18 National – Matt Johann
COACH JOHANN comes to downstate after two seasons as an assistant at Cornell University. In his two seasons with the Big Red, Johann helped the team to a pair of third place finishes in the Ivy League. Cornell amassed a 14-10 overall and 9-5 conference record in 2018, building on this in 2019 and finishing the season with a 17-6 overall record and 8-4 mark in conference play. The team’s 17 wins marked the most since 2006 when the team won 18 matches. The Big Red went on an 11-match win streak during the 2019 season. The last time Cornell stacked that many wins in a row was 2003. Following the season, four Cornell players were named All-Ivy for the second consecutive year.
Johann went to Cornell after a three-season stint as an assistant at Syracuse University. Johann joined the Orange coaching staff in the summer of 2015. During the 2015 season the Orange ranked #1 in the nation for blocks per set and finished with an RPI of 57. During his three seasons with Syracuse, the Orange posted an overall record of 52-45 and a mark of 32-28 in the ACC. He also coached a pair of AVCA Regional All-Americans, two first-team All-ACC honorees and one second-team All-ACC selection.
Johann went to Syracuse after serving as a graduate assistant coach of the women’s volleyball program at Westminster College of Pennsylvania. While at Westminster, he worked with a squad that produced three all-conference honorees and qualified for conference tournament postseason play. He was responsible for aspects of player development and program management including statistical data, practice planning, scouting reports, and academic achievement.
Johann went to Westminster College after graduating from Juniata College. At Juniata College, Johann served as a student assistant coach and was a part of a Men’s DIII national runner-up team that boasted four AVCA All-Americans. This team finished each week in the top 3 of the AVCA Men’s DIII Poll. Johann was responsible for aspects of player development, statistical data and was a coordinator with Special Olympics of Pennsylvania tournaments during his time there.
Johann has been serving as a coach for USA High Performance Volleyball since 2012. He has served in multiple roles including Head Coach of the Youth and Select Continental Team at HPC’s, Associate Head Coach of the A2 Program and most recently as Technical Coordinator during training in Anaheim for the 2019 Boys’ Youth National Team.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., Johann graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in education from Juniata College.