American University women’s basketball’s leading scorer, Emily Johns, has committed to Wake Forest for her final year of eligibility, she announced on April 1. Johns is the first of five Eagles in the transfer portal to commit.
Johns led the team in total scoring and points per game each of the past two years and was fourth in both stats in the 2021-22 season when the team won the Patriot League Championship.
The three players ahead of her in scoring that year, Jade Edwards, Taylor Brown and Emily Fisher, all also sought greener pastures and transferred to DePaul University, North Dakota State University and Texas Christian University, respectively. Johns only missed two matches in her 102-game AU career and started in all but one game in the past two seasons.
The 6’ 1” forward has been American’s most consistent player during her tenure, and the team relies heavily on her contributions over the past four years.
Wake Forest’s head coach Megan Gebbia was American’s head coach from 2013-2022 and worked with Johns for two years. Assistant coaches Nikki Flores and Emily Stallings both followed Gebbia from American to Wake Forest. Digital Media & Recruiting Content Manager Samantha Rinkus made the switch from Eagles to Demon Deacons in the same year. Wake Forest’s Director of Women's Basketball Sports Performance Dustin Dailey previously worked at American as a strength and conditioning intern, though he and Johns did not overlap.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons went 7-25 this past season after Florida State ended their season in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. American posted a 10-20 record against relatively weak competition compared to Wake Forest. Eight ACC teams qualified for March Madness, while league champion Holy Cross was the only Patriot League team to appear.
Johns and American head coach Tiffany Coll both respectfully declined to comment.
Gebbia did not respond to requests for comment.
This article was edited by Delaney Hoke and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Ariana Kavoossi.
