CAREER WRITE-UP
Van Johnson started his first season as the Women's Basketball Head Coach in 2022. Johnson comes to the Florham Campus after five years at Saint Elizabeth University.
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"Van checked off all the boxes in what we were looking for in a Head Women's Basketball Coach," said Giotta. "His genuine personality, devotion to the student-athlete and his experience in teaching the game of basketball will fill the immediate and long-term needs of the program."
The 2023-24 season went in the right direction when Coach Johnson coached the Devils to an 11-13 season that was tied for a third best season turnaround in all of Division III athletics. For the second year in a row, Johnson had the conference's leading scorer on his squad with
Neysa Aguilar averaging 20.3 points (19.2 in conference) en route to being named MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-MAC Freedom.Â
Johnson's first season was in the transition stage during this time. In the 2022-23 season, one student-athlete,
Abigail Rodriguez was named to the All-MAC Freedom Honorable Mention team. She was also the leading scorer of the conference with 16.6 points per game as a first-year.
Johnson, who brings over 30 years of coaching and recruiting experience to FDU-Florham, served as the Head Coach for Saint Elizabeth from 2020-22 as well as Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator from 2017-20. Over the course of those five seasons, Johnson helped the Eagles to 45 wins, including 19 victories during the 2019-20 season, a year that saw Saint Elizabeth reach the championship game of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Tournament.
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"I am truly excited to be a part of a university that cares about its students. This program has won a National Championship in the last ten years and I look forward to bringing it back to a level where we compete for MAC Freedom Championships on an annual basis," said Johnson. "I am thankful that Fairleigh Dickinson University,Â
Kristin Giotta and the search committee gave me this opportunity and I will do everything in my power to make it an amazing experience for the student-athletes who come here."
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Prior to his time at Saint Elizabeth, Johnson was the Recruiting Coordinator and Co-Founder of the New Jersey Panthers, a program that was a lead recruiter for many of the top Division I, II and III programs in the country. Johnson was also the Head Girls' Basketball Coach at Villa Walsh Academy from 2015-22, the Head Girls' Basketball Coach at Parsippany Hills High School from 2013-15 and an assistant coach at Morris Catholic High School for two years where he helped the team win 54 games, two County Championships and two NJSIAA State Tournament Sectional titles.
At Villa Walsh, Johnson coached 12 Academic All-Conference student-athletes, 14 student-athletes who earned All-Conference honors and produced five straight winning seasons.
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Johnson is a graduate of Montclair State University, where he majored in Political Science, double minored in Pre-Law and Public Administration and played football for four years. He is a believer in coaching education and has completed both NFHS and National Coaching Certifications.
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Head Women's Basketball Coach, Fairleigh Dickinson University (2022-Present)
Head Women's Basketball Coach, Saint Elizabeth University (2020-2022)
Assistant Women's Basketball Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, Saint Elizabeth University (2017-2020)
Head Women's Basketball Coach, Villa Walsh Academy (2015-2022)
Head Women's Basketball Coach, Parsippany Hills High School (2013-2015)
Assistant Women's Basketball Coach, Morris Catholic High School (2011-2013)
Co-Founder/Recruiting Coordinator, New Jersey Panthers
HONORS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
One CSAC Postseason Tournament appearance
Two All-MAC Conference selections
2023-24 MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year
2023-24 ECAC Rookie of the Year
PLAYING CAREER
Played football for four years at Montclair State University (1984-1988)
EDUCATION
Bachelor's degree in Political Science with a double minor in Pre-Law and Public Administration from Montclair State University
