Lady Toppers pick up junior college transfer guard

Lady Toppers’ head coach Greg Collins instructs the team during their 75-60 win over Old Dominion on Saturday at Diddle Arena.

Drake Kizer

WKU women’s basketball has announced the signing of point guard Jo’Nah Johnson from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a junior college in Miami, Oklahoma.

Johnson joins the Lady Toppers after her sophomore season with the Lady Norse, where she ranked 15th among all NJCAA players in the nation with 155 assists, averaging five assists per game and dishing out 10 or more assists three times.

Johnson also poured in 15 points per game and started all 31 contests in 2018-19.

As a JUCO transfer, Johnson will be immediately eligible and have two years remaining.

“We are so excited to have Jo’Nah joining us here at WKU. This is a kid that has the potential to be a Power 5 player with her ability on the court, and being able to sign her over interest from Big 12, SEC and other C-USA schools speaks to our history as a program,” head coach Greg Collins said in a press release. “We are ready to get her here this summer and work her into our system right away.”

Johnson originally announced her commitment in a tweet posted on April 28.

According to a tweet from World Exposure Women’s Basketball, Johnson was the 30th ranked JUCO sophomore. Prior to signing with WKU, Johnson visited Old Dominion. Johnson also received offers from Texas Southern, Florida Atlantic and Mississippi.

WKU will be Johnson’s third stop in her college career, as she played her freshman year at Division II Central Oklahoma before transferring to JUCO as a sophomore. She averaged 8.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game during the 2017-18 season at UCO.

A native of Edmond, Oklahoma, the 5-foot-9 guard guided Edmond Santa Fe High School to the Class 6A state tournament in each of her four prep years. The point guard averaged 11.1 points, 4.1 assists, 3.3 rebounds and two steals per game during her senior season.

Following a standout prep career, Johnson was a McDonald’s All-American nominee. ESPN rated her a three-star prospect in the class of 2017. ESPN also gave Johnson a scout grade of 90 and ranked the point guard 22nd overall at her position.

Johnson joins Collins’ 2019 recruiting class, which already features three signees from the early signing period. Three-star forward Victoria Hunter, guard Torrion Starks and guard De’Myla Brown each signed with the Lady Toppers in November.

The four freshmen are joining a WKU program scheduled to return its entire 2018-19 roster other than three seniors. Virginia Commonwealth transfer Sandra Skinner will also be eligible in 2019-20 after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer guidelines.

“Jo’Nah is a true point guard and that is something that will put us in a great position moving forward,” Collins said in a press release. “Whitney Creech has done a fantastic job as our point guard for the last two seasons, and this will also allow us to get her more minutes at her natural two-guard position. Having different styles of play from the point guard position and multiple players who can handle that spot should free up things both inside and along the perimeter next season.”

Johnson and her Lady Topper teammates will look to improve on last season, which saw the program post a 20-15 mark in Collins’ first year at the helm, when they take the floor this fall.

Sports Editor Drake Kizer can be reached at 270-745-2653 and [email protected]. Follow Drake on Twitter at @drakekizer_.