Valley City State University

Vanessa Johnson is in her eighth season as head coach of the Valley City State University women’s basketball program. 

In Johnson's first season at VCSU, the Vikings set a school record with 25 wins, won the NSAA Conference Tournament, and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament for the fifth time in school history. Valley City State University finished the year ranked No. 14 in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Senior Lexi Lennon earned 1st Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-American, and junior Alli Vandal was named 2nd Team All-Conference.

Johnson's 2017-18 team finished the year with a 25-5 overall record and set new school records for wins (25), winning percentage (.833), scoring average (76.5 points/game), shooting percentage (.463) and free throw percentage (.769).

In 2018-19, the Vikings went 10-4 in conference play and 14-14 overall as they finished third in the NSAA standings. Junior center Mackenzie Huber was named 1st Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-American, while seniors Hannah Schlecht and Alli Vandal were named Honorable Mention All-Conference.

In 2019-20, Valley City State went 9-5 in conference play and 12-14 overall as they finished fourth in the NSAA standings. Senior center Mackenzie Huber was named 1st Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-American, while junior forward Macey Kvilvang was named Honorable Mention All-Conference.

In 2020-21, the Vikings finished with a 6-8 record in the NSAA and an 8-13 record overall as they finished sixth in the conference standings. Senior forward Macey Kvilvang was named NSAA Defensive Player of the Year and senior guard Maara Nelson was named 1st Team All-Conference.

In 2021-2022, the Vikings finished with a 10-15 overall record and a 7-7 mark in the NSAA to finish in third place in the conference standings. Freshman Ashlyn Diemert was named NSAA Freshman of the Year while Adriana Torres earned 2nd Team All-Conference and Taryn Dieterle was named Honorable Mention All-Conference.

In 2022-23, VCSU went 7-7 in the conference to finish fifth in the NSAA standings. The Vikings finished with a 14-14 overall record. Sophomore Ashlyn Diemert earned 2nd Team All-Conference and senior Taryn Dieterle was named Honorable Mention All-Conference.

The Vikings finished with a 13-14 overall record and a 7-5 conference mark in 2023-24. VCSU finished third in the NSAA regular season standings. Ashlyn Diemert earned 1st Team All-Conference while JayCee Richter and Hailey Roberts each earned Honorable Mention All-Conference on the season.

VCSU went 15-14 overall and 6-9 in the North Star in 2024-25 to finish in fifth place in the conference standings. VCSU upset Bellevue in the NSAA opening round before falling to top-seed Dakota State in the NSAA Semifinals. Abby Aslesen earned NSAA Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention All-Conference for her contributions on the court. Ashlyn Diemert earned 2nd Team All-Conference, JayCee Richter earned Honorable Mention All-Conference, and Ellie Braaten was named to the NSAA All-Defense team.

A native of Hartford, S.D., Johnson joined VCSU after working one year as head girls basketball coach and elementary reading specialist at Detroit Lakes Public Schools (Minn.).

Prior to that, Johnson was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Minnesota State University Moorhead for three seasons. In her final season at MSUM she helped the Dragons to 21 wins, the NSIC North Division title and their 16th straight winning season.

Johnson played collegiate basketball for four seasons, including two at South Dakota State University and two at the University of Sioux Falls.

She graduated from the University of Sioux Falls with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education (2013) and earned a Master of Educational Leadership from Minnesota State University Moorhead (2016).