Release (Pdf)

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University junior kicker Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.) was named to the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List for the 2015 season on Wednesday, July 29.

The Watch List includes 41 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) collegiate place-kickers that were nominated by their colleges for excellence on the football field and in the community.

The annual Fred Mitchell Award is awarded to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker among more than 750 FCS, Division II, III, NAIA and NJCAA football teams. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award is chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community. In addition to the Watch List, top performers are recognized monthly during the college football season and the winner (who is not required to be on the Watch List) is announced in mid-December.

The 2014 Fred Mitchell Award recipient (Concordia-St. Paul's Tom Obarski) is on the Cincinnati Bengals roster, the 2013 recipient (West Texas A&M's Sergio Castillo) is on the Atlanta Falcons roster and the 2012 recipient (Fordham's Patrick Murray) is the starting kicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A 2014 All-MIAC first-team selection, Johnson led the conference in points among kickers (74) and field-goal percentage (.909, 10-for-11). He made 43 consecutive extra points going back to 2013, including 38 straight last fall, before two were blocked in blizzard conditions in the regular-season finale Nov. 15 at St. Olaf. Johnson also averaged 51.3 yards on 67 kickoffs with three touchbacks last fall.

He enters the 2015 season fourth in school history with 21 career field goals and is tied for 10th with 66 extra points, all in just two seasons.

Off the field, Johnson is in the process of raising money for various service-learning projects that he will participate in while he studies abroad in South Africa during Spring 2016. He volunteered at Feed My Starving Children as a freshman (2013-14) and sophomore (2014-15), and served as a volunteer trainer and coach for the Shakopee Soccer Association (U13, U10 and other levels) in 2015. 

He also served as a volunteer kicking coach with Special Teams Football Academy throughout various camps in 2015 and was a "Vote YES" campaign volunteer, to help secure a referendum to build a new high school for the Shakopee school district.

Johnson is one of 12 kickers from Division III on the Watch List, which is comprised of student-athletes from 26 different states, but is the only kicker on the initial list from the MIAC. Minnesota-Duluth's Andrew Brees is the only other kicker on the list from a Minnesota school.

The school of the award winner receives scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented in February 2016 at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony.

The award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University (Ohio) Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist.

The Johnnies report to Collegeville on Saturday, Aug. 15, with the first practice scheduled for the following day. The Johnnies open the 2015 season with a 1 p.m. kickoff Sept. 5 against non-conference foe Dubuque (Iowa) in Clemens Stadium.