Brianna Johnson

Brianna Johnson grew up in a family with deep ties to professional baseball. She is the daughter of Nick and Liz Johnson and has two siblings, Nick and Malia. Her father played ten seasons in Major League Baseball after being selected by the New York Yankees in the third round of the MLB draft. Her uncle, Larry Bowa, is a former Major League player and manager for the Philadelphia Phillies who later transitioned into an advisory role in the Phillies front office.

During her prep career in California, Johnson competed in travel softball with LTG Henderson/Cat and achieved major success at the high school level. She helped her team capture a San Joaquin Section championship and a CIF Northern Region title in 2023, followed by a D2 State Championship and a league title in 2024. In her senior season, she posted a .442 batting average alongside a .538 on-base percentage, earning team Offensive Player of the Year, Scholar Athlete of the Year, and second-team all-section honors. Extra Innings Softball ranked her as the No. 61 overall recruit in the class of 2024.

Johnson joined the Iowa Hawkeyes softball program as an infielder, making an immediate impact on defense during her 2025 freshman campaign. In her debut collegiate season, she appeared in 37 games with 16 starts, handling 100 chances with 82 putouts to finish with a .970 fielding percentage and earn her first varsity letter.

Her role expanded significantly during her 2026 sophomore season, starting 43 of 48 games played. She compiled a .293 batting average with three home runs, 21 runs batted in, and 16 runs scored, while leading the Hawkeyes with ten hit-by-pitches. Johnson recorded nine multi-hit games, highlighted by 3-for-3 batting performances against McNeese State and Oregon. Her power display peaked against Illinois on March 13, when she hit two home runs and drove in six runs. Throughout the season, she delivered three walk-off hits in games against Minnesota, St. Thomas, and Northern Illinois.

In addition to her on-field contributions, Johnson represented the softball program on the Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during the 2025-26 academic year. For her conduct and academic achievements, she received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.