Mundelein’s Shae Johnson has remade her softball career twice in the past six years.
The first time was early in the coronavirus pandemic, when Johnson started to focus on becoming an elite pitcher.
“I didn’t take pitching serious until COVID in 2020,” she said. “I almost quit many times, but for some reason I kept sticking with it.
“Being locked inside the house, we had an extra room with length, and I just threw pitches every single day through COVID and came out better.”
Johnson said that area of her house had the 43-foot pitching distance but little more.
“I could swing my arm and had enough space, but it was crowded,” she said. “I worked with what I had. I made the best out of a bad situation, which I’ve always done with softball.
“When things don’t go my way, I persevere through it. My work ethic showed throughout COVID. Ever since, I’ve been in love with the grind.”
Johnson’s pitching career depended on that. A few months after she led Mundelein to the Class 4A state semifinals as a sophomore in 2024, she suffered a torn labrum in her throwing shoulder. She wasn’t able to pitch during her junior season, a key recruiting period.
“The injury affected me mentally,” Johnson said. “Without softball, it was a big struggle. Coming off a good season, going into a competitive summer schedule, I had good things ahead for me. I was really excited about the future.
“I was getting a lot of Division I looks at the time. After my surgery, they all kind of disappeared. I felt I lost a big part of myself. Everyone knew me for softball, so I tried to identify myself without softball.”
Johnson started new routines, including hot yoga.
“I used to always be on the go with softball,” she said. “A lot of positives came out of my injury. It wasn’t easy. I feel like I was almost grieving the pitcher I was.”
But Johnson, the 2026 News-Sun Softball Player of the Year, has become that pitcher once again. The Fullerton College recruit went 20-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 258 strikeouts during her senior season to equal two of her 2024 accomplishments. For the second time, she’s the North Suburban Conference pitcher of the year and a 4A all-state first-team selection.
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Johnson also hit .390 with six doubles and 20 RBIs even though she didn’t bat in some of conference co-champion Mundelein’s games when she wasn’t needed. Among her hits were game-winners against conference rivals Lake Zurich and Stevenson.
Most important, Johnson led the Mustangs (23-6) to their first-ever state championship game, surpassing their fourth-place finish in 2024, even though all but three of their games this season were played on the road due to renovations to their home field.
“You just don’t know what to expect because she had a whole year off, and on top of that, Shae basically has not thrown on her home mound since her sophomore season,” Mundelein coach Heather Ryan said. “She had to throw on the road against a very powerful conference.
“For her to do all the things she did, it went above and beyond what she did in her sophomore year. She picked up right where she left off and came back better from a significant injury. It’s pretty unbelievable and is sheer willpower.”
Mundelein senior outfielder Kieley Tomas, a St. Thomas recruit who set Mundelein’s all-time record for hits, agreed Johnson was a different pitcher this season.
“Shae put in the work to get better every single day,” Tomas said. “Her ability to locate and spin pitches and her confidence in herself is amazing. She knows she can beat anyone, and she has really proven she can.”
Johnson pitched a three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts in the Mustangs’ 3-0 victory over Lane Tech in a supersectional and scattered six hits over six innings in the Mustangs’ 13-3 win over defending state champion Oswego in the state semifinals. She then weathered seven innings in the state final against Lincoln-Way West, which won 6-1.
Mundelein senior outfielder Casey Vyverman, a Western Michigan basketball recruit, said Johnson was determined to succeed.
“You could tell she just refused to let her team down,” Vyverman said. “She wanted to be in all the big moments to prove she was even better than before the injury.
“Since she knows what it feels like to have a big part of your life taken away from you, I think she’s learned how to not take anything for granted off the field and just enjoy every moment.”
Johnson said her older brother Zachary, a Southeastern University pitcher who had Tommy John surgery, helped her come back from her injury.
“I saw how he went through it and stayed strong,” Johnson said. “We both had to deal with career-changing injuries. I saw how he persevered through it, and that gave me strength.
“It was really inspiring, seeing him go through it and to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He helped me by putting a different perspective on things.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
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