Valley College Hires New Baseball Coach

Chris Johnson, a former assistant at Cal State Northridge, has been hired to succeed Kevin Murphy as baseball coach at Valley College.

Johnson, 29, was an assistant at Northridge from 1981-85 and at Valley in 1986. He was a third baseman at Ventura College and served as an assistant coach in 1977 and 1978. Johnson, a 1981 graduate of Northridge, takes over at Valley a month before the Monarchs’ first game Feb. 5 against Glendale, Ariz.

“There may be some minor changes on the team, but not many,” he said. “I want the weight of the adjustment to be on my shoulders and not the kids’. “

Murphy, 25, resigned last month to become a scout for the Baltimore Orioles in Southern California. The Monarchs were 15-18 in Murphy’s only season as coach.