As regular readers know, I have always been fascinated by sports families, particularly multi-generations and multi-spots. Today's feature fits all of thos categories.
Willow Johnson is a star volleyball player and the daughter of Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson. I had heard of Willow a while back, but being she plays for the University of Oregon, I didn't get any chances to watch her games. That changed earlier this year with Athletes Unlimited debuting a volleyball league.
Like her father Randy, Willow, at 6'3", is a tall lefty. At Oregon, she finished ninth in program history with a .272 hitting percentage. She had 1,011 kills and 1,165 career points. In AU competition, Willow was of to a solid start, but got injured.
On a selfish side, I was happy to have gotten a chance to speak to Willow prior to her injury. She had a great game and was part of the post-game media session. I asked Willow about advice from her famous father. Willow responded that her father has helped her with generalities, but his expertise isn't volleyball, so he didn't get into specific stuff. Willow's entire media session is at On the Beat With AU Volleyball 2021 Week 2.
I never had the chance to interview Randy, but I have added Willow to my list of interview subjects. I hope to talk to her sometime in the future..
For more info on all of AU sports, go to AUProSports.com. Follow Willow on social media to get updates on her career and life (and maybe Randy, too).
