Susie Johnson Volleyball

Susie Johnson has continued the winning tradition of Milwaukee Panther volleyball.

Johnson was named head coach in May of 2007 after 10 years as an assistant and associate head coach at Milwaukee. Since taking over the reins, Johnson has led MKE to 254 wins, six regular-season titles, four league-tournament crowns, and four NCAA Tournament berths.

In her 25 total seasons in Milwaukee, MKE has compiled a 480-250 record. That number includes a 277-89 mark in league play and a 229-69 record at home. Plus, the Panthers have won 152 of their 188 league matches at home with Johnson on the bench.

It was another 20-win season for MKE in 2021 as Johnson led the Panthers to a 22-9 overall mark, going 16-2 in Horizon League play and claiming the Horizon League regular season title. Three Panthers earned major awards including Ari Miller who was named Horizon League Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. Miller was also named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America, Milwaukee's first since 2011. Rylie Vaughn capped her career with a Setter of the Year honor and Madi Malone was named Freshman of the Year. 

Johnson proved doubters wrong in 2019, leading the Panthers to 26 victories, matching the most for Milwaukee since joining NCAA Division I in 1990. The Panthers finished a plus 18-win differential from last season, the best in the nation. MKE went 12-4 in Horizon League action and 12-1 at home in Johnson’s 14th 20-win season. Under her guidance, a trio of Panthers earned All-League honors including Ari Miller who was named Freshman of the Year, the first since 2016.

Not only were the Panthers one of the best teams in the Horizon League, but they also put up numbers that competed with the best in the country. Milwaukee led the league in hitting percentage (.239), kills per set (14.34), and assists per set (13.46). Milwaukee’s kills per set (14th), assists per set (10th), and digs per set (22nd) all ranked in the nation’s top-25.

From 2016-18, Johnson had one of the youngest rosters not only in the Horizon League, but also in the nation. Never one for excuses, Johnson still coached her young squads to a combined 35 wins over that span. Despite their youth, Johnson again also helped her players reach an impressive number of accolades, earning a total of eight league honors, including three named to the all-freshman team and the Horizon League Freshman of the Year in 2016.

In 2014, Johnson led her team to a second-place finish in the regular season despite a slew of injuries and challenges. The Panthers made it all the way to the Horizon League Tournament Championship match before coming up just short of its fifth NCAA Tournament bid with Johnson at the helm.

That comes on the heels of a very impressive 2013 campaign in which Johnson was named coach of the year for the fifth time overall. She led the Panthers on the path to a remarkable turnaround, going from an injury-plagued, seventh-place finish in 2012 to a ninth regular-season title in 11 years.

Her overall run has included the first undefeated Horizon League season in 17 years, a school-record 18-match winning streak and the program's best-ever NCAA Tournament performance - a heartbreaking five-set loss to Dayton in 2009.

In 2011, the Panthers went 25-5 overall and 16-0 in league play, becoming the first Horizon League team to go through the league schedule without a loss since Notre Dame did it in 1994. Milwaukee also set a school record with 18 straight wins and nearly upset Iowa State in the first round of the postseason.

One season earlier, she led the Panthers to a 15-1 league mark and an 11-match winning streak. In fact, MKE started the season 3-7 against a difficult non-league schedule but then won 17 of 19 matches after that, capturing the league crown.

In 2009, she directed her team to another 11-match winning streak. The first eight wins helped her team move from eighth to third in the league standings before three more wins in the league tournament helped her squad to the title and an eighth NCAA Tournament berth.

In 2008, Johnson directed a squad that included 12 freshmen and sophomores to the top of the league standings. UWM also beat then-No.18 Iowa State during non-league play and claimed the Horizon League Tournament title and automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. During her first season as head coach, Johnson led the Panthers to a school-record 26 wins and a fifth-straight Horizon League regular season title. MKE also put together winning streaks of 14 and 12 matches.

Johnson's efforts on the recruiting trail have led to nine league newcomers of the year during her tenure, including Madi Malone in 2022, Bridget Wallenberger in 2016, and Rachel Neuberger in 2009. Plus, 24 Panther players have earned a spot on the league's all-newcomer team in the last 24 years. Panther players have then consistently developed into the best players in the Horizon League. In her 25 seasons in Milwaukee, Johnson has coached 11 League Players of the Year, with Kerri Schuh winning the award twice and Neuberger claiming the distinction in 2013.

In all, players have earned all-league honors 63 times under Johnson and the recognition for Panther players has extended far beyond the Horizon League. With Johnson's assistance, MKE players have earned AVCA All-America honors ten times and AVCA All-Region honors 22 times. Plus, three Panthers have earned AVCA Region Freshman of the Year accolades, including Rachel Neuberger and Kayla Price.

Johnson's playing background is at setter, where she earned All-Big Sky and All-Northwest Region honors at Idaho State. She was also a two-time Academic All-Big Sky honoree and has helped direct the Panthers to great success in the classroom, with two Academic All-Americans and a team GPA above 3.3.

A native of Racine, Johnson joined the Panther staff after serving as an assistant coach at Indiana State. She also worked at Idaho State and was head coach at UW-Parkside. She lives in Racine with her husband, C.J., son Ty, daughter Josie and stepson Brody.