Women's Basketball

Tangela Smith Brittany Johnson
Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
Brittany Johnson
Brittany Johnson
Brittany Johnson, a former standout at Ohio State Univeristy, begins her fourth season with the Northwestern Univeristy women's basketball program in 2025-26.  Johnson, who arrived in Evanston in May of 2022 following a nine-year stint at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, serves as an assistant coach with the Wildcats.
 
"We are excited to announce Brittany as our new Wildcat assistant," Northwestern head women's basketball coach Joe McKeown commented.  "Her background as one of the great high school players in the state of Illinois, an incredible Big Ten career at Ohio State, as well as professional playing experience overseas and nine years of coaching at Chattanooga has prepared her for this opportunity," McKeown said. "She brings so many experiences that will help our program.  Her knowledge of the game, ability to teach, and her passion will be a great asset to Northwestern as we continue to compete for Big Ten Championships."
 
During her time at Chattonooga, Johnson was part of a staff that helped guide the Mocs to six Southern Conference regular season titles and four trips to the NCAA Tournament.  The Olney, Ill. native has deep roots in both Illinois and the Big Ten Conference, where she starred for Ohio State as an All-Big Ten honoree during her four years with the Buckeyes.
  
In 2018, Johnson was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame in recognition of her career at Olney High School, where she set the state high school record by scoring 4,031 career points – the first player in Illinois history, male or female, to top 4,000 points.  Her 4,031 career points are still the second-highest total in Illinois high school basketball history.
 
Johnson was named both Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinois in 2007 as a senior at Olney High School after totaling 1,202 points, a state record at the time, for 36.4 points per game.
 
At Ohio State, Johnson finished her career as a 1,000-point scorer and with the third-most three pointers in NCAA history, shooting 42.4 percent from downtown in four years as a Buckeye.
 
Johnson enjoyed a two-year professional basketball career in Greece and Israel before joining the coaching ranks at Chattanooga under Hall of Fame head coach Jim Foster.