With 11 years of collegiate coaching experience, including Division I stops at the University of Alabama, Arkansas State University and Southern Illinois University, Tristan Johnson was named head women’s volleyball coach at the University of North Alabama on December 20, 2021.
Johnson will enter his fourth season at UNA in 2025. In his first season at the helm of the North Alabama volleyball program, Johnson lead the Lions to a 13-15 record in 2022. The 2023 season saw Johnson improve from his first-year efforts, leading the Lions to a UNA Division I record 17 wins. 2024 saw UNA win 15 matches, with the highlight of the season coming in a 3-0 sweep over Alabama — Johnson's alma mater — on Sept. 18, 2024.
Honored in 2015 as a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s “Thirty Under 30” list of up-and-coming volleyball coaches, and again in 2020 by VolleyballMag.com Under 40 Coaching Hotshots, Johnson also spent two summers as an intern with the U.S. Men’s and Women’s national teams.
Johnson became the 11th head volleyball coach at UNA since the Lions’ program began in 1969. Prior to UNA, Johnson served as an assistant coach at SIU, where he assisted with all aspects of team training, as well as serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator.
He began his coaching career as a student assistant for two years at Blinn College (Texas), where he worked with the Buccaneers’ NJCAA national championship volleyball team that went 38-0 in 2011. He then transferred to Alabama, where he spent two seasons as a student assistant under Allen, including the 2013 season in which the Tide made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007.
A 2014 graduate of Alabama, Johnson spent three seasons as an assistant at Arkansas State. He served two seasons as an assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach in 2016. After a perfect 16-0 record in Sun Belt play in 2015, the Red Wolves advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999 under Johnson’s tutelage. The following season, Johnson helped the Red Wolves to a 25-8 overall record, including a 15-1 record in conference play, en route to winning the Sun Belt West Division title. Arkansas State amassed a 74-20 (.787) record in Johnson’s three seasons, which included a 46-6 record in conference play.
In 2017, Johnson returned to Alabama, where he spent two seasons as an assistant under Allen at his alma-mater. The Tide went 36-24 in his two seasons as a full-time assistant.
In 2019, Johnson followed Allen to Southern Illinois. The Salukis improved greatly in Johnson’s first season on Allen’s staff, as their plus-nine win differential from the 2018 season was the 10th-best in the nation in 2019. Three of SIU’s 14 wins in 2019 were against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and Southern set program records for total digs in a season and five-set matches played in. Southern led the nation in total dig, while the Salukis’ Rachel Maguire led the nation in triple-doubles.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Johnson spent two summers as an intern with the U.S. Men’s and Women’s national teams, primarily coordinating practice video. In 2013, he served as the scout coach with the USA Volleyball Pan American Cup coaching staff.
Johnson’s family has a rich history of volleyball coaching success. His mother, Denise Johnson, was inducted into the Southeast Texas Coaches Association Hall of Fame after posting 648 wins over a 37-year career, all at the same school. She was the 2012 Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) Coach of the Year, served as the TGCA Volleyball Chair and led her teams to three Texas State UIL Tournament Appearances.
