American volleyball player and coach
Leah Michele Johnson (born July 20, 1981) is an American former volleyball player and current head coach for the Michigan State Spartans women's volleyball team.
Personal life
Johnson is a native of Fair Grove, Missouri. She played volleyball at her high school Marshfield High School.[3] She played collegiately for Southwest Missouri State University. She has a bachelor's degree in Spanish and master's degree in International Affairs and Administration, both from Missouri State.[4]
She is married to A.J. Weissler and the couple has two children, Edith and PJ.[1]
Playing career
Johnson played volleyball for Southwest Missouri State University from 2000–2003. Johnson served as a team captain and helped the team to four-straight seasons with 20 or more wins and a Missouri Valley Conference regular season title in 2003. She ranks among Missouri State's all-time and single-season digs leaders. In 2019, along with her former teammates and coach she was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
Head coaching career
Johnson served several assistant coach roles before becoming a head coach in 2011. Notably, she was an assistant coach in 2008 and 2009 at her alma mater Missouri State. During the 2008 season, she helped the team to a conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance. Missouri State had an overall record of 44-23 mark during her two seasons as an assistant coach.[5] In 2010, she joined Notre Dame's coaching staff as a volunteer assistant. Some of her duties included executing practice plans, directing position-specific film sessions, scouting opponents, and tracking opponents’ offense during matches.[6]
SIU Edwardsville
Johnson was named the head coach of SIU Edwardsville volleyball program in 2011. At that time, they were an NCAA Division II program with a low win record. By 2016, SIU Edwardsville completed its transition to NCAA Division I. She was named the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year after leading the team to the conference tournament championship match for the second time in program history. In 2016, the program had 22 Division I wins, its highest ever in program history.[7] In their first season finishing above .500 at the Division I level, the Cougars went 22-8, appearing in the OVC championship for only the second time in program history.
Illinois State
Johnson was named the women's volleyball head coach at Illinois State in 2017. Johnson's overall record at Illinois State was 104-53 record and included five NCAA postseason appearances, including four straight NCAA Tournaments, marking the longest streak at ISU in nearly four decades (1982-85).[8] Johnson was named the AVCA North Region Coach of the Year after coaching a team full of newcomers to a 19-14 overall record. Despite the higher number of losses compared to previous seasons, she helped Illinois State to its fourth consecutive NCAA bid after winning the conference tournament.[9]
Johnson signed a five-year contract extension with Illinois State in January 2022,[10] but on February 7, 2022, she was announced as the new head coach at Michigan State.
Michigan State
On February 7, 2022, Johnson was announced as Michigan State's head coach, following the retirement of Cathy George.[1]
