Rachel Johnson

Former Monarch golfer Rachel Johnson enters her seventh season on ODU's coaching staff in 2023. A former assistant coach, she was elevated to Associate Head Coach in August of 2021.
 
The Monarchs competed in 10 tournaments in 2022-23, recording six Top-10 finishes and three Top-5 finishes, to include tying for second at the Badger Invitational and taking second at the Lady Paladin Invitational. Leah Onosato became the first golfer in program history to win a conference tournament, placing first at the Sun Belt Championship with a two-under par 214 after leading the field from start to finish. Onosato and teammate Lucia Gonzalez were named to the All-Sun Belt First Team, and Onosato earned an at-large bid to the Palm Beach Gardens Regional.

ODU competed in 10 tournaments during 2021-22, with the Monarchs turning in seven Top-10 finishes and four Top-5 finishes. The duo of Federica Torre and Leah Onosato finished first and second to propel the Monarchs to a third-place finish at the Badger Invitational. Jana Melichova then tied for second at the Bryan National Collegiate as ODU tied for third. The Pikovice, Czech Republic native secured C-USA Co-Golfer of the Week honors on Oct. 6 as she broke her own program record for 18-hole gross scoring with a final round of 65 at the Evie Odom Invitational, tying for third at four-under 206. Melichova added another weekly honor on Feb. 9 after posting her sixth-straight Top-10 finish by tying for ninth at the UCF Challenge. After Melichova claimed a runner-up finish at the Indiana Invitational, she collected All-Tournament Team honors as she tied for third at the C-USA Championship. Torre was a few strokes behind her and tied for eighth as the Monarchs combined for a 327 to tie for third. Melichova and Torre received All-Conference nods and Melichova became the first golfer in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships, where she tied for 13th. She was named a WGCA All-American and the VaSID Co-Player of the Year.

In her fourth season on staff, Johnson helped lead Leah Onosato to an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals. Onosato collected a slew of honors throughout the season and was named both First Team All-State by VaSID and Second Team All-Conference USA and played her way onto the C-USA Championship All-Tournament Team by tying for fourth. Jana Melichova also received significant honors with the help of Johnson. She finished as the runner-up at the C-USA Championships and was Second Team All-State and Third Team All-C-USA. Additionally, the Monarchs notched a pair of second-place finishes as a team, including the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational.
 
In her third season as assistant coach, Johnson helped guide the Monarchs to four top-5 finishes, including a runner-up finish at the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational hosted by UTSA. ODU closed out the 2019-20 season ranked 75th according to the Golfstat rankings. Two individuals in Jana Melichova and Leah Onosato both finished ranked in the top-200 according to Golfstat. 
 
Johnson helped lead ODU to their third-straight NCAA appearance. They closed out the season ranked No. 49 according to Golfstat. ODU took 3rd at the 2019 C-USA Championship. 
 
In her first season as a coach, Johnson helped guide ODU to the program's first-ever at-large bid to an NCAA Regional and a final Golfstat Team Ranking of No. 60. 
 
A 2017 graduate of Old Dominion, Johnson golfed for the Monarchs for four seasons and helped lead ODU to the 2017 Conference USA Championship, the first conference title in school history, along with the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. 
 
A team captain of the 2017 Conference USA Champions, Johnson was a two-time C-USA All-Tournament Team honoree during her career and was also an individual medalist at the Golf Week Program Challenge in 2014. In addition, Johnson was twice named the C-USA Golfer of the Week.
 
Off the course, Johnson made the Dean's List four times and was a three-time C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll member. In 2017, Johnson earned the prestigious C-USA Spring Spirit of Service Award. She serviced more than 12 different community service causes including the Salvation Army Food Bank, the ODU Little Feet Meet, Lambert's Point Trash Pick up and Norfolk Public School Reading Day.
 
Formerly Rachel Walker, Johnson was born in Dumfries, Scotland. She is married to ODU wrestling alum Kevin Johnson, and the pair welcomed their son Kai in December 2022.