Johnson Mic'd up at Practice
A key to the program’s sharp rise in recent years, Brian Johnson begins his sixth season with the program in 2024-25, fourth as associate head coach.
Last season, Johnson and the Bearcats produced the highest win total (15) in 15 years and finished conference play by winning seven of their last 11 games. In 2022-23, BU enjoyed its highest conference win percentage in 13 years and its final America East place (T-4th) was the highest in 14 years. The team posted a tournament road upset for the second straight season.
As the team’s defensive coordinator, Johnson has implemented and shaped a defense that has been among the league leaders in rebounding and 3-point field goal percentage. In three straight seasons, BU has put a player on the America East All-Defensive Team.
Named to the Silver Waves Media “75 Rising Stars: Impactful Men’s Mid-Major Assistants” list in 2023, Johnson earned an invite to participate in the prestigious Collegiate Coaching Consortium, hosted by NABC and AthleticDirectorU at the 2023 Final Four in Houston. The event featured 25 coaches who were identified as likely to become Division I head coaches within the next 2-3 years.
A native of Annapolis, Johnson came to Binghamton in 2019 after serving as head coach at NCAA Division III Southern Vermont College in 2018-19. He led the Mountaineers to a 16-win season that was fueled by a pair of all-conference recruits. The two prior years, Johnson was head coach at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md. There, he led the Owls to the 2017 Maryland Junior Conference Tournament crown. His teams were Regional XX Championship finalists in back-to-back years and he was named the Finnestmag.com Maryland Junior College Coach of the Year in 2017 after leading PGCC to a 21-9 mark.
Johnson was an assistant at fellow America East school UMBC between 2013-16, where he recruited and developed two elite UMBC guards in Rodney Elliott (2014 AE Rookie of Year) and Jarius Lyles (NBA G League).
Johnson scored 1,017 career points at University of Delaware before graduating with a degree in sociology in 2010. With the Hens, he earned CAA All-Rookie honors and graduated among the program’s all-time top-10 in minutes played (2nd with 3,987), assists (3rd with 510) and 3-pointers (8th with 135).
Brian and his wife, Alison, have daughters Emery and Giuliana.
