By Jacob Rodriguez, May 6, 2025
Broncos’ baseball catcher Johnny Pappas cemented himself into the record books when he broke the all-time runs scored record with his 169th career run at the game against San Francisco State April 12, breaking the 38-year-old record set previously by Tom Weeks with 168 runs scored.
His teammates believed he could break the record before the season even started. With each run Pappas scored, that reality was closing in.
Pappas reflected on the moment when he broke the record, as infielder Julian Angulo hit a single into left field, bringing the opportunity for Pappas to score.
“As I’m rounding third to score, everybody, I could just hear them in the dugout just screaming at me to run, run, run, and I scored,” Pappas said. “My favorite part of the whole thing was I looked up and saw every person I wanted to be there was just in front of the dugout, just as excited as I was for it.”
The Chino Hills native started his journey when he was 5 years old. His parents signed him up to play t-ball, and Pappas said, “It’s been baseball every year since.”
Growing up, Pappas wanted to be a college professor and teach biology, getting his bachelor’s degree and now pursuing his master’s degree.
When Pappas isn’t on the field, in the gym, or in the classroom, he is either playing golf or bowling with his father, finding new music to listen to, or playing video games, especially MLB The Show.
Pappas considered attending Cal Poly Pomona since he was in middle school when he was on a traveling baseball team. Assistant coach Jenzen Torres was a coach on the team while playing for the Broncos.
Pappas continued to hone his craft as an athlete, which carried over to his time at Ayala High School. In his junior and senior years, Pappas earned All-Palomares League second– and first-team honors and broke the program’s record for single-season RBIs.
According to Pappas, one of the biggest reasons for choosing CPP was its history of success in the program and wanting to bring more success to it.
“By the time my senior year came, I was assigned to be a Bronco,” Pappas said. “It was a dream come true like it was literally my dream of a little kid, and as I got closer and closer to actually getting into college, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is the place I want to be,’ not just for baseball, but for school.”
Since coming to campus in the fall of 2019, Pappas has become one of the program’s most decorated players in recent memory. Among his many accolades, some of the most notable include being a three-time All-CCAA honoree, a two-time All-West Region honoree, and the first-ever CPP male Iron Bronco last spring.
Baseball head coach Randy Betten highlighted Pappas’ leadership on and off the field to bring the best out of others around him, whether in practice or a game.
“He’s unbelievable,” Betten said. “You know I’ve seen him grow up in this program. He’s been here forever. J, just to have him break that record is pretty incredible. As a student-athlete, he epitomizes what a championship-type player is. I’m proud that he’s going to hold that record for a long time.”
Broncos’ outfielder Brent Cota and infielder Beau Betten both agreed having great chemistry with their teammates off the field reflects on their performances on the field.
“He’s a bulldog,” Cota said. “He’ll get in your face., He’s the guy everyone looks to. He knows the game, how to bring you up when you’re down, and how to bring you back down to earth if things are going too well. It’s awesome to share the field with him.”
Beau Betten reflected on what it has been like to play with Pappas the past few years.
“Johnny is one of the best guys and teammates I’ve ever played with,” Beau Betten said. “Throughout my whole career, he always has your back, and he’s uplifting., He’s also at the same time, he can be business heavy and being serious come game time. With my career coming to an end, I think that Johnny is up there for three teammates I’ve ever had.”
Now, with the season coming to an end, Pappas is reflecting on his new goal of pursuing a coaching career.
“Just finishing up school and coaching, that’s the near future and with the dreams of hopefully being a head coach sometime soon,” Pappas said.
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics
