Coaching Staff

Tessa Johnston | Assistant Coach

Former Emory & Henry College standout Tessa Johnston was announced as Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft’s lead assistant women’s basketball coach in June, 2022.
 
Johnston, who played for the Wasps from 2015 through 2019 and helped her class to a best-ever 83 wins in that span, comes to Shenandoah after serving as a graduate assistant coach at DIII power DeSales University from 2019 through 2021.
 
Johnston helped the Bulldogs to a MAC Freedom Conference championship in 2020 with a 13-1 league mark before advancing into the NCAA Tournament. She came about that experience after being selected to be a part of the Women’s Basketball Association’s “So You Want To Be A Coach” program in 2019.
 
After earning her master’s degree in academic leadership and reform, Johnston returned to her undergraduate alma mater to be an assistant women’s basketball coach while also serving as an adjunct professor in the health and human performance department.
 
She helped E&H transition to NCAA Division II in this time while serving the athletic department in both the sports information department and with the student-athlete advisory committee.
 
Her coaching experience also includes time with AAU programs and on the summer camp circuit as well as a volunteer at the high school level.
 
Johnston is involved in all aspects of the Shenandoah University program including practice and game management, player development, academic monitoring, recruiting, and scouting.