Trent Johnson - Head Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches

Trent Johnson

Title:
Head Coach

Trent Johnson enters his second season leading the Matadors in 2022-23. He is the seventh head coach in the history of the Matadors.

After serving on an interim basis in 2021-22, Johnson was officially named head coach of the program on March 17, 2022.

Johnson has collected 283 victories in his head coaching career with winning tenures at three of his previous coaching stops. He has been named coach of the year in three conferences: the Western Athletic Conference (2002-03), Pac-10 (2007-08) and Southeastern Conference (2008-09).

Johnson was appointed interim head coach of CSUN on July, 20, 2021. With less than four months before the start of the season, Johnson helped lead a Matador team picked to finish last in The Big West to an eighth-place finish while dealing with a multitude of injuries. The Matadors played without starting point guard and all-conference honoree Darius Brown II for the final 23 games while starting center Miles Brookins missed the final 27 games and starting forward Lance Coleman II and freshman guard Nick Herrman missed the entire season.

Under Johnson and his coaching staff, sophomore guard Atin Wright earned All-Big West Honorable Mention accolades in 2021-22. Wright improved his scoring average from his freshman season by nearly 10 points, as he finished the campaign eighth in the Big West in points per game (14.5).

As a group, the Matadors also finished second in the Big West in steals per game at 7.2.

Johnson began his collegiate head coaching career in 1999. He has led three programs to the NCAA Tournament including two to the NCAA Sweet 16. His teams have made five total NCAA Tournament and three NIT appearances over his career.

Johnson began his head coaching career at Nevada where he spent five seasons (1999-04), guiding the Wolfpack to a WAC championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 19 seasons in 2003-04. Nevada tied a school record with 25 wins that season and would earn its first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.

Johnson served as head coach at Stanford from 2004-08, compiling an impressive 80-48 record over that time span. Johson led the Cardinal to three NCAA Tournament appearances (2004-2005, 2006-2007 and 2007-08) and one NIT appearance (2005-06). Johnson was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year following the 2007-08 season that saw the Cardinal finish 28-8 while advancing to the Sweet 16. In his four seasons on the Farm, he became the only head coach in program history to guide the Cardinal to the postseason in each of his first four seasons.

After departing Stanford, Johnson coached at LSU for four seasons (2008-12), where he would win the SEC regular season championship in his first year with the program in 2008-2009. His Tiger squad produced the third-most victories in a season in program history. Johnson remained at LSU through 2011-12, when the Tigers posted an 18-15 overall record and an NIT first-round appearance.

Johnson also served as head coach of TCU from 2012-16, coaching the Horned Frogs' first four seasons in the Big 12 Conference.

Johnson has coached at the Division I level since 1986. He previously served as an assistant coach with Utah (1986-89), Washington (1989-92), Rice (1992-96), Stanford (1996-99) and Louisville (2017-18) while he also spent two seasons as a deputy analyst and director of player of development with California (2019-21).

Johnson formerly served on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Board of Directors and was inducted into the Nevada Hall of Fame in 2013.

He graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle and played collegiate basketball at Boise State (1974-78), where he ranked among the school's career leaders with 1,115 points and 702 rebounds. As a sophomore, Johnson helped lead the Broncos to the 1976 Big Sky Tournament championship title and the program's first NCAA Tournament berth. He would earn All-Big Sky honors as a senior.

Following his collegiate career, Johnson played professionally for the Washington Lumberjacks of the Western Basketball League. He returned to Boise State after his playing days to complete his degree in physical education in 1986.