Kent State has promoted Emma Johnson to the title of Associate Head Coach, the school announced earlier in the week. Johnson spent the last three seasons as an assistant on the Golden Flashes’ staff, and works with the program’s pitchers.
During her tenure as pitching coach, Johnson’s staff led the Mid-American Conference with 22 shutouts and she guided Andrea Scali to conference Pitcher of the Year honors during the 2019 season. Scali’s freshman campaign included All-Region honors, as well as three no-hitters, a program record. The then-freshman ranked in the top 10 nationally in three statistical categories, including strikeouts with 269. During her first year on the coaching staff in 2018, Johnson shepherded an inexperienced group of pitchers and saw two pitchers receive all-conference honors for their efforts that year.
One of the program’s most decorated alumni, Johnson was twice named the MAC Pitcher of the Year and also earned a pair of all-Region honors. She received all-conference honors in all four years of her playing career and, as a senior, finished third in the nation in ERA. She played two seasons of professional softball in the National Pro Fastpitch league before her playing career ended. Holding a degree in accounting and finance, Johnson worked in the private sector before beginning her coaching career.
The Kent State program finished the abbreviated 2020 season with a 9-10 record, and had not yet begun conference play when the coronavirus pandemic abruptly ended the campaign.
