UNLV SOFTBALL ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Dena Baker Johns (1988-91), Marriage, Family & Mental Health Therapist 

UNLV softball continues its new alumni spotlight series, highlighting former Rebels that built the foundation of the UNLV softball program.

The early 1990s at UNLV were some of the most exciting years to be a Rebel, but it wasn't just because the Runnin' Rebels reached the Final Four in back-to-back years and won a national championship in 1990. UNLV softball was also in its heyday as the program reached its first ever Women's College World Series in 1990 and made a return trip in 1991. The difference between men's basketball and softball, however, was that the UNLV softball program had only been in existence for five years when the Rebels miraculously accomplished the feat of reaching the pinnacle of collegiate softball. To do it in consecutive years then was even more impressive.

The seeds for those teams were planted when UNLV Hall of Fame Coach Shan McDonald took over prior to the 1987 season. Coach McDonald was well known in the softball world and had significant experience on the international level, but she faced an uphill climb with a two-year old program. That didn't matter as McDonald hit the recruiting trail hard and sold UNLV to a type of high caliber player that would have never had UNLV on their radars.

One of those players was former Rebel Dena Baker Johns, who was part of both the 1990 and 1991 WCWS teams. Baker Johns didn't originally consider UNLV, but a close connection to Coach McDonald sparked her interest and a recruiting trip sealed the deal.

"It's funny, UNLV was not on my list, but my sister played at Cal State Fullerton and played against Shan. Shan had talked to my sister and told her to just have me come out on a recruiting trip. We didn't have travel ball back then and hadn't traveled a lot, so I was initially like where is UNLV? Softball was really big in California so I really thought I'd end up staying close to home. But I came out on my recruiting trip and I was wowed. The men's basketball team was top four in the nation, they had Armen Gilliam and Freddie Banks and Tarkanian was there. It was so different than any other recruiting trip I had gone on and I was just wowed."

Baker Johns began her career at UNLV in 1988 and was a part of a freshman class that formed the cornerstone of those legendary WCWS teams, but they had to experience their fair share of losing before reaching that pinnacle. That wasn't always easy for Baker Johns, but she stuck with it and her group took ownership of doing their part to build the program.

"I came from a two-time back-to-back 18-under national championships, so my freshman year to go 15 and 40 or whatever the record was, was really hard. But I had two choices, I could either go someplace else, or I could stay and we could help build up a program. That summer, I talked to a lot of girls that I played with and other people started talking to their old teammates and we tried to do our own recruiting too. We had probably some of the strongest recruiting classes that had ever come through and even the ones that were considering UNLV but ended up going somewhere else, they ended up at really big schools and programs. But when people would hear they were taking a trip to UNLV, others wanted to too. So we were able to build something so big in a short period of time. It wasn't just one person, it really took teamwork."

That perseverance obviously paid off with the success in Baker's junior and senior seasons in 1990 and 1991 and Baker recollects the journey the program went on to go from essentially worst to first.

"When you go from our record freshman year to 500 the next year, to see that progress, you continue to build and get better. That meant better recruits coming in and being able to build that strong team foundation. Then we started beating teams that we had never beat before, where we could walk into Fresno State and split - back then it was two game series versus three game, two at home two on the road. We could walk in and take the first win from them, so it was like, alright we can do this. That win over Fresno State was on TV too, so it felt even bigger and we thought, okay we're really a part of this. I remember our first time being ranked, it was my junior year and then we started off my senior year top four in the nation. Junior year was surreal, we beat Cal Berkeley to go to the WCWS that year, which was a major upset both because we were a wildcard and they were expected to win it all. It was two future Olympians pitching against each other - Lori Harrigan for us and Michelle Granger for them - and it was really tight ball games that we won to get there. I had already played in Hall of Fame Stadium for tournaments before college, but it's completely different to go there and be one of the final top eight teams in the nation at the WCWS. Then, getting to do that back-to-back was pretty amazing."

What sticks out the most to Baker Johns about playing in those WCWS games?

"It's funny, it actually just popped up on my Facebook memories because we played against someone I knew that went to Florida State and her dad had videotaped one of our games. Back then we didn't have video to go back and look at, so it was cool to see that pop up. But [being there] all felt very surreal. Stepping on the field for the first time my junior year and getting to play against so many girls that were familiar with - you either played with or against them over the last few years - was awesome and just felt like a really grand stage."

