Yolanda Johnson

Biography

Yolanda Johnson enters her eighth season at Michigan State for the 2024-25 season, having guided nine Spartans to the NCAA East Preliminaries in eight seasons. Johnson joined the Michigan State track & field program in the fall of 2016 as the assistant coach in the sprints, hurdles, and sprint relays. In the 2022 outdoor season, senior Kendel Hammock had a breakout season that saw him reach the NCAA Preliminaries in the quarterfinal of the men's 400m hurdles. Prior to preliminaries, Kendel set three straight personal bests in the event under Johnson's guidance. The year prior,, the 2021 outdoor season saw Shakira Dancy qualify for the NCAA Preliminaries women's 200m. The prelims was the culmination of new heights reached by Dancy upon arriving in East Lansing to be coached by Johnson after transferring from Florida. In 2019, Johnson coached three NCAA Regional Qualifiers, including Taylor Mullins (400m hurdles), Will Agodu (110m hurdles) and Noah Burton (400m hurdles), three All-Big Ten athletes and one Big Ten champion. Will Agodu, the 2019 Big Ten Outdoor Champion in the 110m hurdles, set a new school-record with a time of 13.75 at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Agodu advanced to the NCAA East Prelims for the third-straight season under Johnson, posting a time of 13.89 in the 110m hurdle semifinals. Before coming to Michigan State, Johnson spent the last six years as the head coach and founder of the FK Elite Track and Field Club. FK Elite is a non-profit youth track cl