Knoxville has decided to go Back to The Future with its next baseball coach. Joel Johnson, who retired after the 2002 season has been hired to guide the Panthers once again. Johnson built Knoxville into a state power in class 3A leading the Panthers to a state title in 2002 which was the last year he coached Knoxville. Along the way, Johnson picked up 525 wins to just 307 defeats putting him 46th on the all-time state list. He also won many conference titles and led the Panthers to their first six State Tournament appearances. Johnson says the reason why he came back was because he missed coaching and the competition. Johnson takes over for Steve Mott who stepped down after this past season. Mott who was a former assistant coach under Johnson took the Panthers to their last two state tournaments in 2007 and 2010.