Baker Johns was key to laying the foundation of the program during those glory years. The first baseman was a two-time All-Big West selection, earning the honor in 1989 and in 1990, and garnered a 1990 NFCA All-West Region honor. In the record book, Baker Johns is still tied for first for games played (68) and ninth in at-bats (204)  in a single season (1990), while she's ninth career games played (234) and fifth in career at-bats (695). Ultimately, Baker Johns and her teammates over those years left a unique legacy in the program as the first to accomplish the lofty goals that every team after them has tried to reach since.

"Brian Kolze was one of our assistant coaches and Shan had done a team poster that had all four seniors on it. Brian wrote on my poster - Cornerstone of the Beginning. And that's how I view our 1990 team as really being kind of that cornerstone of the beginning. We had this idea that we'd helped build this powerhouse in softball in Vegas, where softball wasn't really big. We could compete with anybody, so getting to do that [WCWS] back-to-back was even more amazing. I think we all wish we had had a better outcome there and could have actually won a world series. We drew Arizona for our first game my senior year and they started out at the [pre-tournament] dinner saying we'll see you in the championship. We went 11 or 12 innings with them in the very first game and lost unfortunately, but that was the first year they actually won a world series - first of many that came after. We went toe-to-toe with them, but you don't necessarily want to draw the team that ends up winning it. But it was such a cool experience and I feel like we were underrated in some ways. Not necessarily in rankings, but when you start a program, you aren't on the map yet, so I know Shan had to work really hard to get us the accolades and the players of the week because we had the stats but without an established name it made it that much harder. So I do think that one thing that our program really did was help the future programs with getting accolades and getting their recognition. I think all of us wanted to have our own accolades, but mostly we really kind of took on this idea of building a program and hoped that it wouldn't just stop with us."

Most former Rebels who played for Coach McDonald say she was tough, but didn't fully appreciate her impact on them until after their playing careers were over. Baker Johns echoed that sentiment.

"Shan was a young coach when we started and I was a young freshman, I was 17 when I came to UNLV, and she was on us a lot, but I don't think I really appreciated it until I became an adult. I didn't realize how much she cared about us and cared about our future, cared about the choices and decisions we made and making sure we were graduating - more than just what was in the moment. I definitely have more of an appreciation now for what she did for us back then. I'm a little older and a little bit wiser and I've seen different coaching styles now, so definitely see it from a different perspective now. She was actually my daughter's first pitching coach and my daughter just adored her. She unfortunately retired and moved after a cancer diagnosis and my daughter was crushed when she left."

Baker Johns believes playing for Coach McDonald actually made the bond between her and her teammates stronger and taught them the importance of accountability.

"We all kind of grew up a little bit together. I think it helped us almost connect our bond as a team because even if there were things that she did that we didn't like, it would just make us closer as a team. I remember we would be like, can you believe she made us do that? One time, we lost a horrible game to St. Mary's, basically gave it away and I said something sarcastic about how we could run behind the bus and she said yeah you guys can just keep running, so I probably should have kept that comment to myself. But really, I appreciate the fact that she held us accountable and that was really the biggest lesson I learned from her - accountability - and that was really important."

The closeness of those teams from that era didn't end when the playing careers did. Some 30 years later, Dena  and many of her teammates and alums from that time have stayed in close contact and really view each other as family, not just former Rebels.

"I think the friendships I have from there have been the best part. I'm sure all the teams would say that they're very close knit, but we really are. My husband was just sitting with Lori Harrigan when our boys were doing a baseball evaluation the other weekend. I talk to Kim Anthony (Smith), I see Felicia Benjamins a lot and Trish Spencer, I just ran into her at Costco. When I go down to California I'll stay at Michelle Marino's house. So it wasn't just softball, we are family."

It's no surprise then that Baker Johns' best memories at UNLV are really about the time spent with them.

"The trips that we would take were awesome. Shan would put together some good trips for us, we would go to Hawai'i and spend almost a whole week there. One year, we were there for Easter and she had us do an Easter egg toss on the beach and of course we ended up smashing eggs on eachother. But my favorite memories were really those trips and the time we spent together, being able to build those friendships and become family through the camaraderie of the battle on the field and being together off of it. And now getting to watch our kids grow up together and celebrate each other's families is great. So it really was more off the field stuff, I think that sticks, but of course we also reminisce over those world series. Especially seeing some of the accolades the '95 team got, we really feel like we made a lot of that possible because how many of those girls would have chosen to come to UNLV if we hadn't accomplished what we did. We all hope that they can get back there again and it can become more of a tradition."

