Belmont’s Maya Johnson is a knockout pitcher for Bruins

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Maya Johnson’s softball journey wasn’t always speedy strikeouts and strategy.

“I started in the outfield, singing Hannah Montana songs and picking dandelions,” Johnson recalled with a smile. “I was bored out of my mind. Most eight-year-olds are not hitting it to the grass.”

Thanks to those slow-moving early days, Johnson chose a more engaging, and demanding position on the diamond.

“I really, really liked the fact that as a pitcher, all the attention’s on you when you’re out there,” Johnson said. “I’m definitely extroverted. I like to be the center of attention a little bit, and so being a good pitcher, specifically, was really drawing for me because I had grown up doing karate and fighting beforehand since I was six, and a lot of the attention is all on you when you’re in a fight.”

Johnson thrived in the individual spotlight, first in the fighting realm. She fought against girls, and boys until age 13, and became fully invested in karate and kickboxing disciplines.

“It was something my sister and I could do together,” Johnson said, of starting kickboxing after her sister got involved in the sport. “Our dad also fought, so it was something that we all could do and enjoy. I loved the adrenaline of it. There’s nothing like getting hit in the face that’ll bring your adrenaline up. I’m a little bit strange in that sense, but I just really enjoyed it.”

Johnson flourished with national and international success in kickboxing. She held multiple national titles and won a bronze medal with Team USA at the World Kickboxing Championships in Montreal, Canada in 2012.

In seventh grade, Johnson decided to pursue softball full-time over fighting, which she said was a tough choice, but her parents encouraged her to give her full effort to one endeavor, and not split it.

It wasn’t long before Maya became just as committed to pitching as she was to fighting, and her mental and physical training from kickboxing helped her in the transition to competitive softball.

“I grew really late, put on weight a little bit later, so I never, when I was younger at least, threw the ball as hard as everyone else,” Johnson said. “I needed to be explosive with my movements, and when you’re fighting, you have to be explosive so you can get the first punch or the first kick off, so I think that kind of helped transfer over initially.”

After years of travel softball and training, she’s Belmont’s go-to pitcher in what has been a historically successful season for the Bruins.

Johnson is averaging eight strikeouts per game over 24 appearances this season. The Bruins are 29-17 with three games remaining in the regular season.

“When you strike people out, you tend to do really well, and Maya is a dominant strikeout pitcher,” Bruins head coach Laura Matthews said. “You feel a lot of comfort that you can go out and be in charge. She goes out, she sets the tone, she pitches with great energy. She’s a high-adrenaline pitcher.”

Johnson and Belmont will look to make their mark in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, which starts Wednesday, May 8.

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