Ashley Johnston - Gymnastics Coach

Ashley Johnston

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
ashleyj@ia.ua.edu
Phone:
205-963-5700

Personal Information

Hometown: Wheaton, Ill.
Education: Alabama, 2011 (bachelor's); Alabama, 2013 (master's)
Spouse: Jason
Children: Colton, Josie

Coaching Experience

2022-present: Alabama, Head Coach
2019-22: Auburn, Associate Head Coach
2018: Illinois, Assistant Coach

Playing Experience

2009-2013: Alabama

Ashley Johnston, a 10-time All-American and member of Alabama's national championship winning teams in 2011 and 2012, is entering her fifth year as head coach of the Alabama gymnastics program.

Johnston was named the head coach of her alma mater on May 23, 2022, becoming the program's seventh head coach since 1974 and just the third since 1979.

Johnston's Time at Alabama (Head Coach)

2026 Season

In her fourth season as head coach, Johnston:
- Named the Central Region Coach of the Year by the WCGA
- Led Alabama to its 44th-straight NCAA Regionals appearance as the Tide has advanced every year since 1982 - except for the 2020 season getting cancelled due to COVID-19
- With its No. 9 final ranking, Johnston saw the Tide secure a top-12 national finish - a feat its achieved every year in program history
- Under her guidance, the Crimson Tide was one of only two teams in the nation, and the only Central region team, to score above 197 in every meet of 2026
- Led the Tide to its highest regular-season finish in 10 years, as Alabama spent close to 60% of its season ranked in the top-three nationally
- Under Johnston's leadership, rookie standout Azaraya Ra-Akbar became the first UA freshman since 1999, and fourth overall, to be named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year
- Ra-Akbar was the only Central region gymnast to score a 10.000 on bars - first UA gymnast since 2023 and first UA freshman since 1999
- Coached premier program specialist Chloe LaCoursiere to the nation's top uneven bars performer for nine straight weeks - the most consecutive weeks of any gymnast in the nation - with 12 straight scores of 9.950 or better on bars and more than half of her 42 routines being scored 9.900 or higher this season
- Saw three gymnasts (Ryan Fuller - 9.900; Kylee Kvamme - 9.950; Gabby Ladanyi - 9.900) earn All-SEC honors at the SEC Championships
- Kvamme finished as the third-ranked gymnast in the Central region on the event, with a 9.930 NQS
- Saw close to 45,000 fans pour into Coleman Coliseum throughout Alabama's home season - the second most in the region and third most in the SEC
- Helped guide the Tide's bars unit to a program-record 49.700 score against Illinois and saw UA's floor squad earn a top-four-program score of 49.675 against Oregon State
- Mainly overseeing the balance beam, she directed the Tide to a season-high 49.525 score against Auburn
- Had the Tide's balance beam rotation ranked in the top two of the Central region every week of the season except for Week 1 due to no scheduled competition

2025 Season

In her third season as head coach, Johnston:
- Led UA to its 40th appearance at the NCAA Championships after a come-from-behind, second-place finish at the Tuscaloosa Regional Final
- With the regional finish, Johnston saw the Tide secure a top-12 national finish - a feat its achieved every year in program history
- Guided the Crimson Tide to a Session 1 victory at the SEC Championships, despite entering as the No. 8 seed
- Led Alabama to its 43rd-straight NCAA Regionals appearance, as the Tide has advanced every year since 1982 with the exception of the 2020 season getting cancelled
- Saw close to 9,000 fans at every home meet with a season-high 11,166 crowd for its annual Power of Pink meet against Auburn
- 48,786 regular-season attendance total - second-highest in the SEC and third-highest in the nation
- Oversaw a rotation score of 49.675 on floor inside Bud Walton Arena, at Arkansas - tied for the fourth-highest in school history and the highest of the season
- The feat propelled Alabama to becoming the first team all year to defeat Arkansas inside Bud Walton
- While overseeing the balance beam unit, she directed the Tide to a season-high, and meet-high, score of 49.500 at the Tuscaloosa Regional Final to propel Alabama into a coveted top-two finish

2024 Season

In her second season as head coach, Johnston:
- Guided Alabama to its 39th NCAA Championships appearance, after finishing second in the Ann Arbor Regional
- Led the Tide to its 42nd-straight NCAA Regionals appearance, as the Tide has advanced every year since 1982 with the exception of the 2020 season getting cancelled
- Guided UA to its 21st top-two finish in the last 25 years at the SEC Championships, as Alabama still remains the only school in the league to have never finished outside the top four of the conference championship meet
Alabama posted three team scores of 198+ in a single season for the first time under Johnston's leadership, and the program's second time in three years
Saw 9,000+ fans arrive to Coleman for every home meet with a season-high 12,586 crowd for the program's 20th annual Power of Pink meet against Georgia - an average of 10,595 fans
Oversaw a program-record mark of 49.750 scored on the floor exercise en route to the Tide's 198.075 total against Georgia - tied for the third-highest in school history
Guided Alabama to a 49.0-or-higher score in every rotation of the season
Oversaw the Tide's balance beam unit that posted a season-high score of 49.625 on the apparatus as 33 routines were scored a 9.9-or-higher

2023 Season

In her first season as head coach, Johnston:
- Led the Tide to its 41st-straight NCAA Regionals appearance
- Guided Alabama to its 20th top-two finish in the last 24 seasons at the SEC Championships, remaining as the only school in conference play to never finish outside the top four of the conference championship
UA scored a 49.000-or-higher rotation score in every rotation of the season under Johnston's guidance
Alabama finished the season ranked 10th nationally and concluded the regular season ranked second regionally and third in the conference with a NQS of 197.720
Had the Tide finish the regular season ranked third in the region and fourth in the conference, while also holding a top-10 national ranking on vault with a NQS of 49.380

At Auburn and Illinois

Started her collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Illinois during the 2018 season
Named the 2019 WGCA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year in her first season with Auburn
Helped lead the Tigers to a fourth-place national finish last season, their highest in program history
Served on the Auburn gymnastics coaching staff for four seasons, finishing her tenure as associate head coach

Coaching Prior to Collegiate Gymnastics

Began her coaching career at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy
Worked with CGA head coach Mary Lee Tracy at the Elite and developmental level
Coached the floor exercise and balance beam optional program

At Alabama (Student-Athlete)

Concluded her collegiate career with four team championship rings, winning NCAA titles in 2011 and 2012, as well as SEC championships in 2009 and 2011
Member of five NCAA Regional Championship teams
NCAA Woman of the Year, Top-30
10-time All-American
Five-time NCAA Regional champion
Two-time SEC champion and three-year All-SEC honoree
Awarded the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
Four-year Scholastic All-American
Five-year SEC Academic Honor Roll member
Three-year team captain
UA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President
Paul W. Bryant Scholar-Athlete Award
National and International
Seven-year member of the U.S. National Team
A Senior International Elite, she was a member of the 2006 USA World Championship team, finishing 10th in the all-around and helping the U.S. to the silver medal
Second in the all-around at the 2008 International Exchange
Competing for Team USA, Johnston won the balance beam and uneven bars at the 2006 U.S. World Cup in Lyon, France and earned silver and bronze medals in the balance beam and floor exercise, respectively, at the 2006 World Cup event in Ghent, Belgium
Silver medalist on balance beam at the 2005 Massilia Gym Cup in Marseilles, France

About Johnston

Graduated from Alabama in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in Spanish before earning her master's in marketing in 2013, also at Alabama
Johnston and her husband Jason, have a son, Colton, and a daughter, Josie