to figure out my swing and approach,” he added. “But I also kind of realized I wouldn’t be able to do that in the SEC or at the highest level.”

The thought remained in Johnston’s mind as he moved on to the Appalachian League, where a .320 batting average paved the way for a strong start at Auburn.

But a rolled ankle kept him from pushing for an outfield spot later that year as a hitter.

So he made an adjustment and decided to focus solely on pitching going into his draft year as a junior.

“I made an executive decision for my future, and I spent so much time praying about it, not knowing what the right answer was,” Johnston added. “Maybe I could have hit .350 this year and been a first-rounder, but I wanted to put myself in the best position. Auburn supported me the whole way and gave me all the resources I needed to succeed.”

A fresh approach

Because of his freshness to pitching full-time, Johnston had not done any of the pitcher-specific workouts since he was always working on other things, too.

So he locked in on the refined exercises, appreciating the difference he felt each day.

“Eliminating the hitting made my body feel better,” he said “and cleared my mind and helped me get better.”

It paid off in draft stock, too, as Detroit took Johnston with the intent of molding him into a starter.

“And I’ve never had that,” he said. “I didn’t have time to be anything but a reliever at Auburn, so I guess Detroit really saw something.

“They’ve seen so many arms with so many pitches and know what works, so I’m trusting that they’ll take care of whatever needs to get done and I’ll have to do a lot myself to get better, too.”

Now, as Johnston departs Farragut for pro baseball later this month, he will have plenty more learning to do.

But he will take the lessons he learned on the field where he trained just a day after watching his draft dream come true.

“You’ve got to make a change when it’s time to make a change and not be stuck in your own ways,” Johnston said. “That’s something (Buckner) really taught me.”

“We’ve grown close through the years,” Buckner added, “and I’m excited for him.“