Four inducted into NJCAA Baseball CA HOF
Charlotte, NC - Four individuals who positively impacted and continue to advance NJCAA baseball have been inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, announced by the NJCAA National Office on Thursday. Rob Fournier, Doug Wabeke, Jeff Johnson, and Andrea Gordon have been enshrined into the reputable 2022 class.
Rob Fournier | Wabash Valley College (IL)
With 26 years of service under his belt, Rob Fournier's teams have experienced much success on the field and in the classroom. In his first year in 1996, he helped turn around a 12 - 34 team to a 37 - 16 mark in 1997. Since then, the standard of winning has remained intact. In the past 24 seasons the Warriors have been ranked consistently in the top-25 in the country and his teams have won 30 or more games every year. Fournier's teams have over 15 40+ win seasons and have captured 13 regular season Great Rivers Athletic Conference titles. Fournier led the 2017 Warrior team to a third-place finish at the NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series Championship. The 2019 team won 49 consecutive games and spent 8 weeks ranked at No. 1. The 2020 team also spent 3 weeks ranked No. 1 before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Fournier has won the GRAC Coach of the Year Award eleven times.
In the past 24 seasons, the Warriors have sent players to four-year schools in the SEC, Big 12, MVC, C-USA, Sun Belt, Big 10, A-Sun, OVC and many others. Fournier has also developed players athletically and academically to play professionally, including helping 93 players get drafted or sign professional contracts. Fournier has accumulated 1,047 Career Wins and counting thus far and continues to capture Great Rivers Athletic Conference Championships.
Doug Wabeke | Grand Rapids Community College (MI) 
A former student-athlete, Doug Wabeke played baseball at Grand Rapids and was a two-time All-American in 1977 and played at Central Michigan University, an NCAA Division I school, in 1979 and 1980. The shortstop earned All-MAC Conference honors and signed with the San Francisco Giants in 1980.
Wabeke enjoyed stints in the minors with the Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, climbing as high as Class AA before returning to West Michigan in 1984. Wabeke then began his 17 year head coaching stint at Grand Rapids during the 1987-88 school year. The coach reached 500 wins in his 11th season, in 1998 and won four total national championships, the first four in school history for any sport (back-to-back titles in 1996, 1997, and in 2003, 2004). Wabeke completed his coaching career for the Raiders in 2004. Wabeke also spent time as the co-athletic director at Grand Rapids.
Jeff Johnson | Chipola College (FL) 
Jeff Johnson is the athletic director at Chipola and is in his 26th season as the head baseball coach. In 2007, Johnson led the Indians to their first National Championship and then repeated the accomplishment with back-to-back NJCAA Division I Baseball National Titles in 2017 and 2018. His teams have won 13 Panhandle Conference Championships and 6 FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Championships, including three consecutive titles (2017-2019). Johnson has built Chipola into one of the premier two-year college athletic programs in the country and has compiled an outstanding overall record of 918-422-2 (.685) and counting.
Johnson has received numerous coaching awards during his time at Chipola, including: NJCAA National Coach of the year and ABCA/NJCAA Division 1 National Coach of the Year in 2007, 2017, and 2018, NJCAA Gulf Region Coach of the year in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2017, 2018, and 2019, and Panhandle Conference Coach of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. From the professional ranks, the coach was also named Florida Diamond Club and Southeast Professional Baseball Association Coach of the Year in 2007. Under Johnson, players achieve in the classroom and continue their careers at higher levels. Johnson has had over 225 players move on to four-year universities and/or professional baseball careers.
Andrea Gordon | Diamond Sports 
Andrea Gordon works as President of Diamond Sports, the Official Baseball of the NJCAA. Diamond Sports is a retail company founded in 1977. Diamond Sports designs and manufactures high quality baseball and softball products for all levels while striving to inspire participation in baseball and softball with character, integrity and respect. Diamond Sports is based in Southern California and is the Official Ball for many conferences.
Gordon has been the President of Diamond Sports for 22 years and is a great supporter of NJCAA baseball and a reliable contact. She has stepped forward and assisted with equipment for the NJCAA All-Star Teams and her support for two-year college baseball is widely appreciated by many regions, conferences, levels, and coaches around the United States.
