Johnson Promoted to Softball Associate Head Coach Position
7/1/2020 12:54:00 PM | Softball
KENT, Ohio – Emma Johnson has been named Kent State softball associate head coach. The former pitching standout recently completed her third year on the Golden Flashes' coaching staff.
"I am thrilled for Emma and proud of her as her hard work and dedication to this program have earned her this title promotion," head coach Eric Oakley said. "Being named associate head coach illustrates the partnership we have built and the shared vision we have for the program. It is a title that more accurately reflects the role she plays on the staff. I know I speak on behalf of the entire team when I congratulate her on this well-deserved accomplishment. It's an honor to work alongside Coach Johnson, and assistant coach Arika Roush, as we prepare to get back on the field for the 2021 season."
Kent State has won 66 games, including six against Power 5 programs, during Johnson's two-plus seasons on staff. The Flashes' pitching staff has thrown 22 shutouts during that time, which is more than any other Mid-American Conference school. Three different pitchers have earned All-MAC honors, and Andrea Scali was the first freshman to be named MAC Pitcher of the Year since 2007 a year ago.
The Flashes led the MAC with 12 shutouts in 2019, the second-most by a Kent State team during the 2010's, and ranked in the top-50 nationally in both shutouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio. Under Johnson's tutelage, Scali earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Mideast Region Second Team and MAC Pitcher of the Year honors as part of a historic freshman campaign that included a program record three no-hitters. The hard-throwing righty ranked in the top-10 in the country in shutouts (11), strikeouts (269) and strikeouts per seven innings (9.46) while also leading the conference in opponent batting average (.183).
Johnson faced the challenge of working with an inexperienced battery during her first season back at her alma mater. In addition to starting a freshman catcher, Kent State's pitching staff entered the 2018 season with 55 total innings pitched at the collegiate level. Madi Huck, who displayed flashes of dominance over her final three starts the previous year, emerged as the team's ace and posted a 2.68 ERA in more than three times as many innings as she threw during her freshman year. Although not recruited with the intent to use her pitching talents, freshman Brenna Brownfield was thrust into the circle and tossed 99.1 innings for the Flashes. Both players earned All-MAC Second Team accolades.
Selected 25th overall in the 2015 NPF Draft, Johnson played two professional seasons for the Pennsylvania Rebellion. During her rookie year, she threw 66.0 innings and held the league's seventh-best ERA (2.23) while limiting opponents to a .189 batting average.
Johnson is one of the most decorated pitchers in Kent State and Mid-American Conference history. She won two MAC Pitcher of the Year awards and is a two-time NFCA All-Mideast Region Second Team selection and a four-time conference selection. Johnson capped her college career with the nation's third-lowest ERA and led Kent State to a 41-13 record and a MAC regular season championship in 2015. She also ranked in the top five nationally in strikeouts per seven innings, hits allowed per seven innings and shutouts.
A native of Groveport, Ohio, Johnson earned Bachelor of Business Administration degrees in Accounting and Finance from Kent State University in 2015.
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