Ka’lia Johnson has had an immediate impact on Longwood women’s basketball upon joining the bench as an assistant coach on June, 2019. In her first two years on staff, the former ACC Tournament champion and Duke standout helped the team engineer back-to-back record-breaking seasons.
In her first year, the team had a dramatic nine-win turnaround from the prior season, one of the biggest in the nation. In year two, the team finished a program-best third in the Big South while posting its best Big South winning percentage (.667), highest Big South finish (No. 3) and highest overall winning percentage (.560). In addition, the team tied a program record for overall wins (14) since joining the Big South in 2012-13. The team also finished went 14-11 to finish above .500 for the first time since the 2007-08 season. In addition, the team received an invitation to its first Division I postseason tournament with a bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
On an individual level, five players received postseason honors from the Big South, with Akila Smith being named the Big South Defensive Player of the Year after finishing in the top five in the NCAA in blocks and blocks per game. She also had a triple-double while setting the single-season, career and single game blocks records all in one year. Kyla McMakin and Smith were both named to the All-Big South first team, with McMakin leading the league in scoring for a second straight season. Point guard Tra’Dayja Smith also earned an honorable mention nod from the Big South.
In 2019-20, the Lancers tied a team record with eight Big South wins, hosted a first round playoff game in the Big South Championship and set multiple team and individual records. Johnson, a former team captain who helped the Blue Devils to the 2013 ACC Tournament Championship and back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight appearances, worked closely with the Lancer guards, who broke multiple records. Big South Freshman of the Year and All-Big South first team guard McMakin led the Big South in scoring and set the freshman scoring record. Tra’Dayja Smith ranked fourth in the NCAA in assists per game, notching the team’s first recorded triple double and setting the single season record for assists. Freshman guard Anne-Hamilton Leroy earned a spot on the All-Big South freshman team as well. In addition, forwards Akila Smith and Dayna Rouse, a second team All-Big South selection, each broke the school record for blocks, with Smith’s 74 swats shattering the previous team record of 55. Rouse sits second in the record books with 59 blocks during the year.
Johnson came to Farmville with a wealth of collegiate and professional playing experience to go with three years in the Division I coaching ranks.
“We had a talented applicant pool for this position, and I just kept coming back to Ka’lia,” Tillett said. “We’re trying to create a certain type of chemistry on our staff and Ka’lia’s energy, and how others feed off of it, fits really well. The first time I saw Ka’lia was in 2011 on film as Coach Olms [Jessica Olmstead] and I were preparing our Forest Park High School team to face her Thomas Dale team in a state quarterfinal game. Ka’lia’s offensive prowess forced us to be creative when searching for ways to try to contain her.”
Johnson made the trek to Farmville after a season with VCU where she served as the video coordinator for a team that won 24 games in 2018-19 and advanced to the second round of the WNIT. With the Rams, Johnson broke down film to analyze practice and games, while also assisting with the team’s social media accounts.
Prior to her season with the Rams, Johnson spent two seasons with UNCG as a graduate manager. In that role, Johnson broke down and analyzed game film, while coordinating and assisting with community outreach events with the Spartans.
Before joining the Spartans in a coaching role, Johnson competed professionally in the Czech Republic and Switzerland. With BLK Slavia Praha in the Czech Repblic, Johnson was a four-time ZBL Player of the Week and led the league with 10.5 rebounds per game to go along with 19.4 points per contest.
Johnson helped Duke to four consecutive 20-win seasons, back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Elite Eight in 2012 and 2013, to go along with the 2013 ACC Tournament Championship. She finished her career with three ACC Academic Honor Roll selections.
“I’m very excited to join Longwood,” Johnson said. “Being from Virginia, I’m familiar with the school and am ecstatic to have the opportunity to join coach Tillett’s staff. She embodies what it means to lead a young group of women to succeed and it’s an honor to be a part of that. I hope to bring my skills from being a collegiate and professional athlete to the sideline and continue to create a culture of winning.”
As a senior captain in 2014-15, Johnson started 32 of 34 games at point guard and recorded the seventh triple-double in Duke history against Old Dominion with 18 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. She finished that season ranked fifth in the ACC in assists per game.
“Ka’lia’s championship experience at Duke combined with her experience playing overseas has given her a knowledge base that will allow her to impart important lessons to our women,” Tillett said. “She’ll have an immediate impact in the gym with our guards.”
Originally from Chester, Va., Johnson was the 2011Times-Dispatch All-Metro Player of the Year and a three-time Central District Player of the Year at Thomas Dale High School. She finished her career with 46 double-doubles and 15 triple-doubles, while finishing with a school record 2,075 points.
Johnson graduated from Duke in 2015 with a degree in sociology and received her master’s in liberal studies from UNCG in 2018.
