Leah Johnson was named the seventh head volleyball coach at Illinois State on June 21, 2017. Following the 2021 season, Johnson signed a five-year contract extension that keeps her at the helm of the Redbird Volleyball program through 2027.

Johnson guided the Redbirds to another successful season during the fall of 2021, playing its second season during 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic postponing the 2020 season to the spring. The Redbirds, who were the youngest team in the Missouri Valley Conference, finished the year with a 19-14 overall record and 13-5 record in MVC action for ISU's 12th-consecutive winning season.

During MVC play, Johnson coached the Redbirds to eight-straight match wins and 17-straight set wins (including five-straight three-set sweeps), which is tied for the fifth-most consecutive set wins in school history and the most set wins in a row since 2014 when ISU won 20 straight. Illinois State’s winning streak this season helped Johnson to reach a major career milestone, winning her 100th match as the head coach at Illinois State. Johnson reached 100 wins in just 150 matches, which is tied for the third-fastest Illinois State head coach to reach 100 wins. Only ISU Hall of Famer Linda Herman and Sandy Lynn have reached 100 wins faster, while Johnson joins ISU Hall of Famer Julie Morgan in reaching 100 wins in 150 matches.

In all five years Johnson has been at the helm of the program, Illinois State has made a post-season appearance, including four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. With this season’s bid, the Redbirds have made the NCAA Tournament four years in a row for the first time since 1982-1985.

Since Johnson took over in 2017, the Redbirds have finished in the top-three in MVC regular season play every season, winning the Valley regular season title in both 2018 and 2020. With the comeback win in 2021, ISU has won three-straight MVC Tournament titles, becoming the first team to win back-to-back-to-back titles since UNI in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Previously, Illinois State had not won three-consecutive tournament titles since 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985 when they won four-straight. Hosting the conference tournament in both the 2020-21 season and the 2021 season, the Redbirds improved to a perfect 7-0 in MVC title games hosted in Normal in route to their second and third MVC Championships in a row.

What Johnson and the Redbirds have accomplished during the 2021 season is remarkable, guiding the youngest team in the Missouri Valley Conference and one of the youngest teams in the NCAA Tournament to a runner-up finish in the Valley regular season, a third-straight MVC Tournament title and a fourth-consecutive NCAA berth. Not only has Johnson proven her young team to be one of the best in the conference, but also as one of the best in all of the NCAA with the Redbirds ranking in the top-25 in the nation in multiple categories throughout the season, including in the top-10 in the NCAA in total kills, total assists and total blocks. At one point in 2021, the Redbirds ranked second in the NCAA for total kills. 

Four different Redbirds were recognized with All-Conference honors under Johnson, including three on the All-MVC First Team (Tamara Otene, Kaity Weimerskirch & Sarah Kushner) and one on the MVC All-Freshman Team (Aliyah Moore). Additionally, Otene was named the Valley Player of the Year, marking the first time a Redbird had earned the honor since 2014 and Weimerskirch was named the Libero of the Year. Otene went on to be named an All-Region selection and earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors, marking the third All-America nod for the Redbirds under Johnson. 

With just five seasons under her belt as a head coach in the Missouri Valley Conference, Johnson has already established herself as one of the best coaches in league history. In MVC matches, Johnson ranks sixth all-time with a winning percentage of .755 in conference action. Her 65 wins in conference play are the 14th-most wins by a Valley head coach all-time. With an overall winning percentage of .666 (104-52) in her career at Illinois State, Johnson is seventh all-time among MVC coaches and second among active coaches, trailing only UNI’s Bobbi Peterson whose winning percentage of .732 (530-194) is second all-time in conference history.

Johnson's efforts this season guiding the young Redbird squad earned her the first Coach of the Year recognition during her time at Illinois State, being named the AVCA North Region Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. She is only the second coach to ever earn AVCA Regional Coach of the Year honors at Illinois State and is the first since 2014 to be recognized.

Illinois State swept the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles in the spring of 2021, as Johnson helped guide the Redbirds to their fourth-straight post-season tournament berth, and third-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The Redbirds went 16-6 in the pandemic-shortened season, securing a top-20 win over Marquette, and finishing with an 11-3 mark in MVC play. Illinois State served as the host of the MVC Championship, where the top-seeded Redbirds defeated Loyola in four sets to grab the program’s 12th Valley championship title.

The Redbirds became the first No. 3 seed to ever win the MVC volleyball crown during the six-team format (0-10 previously) in 2019. Illinois State earned an at-large bid to the big dance in 2018, marking the Redbirds’ first repeat appearance at the NCAA Tournament since the 1997-98 seasons. The Redbirds finished 22-12 on the year, clinching their fourth 20-win season in five years.

In Johnson’s first year at the helm, the Redbirds finished in the top-15 nationally in several statistical categories, including team digs, digs per set, total attacks, attacks per set, team kills and opponent hitting percentage. Libero Courtney Pence (2015-18) paced the Redbirds’ defense, finishing the season with the second-most digs (821) in all of NCAA Division I.

