Knights add Zags’ outfielder, pitcher for 2022

Sunday, March 13, Corvallis, Ore. – A current and a future Gonzaga Bulldog have signed with the Corvallis Knights for the 2022 season, head coach Brooke Knight announced Sunday.

The newest Knights are freshman outfielder Logan Johnstone of Los Gatos, Calif., and incoming freshman right-handed pitcher Parker Smith of Spokane Valley, Wash.

A prospective business major, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Johnstone starred at Los Gatos High School before enrolling at GU. He has started seven of the ten games he’s played in this season and is hitting .233, with a triple and an RBI.

He was ranked among the top 500 national prospects, hit .342 as a sophomore and was his conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. His junior year was shortened by the Covid-19 pandemic, but he hit .462 as a senior, with 13 doubles, four triples, five homers and 39 RBIs.

Johnstone is Toronto Blue Jays fan who enjoys wake surfing in his spare time. His favorites are Super Bad (movie), South Park (TV) and Unbroken (book).

Smith plays at Central Valley High School for Knights pitching coach Beau Kearns. He is a 6-3, 195-pounder who hopes to major in business. He was ranked as the 24^th-best 2022 Washington prospect by Baseball Northwest.

“We have had [Smith] on our radar for a long time,” GU coach Mark Machtolf said. “Parker has a great three-pitch mix and we feel has a chance to make an early impact.”

The Knights begin the 2022 season on May 26 with their annual Science, Engineering & Art Day, presented by Paventy & Brown Orthodontics, at Goss Stadium against the NW Star Nighthawks. Their WCL opener is June 3 at Yakima Valley; their WCL home opener is June 17 vs. Yakima Valley.