Johnny Guarantano '18 Recruiting Profile

Coach's Notes (from the RJ Reynolds Demons 2017 annual media guide):

#1 JOHNNY GUARANTANO - JUNIOR - 3 YEAR LETTERMAN

“JG” is a grinder – baseball 24/7.  If he can anchor our infield with consistency at SS and use his super quick feet to take away hits, we’ll be tough.  Even though he’s only a junior, Guarantano will be expected to be a team leader this season as a 3 year letterman.  Guarantano, expected to be near the top of Coach Welch’s batting order, must use all his offensive skills and speed to steal bases and challenge for the Demon season run leader.  If this is accomplished, the Demons will compete for the CPC crown.

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Baseball is so important to me that when I'm not playing it, I'm working on my game in one way or another in order to reach my goal of playing at the college level.  Even if that means heading to the baseball field during my lunch break to hit BP or work on ground balls.  One of the highlights of my baseball career was earning the starting 2B at the varsity level in the CPC my freshman year. I take pride in that I've started every game since.  Another great accomplishment was securing a spot in my high school's all-time record books with number of stolen bases in a single season as a sophomore and then doubling it my junior year (currently #2 with 22 in a single season, #4 with 34 lifetime). My goal is to clinch the #1 spot my senior year!

I've got great coaches who tell me that I'm a natural athlete with great baseball instincts, soft hands and quick feet, crazy range, strong work ethic, high baseball IQ, a lot of fire and am very coach-able.  I'm not afraid to work hard for my position (or wherever the team needs me) and work even harder to keep it.  I do my best to lead the team on and off the field by always giving 110% not just during the season, but also in school, during off season workouts and in the gym.   My teammates call me a quiet leader.  And because I understand how important academics are, I'm an honor student carrying a challenging work load yet still maintaining a high GPA.  I'm a two-sport varsity athlete (baseball and football) while maintaining a 4.23 GPA in all honors and AP classes.

As a student-athlete, I take how I'm representing my team, school and family both on and off the field very seriously. One of my favorite sayings is "The name on the front of the jersey represents who you play for, the name on the back represents who raised you. Do them both justice."