Leah Johnson

Biography

Leah Johnson is entering her first season with the Gators in 2026. Johnson brings head coaching experience to Gainesville, previously leading programs at Michigan State (2022-24), Illinois State (2017-21) and SIU-Edwardsville (2011-16). In her first season in East Lansing, Johnson led the Spartans to the most wins (13) by a first-year head coach since 1974 before leading the Spartans to 17 victories in 2023, which marks the most by the MSU volleyball program since 2019. Johnson coached a pair All-B1G honorees and an B1G All-Freshman and All-B1G second team distinction, marking the first season with multiple postseason award winners since 2017. Prior to becoming a Spartan, Johnson directed the Illinois State program from 2017-2021, guiding the Redbirds to a 104-53 record and five postseason appearances, including four straight NCAA Tournaments, marking the longest streak at ISU in nearly four decades (1982-85). Under Johnson's guidance, Illinois State finished in the top three in the Missouri Valley Conference all five seasons, including winning the regular-season conference championship in 2018 and 2020 (played in spring 2021). The Redbirds also won three straight MVC Tournament titles from 2019-2021. Johnson was named the 2021 AVCA North Region Coach of the Year. Individually, Redbird student-athletes excelled under Johnson's direction. Three players garnered All-American honors, while five different Redbirds collected a total of eight AVCA All-Region honors and 13 different