Her leadership on the sidelines continued to help ISU rank among the best nationally in 2018, as the Redbirds finished 12th in team kills per set (14.30) and 18th overall in opponent hitting percentage (.162) and team digs per set (17.70). Johnson helped coach Pence the second-most digs in all of Division I once again in 2018, as the senior libero finished with 695 for the season and 2,778 for her career – becoming the highest-ranking player on the NCAA’s career chart to have played her entire volleyball career in the 25-point era.

The Redbirds welcomed eight new faces to the program in 2019, as ISU’s incoming recruiting class – and largest put together by Johnson – was recognized in the Highest Honorable Mention category of the annual recruiting rankings published by PrepVolleyball.com. She guided a trio of Redbirds – Stef Jankiewicz, Sydney Holt and Kaylee Martin – to All-MVC First Team honors, while all three student-athletes ranked among the best in the NCAA in their respective statistical categories. In the MVC, the Redbirds have finished atop the leaderboard in opponent hitting percentage all four seasons with Johnson at the helm.

On October 27, 2017, Johnson coached the Redbirds to their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent in nearly 14 years as Illinois State topped No. 25 UNI at Redbird Arena, before doing it again versus the Panthers in 2018. The win in 2017 was Illinois State’s first over a Top-25 team since the Redbirds beat then-No. 8 UNI on Nov. 21, 2003 at Redbird Arena, also in five sets.

Illinois State topped nationally-ranked in-state rival No. 14 Illinois on Sept. 13, 2019, in four sets in front of an electric crowd of 3,850. The last time the Redbirds stunned an opponent ranked that high was in 1996, when ISU upset then-No. 8 Notre Dame.

Under Johnson’s direction, setter Jankiewicz was named MVC Freshman of the Year in 2017, before collecting the league’s Setter of the Year honor in 2018 to become the first ISU volleyball player to earn a specialty award in back-to-back seasons since Emily Orrick did so in 2013 and 2014. The Farmington Hills, Michigan, native earned the distinction again in 2020-21, becoming the first player in league history to earn the Setter of the Year award twice in her career. Jankiewicz accumulated 4,851 assists in her four years as a Redbird, which ranks third all-time in ISU program history and 13th in Valley history.

Jaelyn Keene took home All-MVC First-Team honors in 2017, as Keene became only the second player in Illinois State history to be named a four-time All-MVC First-Team selection. Keene also became the sixth player in league history to be named a four-time All-MVC First-Team pick. Additionally, 10 first-team honors have been dished out under Johnson’s guidance, as well as a trio of second-team accolades and all-newcomer team selections.

Nationally, the awards have rolled in for the Redbirds, as Martin, Jankiewicz, Pence and Keene garnered All-North Region recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Pence, who was an all-region first-team selection in 2017 and 2018, became the program’s first repeat All-American with back-to-back honorable mention nods.

Johnson has had proven that academics and community outreach is just as important as athletics to the teams she has guided, as Keene (2017) and Ali Line (2018) were each named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America First Team selection under the direction of Johnson. Several CoSIDA Academic All-District individual honors have been handed out, while the Redbirds earned the AVCA’s Team Academic Award for the 13th-straight year in 2020-21.

Keene (2017) and Pence (2018) were recognized as one of 10 NCAA Division I volleyball student-athletes to be selected as finalists for the Senior CLASS Award and later selected as Second-Team Senior CLASS Award All-Americans. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Johnson came to Illinois State from SIUE, where she spent six seasons as head coach. She was named the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year, while leading SIUE to the OVC Tournament’s championship match for the second time in program history.

Johnson has previously served as an assistant coach at Notre Dame (2010), Missouri State (2008-09) and Texas-Pan American (2007). Johnson played collegiately at Missouri State (2000-03) and was part of a conference championship squad in 2003.

In six years at SIUE, Johnson guided the team through its transition from Division II to Division I, leading the Cougars a top 100 final RPI in 2016. Johnson directed the Cougars to 22 victories, the most by an SIUE team in its Division I tenure. Three of her players were named to the all-conference team, while two earned all-tournament team accolades.

Prior to her time at SIUE, Johnson spent the 2010 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Notre Dame, where she executed practice plans, provided scouting reports and led film sessions, while working closely with defensive players and primary passers.

Johnson spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Missouri State, and helped the team to an MVC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth in 2008. Johnson played key roles in recruiting, player development, marketing and alumni relations, while managing a budget and logistics for team travel and equipment.

Johnson got her start in collegiate coach at UT-Pan American in 2007. Johnson’s responsibilities with the team included recruiting, scouting and training. She served as the team’s interim head coach at the Great West Conference Tournament.

As a student-athlete at Missouri State, Johnson served as a team captain and helped guide the Bears to four-straight seasons with 20 or more wins. She ranks among Missouri State’s all-time and single-season digs leaders, was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team and served as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative.

Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree at Missouri State in 2004, before obtaining a master’s degree from Missouri State in 2006 while serving a graduate assistantship in the athletics department’s development office. In 2018, she was enshrined in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame with her alma mater.

She is married to A.J. Weissler and the couple has two children, Edith and PJ.