‘Last of the Mohicans’: Johnny Wiggs Retires as Santa Fe’s Winningest Coach
Santa Fe baseball coach Johnny Wiggs prides himself on being old school – no earpieces for catchers, no watches for pitchers and no wristbands for hitters.
During his 35-year coaching career, his style never wavered through two NJCAA JUCO World Series appearances, but as technology continues shifting the game and his family continues to grow, he decided to hang up the cleats and glove, with his retirement becoming official Monday.
“I’m one of the last of the Mohicans, but I think a lot of the kids are new school these days,” Wiggs said. “I just felt like the time was right. I love spending time with my wife, my three daughters and my four grandkids.”
Wiggs spent 20 years as Santa Fe’s coach before announcing his retirement on June 1.
He served as an assistant coach at Santa Fe, Florida and Jacksonville and spent eight seasons as the coach at Polk Community College from 1999-2006 before returning to Santa Fe, where he compiled a 627-326 record, ending his career with over 800 wins.
In 2025, Wiggs became the second Santa Fe baseball coach inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame. He produced four Major League baseball players (Ryan Yarbrough, Brad Lord, Keon Broxton and Mallex Smith), and helped hundreds of players sign at four-year institutions.
However, Wiggs wants his legacy to extend past the success on the diamond.
“Hopefully the thing that when I lay my head down at night that I’ll take with me [is] that I helped guys get better, get tougher, be more responsible, be on time, be more hardworking, not just [that I] taught them how to be a baseball player,” Wiggs said.
Cole Parks, a member of the 2016 Junior College World Series team, played with Wiggs from 2014-16. While the Saints’ 2016 roster may not have looked like a contender on paper, Wiggs’ high-intensity practices pushed the team to win the state championship and secure their ticket to Grand Junction, Colorado.
“There were a lot of bigger, more physical teams [and] better hitting teams,” Parks said. “But what he produced just playing at that high intensity every single day prepares you. There’s no spot that’s too intense, no level of stress that was too high because we were under it the second [we] showed up to the ball field every single day, and not in a bad way.”
Wiggs always preached accountability. If a player showed up late to practice by even just a minute, he had to run five miles before putting a jersey back on. When one of Parks’ teammates skipped class, the entire team spent practice running a mile backwards.
Parks carried Wiggs’ lessons with him, spending four and a half years with Gainesville Fire Rescue before going into the military.
“My motto throughout the fire department and then into the military is if you do everything to the best of your abilities, good things are going to come out of it,” Parks said. “That’s how every practice went.”
Wiggs’ connection to Santa Fe extends deeper than coaching, pitching for the Saints during his sophomore season (1987). His wife and three daughters also all graduated from Santa Fe.
Wiggs went on to spend two seasons with the Gators, recording a 23-6 career record, while helping lead the program to its first College World Series appearance in 1988. Florida clinched the SEC regular-season title on its way to Omaha after the left-hander threw a complete 10-inning shutout against Vanderbilt on May 7, 1988.
“Winning the SEC was really important to us back in those days,” Wiggs said. “That’s a pretty good memory for me personally and the team.”
Wiggs maintained his connection to the Gators, helping seven of his Santa Fe players continue their collegiate careers at Florida. Former Gators outfielder and Saints infielder Tyler Shelnut credits Wiggs for his ability to make an immediate difference at Florida.
“When I got there as a junior, the very first game I was in the lineup and I started,” Shelnut said. “I think the reason why I was ready as soon as I got there was because Coach Wiggs prepared me to compete and play hard. I think that separated me from other players that maybe were more talented than I was.”
At practices, Wiggs led by example. If the team had to shovel water off the infield, he arrived 30 minutes before everyone else. He upped the competitive environment, often hopping on the mound himself to challenge batters.
“He would get on the mound and call somebody out and say, ‘Let’s go right now,’” Shelnut said. “It was super funny because he’s in shorts and he’s this old guy up there trying to pitch to his players. He made it his goal to have a sharper competitive edge than his players, so they had to try to live up to what he could do, which in turn would make them better.”
As Wiggs steps away from the game, he looks forward to spending more time with his family, especially his four young grandchildren. After over 50 years in a baseball uniform, he set one goal for his retirement.
“I’m just going to live life to the fullest,” Wiggs said.
Santa Fe Athletic Director Chanda Stebbins named Brad Powell as the new baseball coach on July 24. Wiggs will continue serving as the Gatorball camp director and supporting the Santa Fe community with his family, but from a different viewpoint.
“We still live five miles away,” Wiggs said. “We’re Saints. We’re not going anywhere.”
Category: Santa Fe High School
