Vashion Johnson has guided the Slippery Rock University softball program to unprecedented success in his eight seasons as SRU head coach.
Since coming to Slippery Rock in 2004, Johnson has compiled a record of 174-166 and has made appearances in both the NCAA and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournaments. The 174 wins are the most in an eight-year span in Rock history. Johnson, who is just the fourth head coach in the SRU softball history, is the program’s all-time leader in coaching victories.
Johnson, who took over a program that had recorded 14 consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival, has guided his Rock teams to five winning seasons during his tenure. His 2005 squad won 24 games, becoming the first Rock team to win at least 20 games since 1980.
Under Johnson’s tutelage 24 SRU players have earned All-PSAC honors, including 2011 PSAC-West Pitcher of the Year Shaylee Ianno.
Last season, Slippery Rock was 19-13, SRU’s fourth winning season in the last five years, and narrowly missed qualifying for the PSAC tournament. During the season Slippery Rock won a school-record 13 consecutive games. SRU finished the year leading the PSAC in team batting average at .330.
In 2010, Johnson led Slippery Rock to another winning-season with a record of 22-21. 2010 was also Johnson’s sixth consecutive season with at least 20 wins.
In 2009, Slippery Rock posted an overall record of 21-23 and made its first appearance in the conference playoffs since 1984.
Accompanying the athletic accomplishments of the 2009 Rock squad were nine players who earned PSAC Scholar-Athlete honors and one player, Shardea Croes, who was named as a finalist for the prestigious Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award. She was the lone Division II finalist for the honor.
Four seasons ago, Johnson led The Rock to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Regional Championships, finishing the season with a mark of 27-17, setting the school record for single-season wins. Johnson also picked up his 100th win at SRU when the team took down Lake Erie on April 10, 2008.
The 2007 squad set the then-record for single-season wins with 26 wins and also posted a school record for games played in a season with 48 total games.
Before coming to Slippery Rock, Johnson served as the head coach of the girl’s softball and men’s basketball teams at Harvest Baptist High School in Charleston, South Carolina. His 2003 softball team won the South Carolina Class 4A state championship.
Prior to Harvest Baptist, Johnson served one season as an assistant coach at North Carolina A&T State University, which competes at the NCAA Division I level.
Prior to his one season at North Carolina A&T, Johnson spent three seasons at North Carolina Central University, where he served as the team’s third base coach and hitting coach.
Before beginning his collegiate coaching career, Johnson was the head coach at Immaculata Catholic High School in Durham, North Carolina, where he led the team to the state playoffs in each of the two seasons he was there.
Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in African American history and political science from Morris College in Sumter, South Carolina in 2000. He was a four-time All-Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference performer on the baseball team and still holds the school record for career home runs with 52. Johnson continued his education at Salem University, where he received his MBA in international business in 2011.
Johnson has also served in the U.S. Marines and is a Desert Storm veteran. He received an honorable discharge from the Marines in 1996 after serving in ground support hydraulics for GSE and Cobras. While in the U.S. Marines, Johnson received a Good Conduct Medal, Rifle Sharpshooter Badge, National Defense Service Medal, Navy and Marine Overseas Service ribbon, Navy Sea Service Deployment ribbon, Humanitarian Service medal, Armed Forced Service medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary medal.
While in the armed forces, Johnson played baseball for the All-Marine team for two years and was invited to try-outs for the Armed-Forces team.
Johnson is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Black Coaches' Association and Sports Turf Managers Association. He resides in Grove City, Pa., with his wife Natalie and their two daughters, Lovie and Devin and one son, Beau.
| Year |
Wins |
Losses |
Ties |
| 2004 |
15 |
27 |
0 |
| 2005 |
24 |
19 |
0 |
| 2006 |
20 |
24 |
0 |
| 2007 |
26 |
22 |
0 |
| 2008 |
27 |
17 |
0 |
| 2009 |
21 |
23 |
0 |
| 2010 |
22 |
21 |
0 |
| 2011 |
19 |
13 |
0 |
| Career |
174 |
166 |
0 |