Post-college, Baker Johns went on to pursue her professional career in marriage, family and mental health therapy. While her motivation to make an impact in that field was deeply personal, there was a softball inspired aspect to it as well.

"My [professional] path ended up almost kind of paving itself. Growing up, my dad ended up having mental illness and he was my biggest softball supporter. My mom was too, but he was the one taking me out to the field, hitting me balls and he was my batting coach. And so when he started to struggle, I saw everything that he went through. It started in middle school and high school, but I saw it a lot when I was in college, so it just fueled my fire for wanting to go in that direction. I think softball created an environment where you're around so many different people and you go to so many different places, so being able to have that expansive view helps to be a really good therapist. I've worked for the juvenile courts for 17 years and I used to go up to Spring Mountain Youth Camps to work with the boys up there - that's actually where I met my husband he was one of the baseball coaches - but we would have those kids out playing sports. So you just see how all those things kind of start connecting back together and how much sports and these programs can be so good for these kids and their mental health. Especially right now, with everything that they're going through, being away from school being away from their friends, so if the one thing that can be constant is their sports, you want to be able to do that for them. It's really been nice to be able to give back in that way." 

Baker Johns' time at UNLV also gave her an appreciation for Las Vegas and the community here. So much so, she never left after graduating.

"I think that can be such a hard draw to get people to come here for sports, but what's special is that once you get here, you realize it's like this gem in the middle of the desert that you didn't realize was even there. It has that tight knit community feel and it was like that even back when I was at UNLV. We didn't have dorms and we had to our create our own little community with all the athletes living close together. A lot of us have stayed involved in the community too, mostly through coaching. I've coached my daughter for the last seven years or so, Heather Segal was coaching, Lori gives lessons out here and Kim and Shan were doing lessons before they moved. We want to show people how great UNLV can be and carry on that tradition. It always felt more like family here and it was just a place you could tell the community really wanted to be involved."

Being in town means Baker Johns has been able to follow the Rebels' current success under Kristie Fox and she's thankful that Coach Fox has brought back excitement to the program.

"We've been waiting for it. It's really exciting because we've missed having that excitement and Kristie has really brought that back to the program. Our little girls can come out and watch the big girls play and see locals on the team and think, this could be me. Having girls like Lauryn Barker and now Jasmine Martin on the team just really makes it exciting for the girls playing in Las Vegas. Kristie has really done a great job of refueling everything. I reached out to her at one point and asked her about my daughter and her teammates coming out to the game and she had them on the field for the national anthem (pre Covid) and they got to watch them play a top-10 team in Washington, so just really thankful that's Kristie has done a great job of pushing for and bringing back that community involvement in the program."

College softball has come a long way since Baker Johns played and she gets to see first hand how much that benefits her daughter in her own dreams of playing competitively in college.

"Things have really shifted over the years. I wish we had those yellow balls and great bats when we played and now the stadium [Eller Media] they play in, just so many amazing things that they have that weren't around back then. Softball has just come leaps and bounds from where it was. I show my daughter videos because I want her to see, hey this is what you mom had, this is what you guys have now and this is what you can strive for. I really do think it's helped their game, to get to watch all this softball on TV, it helps their softball IQ and it just trickles down. They all can aspire to be like those college players they see on TV. I used to go watch professional softball, I wanted to be the Mickey Davis or the Carole Spanx, or the Margie Wright when we would watch them play. Now these girls just get to watch them on TV and it's maybe not the same energy you might feel being at the game, but it's so much more. They are just flooded by it. Beyond softball, it's just really good for the girls too, these players are such good role models and representatives of the sport. My daughter played with Jenny Finches' niece for a while before Covid, and Jenny is still out there involved in the sport and the girls just flock to her. So it's just really exciting for my daughter, she will be in eighth grade next year and it's already beginning. She'll go to Oklahoma City twice as an all-american for USA softball - we went last year and she gets to go this year, so it's so fun to watch her, especially at Hall of Fame Stadium. She doesn't understand how cool it is for me to see her name flash up on the board. I'm so proud of her, she's surpassed anything I could have ever done, she's phenomenal and it really just all feels full circle."