Torino Johnson

After an outstanding 2022-23 campaign that resulted in the Golden Eagles’ first NCAA appearance since 2012, Torino Johnson returns for his fifth season as the head coach of Cal State LA’s women’s basketball program. Johnson continued the Golden Eagles’ upward trajectory as one of the most improved teams in the country after leading the program to a 20-win season for the first time in a decade and for only the fourth time in program history.

Cal State LA recorded an overall record of 20-10 and came just one victory away from tying the program record for most wins in a season. Johnson led the Golden Eagles to a third-place finish in the California Collegiate Athletic Association for a second straight season, this time with a 16-6 record that established a new program record for conference wins in a season.

The Golden Eagles won a first-round conference tournament game over Sonoma State before falling to eventual tourney champion Cal State San Marcos in the semifinals.

Cal State LA earned the No. 5 seed in the NCAA West Regional and fell to No. 4 seed Montana State Billings in a hard-fought battle to end the season.

Johnson has also overseen a tremendous uptick in academic achievement as the team recorded a new high in grade point average. After the season, Cal State LA was among those schools honored by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association for having a team grade point average above a 3.0.

Johnson has led Cal State LA to a 46-39 overall record in his first three seasons as the head coach, including a 38-25 record in conference play. Cal State LA has collected 10 All-CCAA, 1 All-Region, 1 All-American, 2 CCAA Freshman of the Year awards, 1 CCAA Elite 13 Award for academic achievement and 4 CSC Academic All-District awards during his tenure. In addition, his teams have earned Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Academic honors in the past two seasons.

The big 2022-23 season was a nice follow-up to the brilliant return to play Johnson directed for the Golden Eagles in 2021-22.

Johnson led the Golden Eagles to a third-place finish in the CCAA, which matched the best conference finish in program history. Cal State LA went on to win a first-round game in the CCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 and the Golden Eagles built a double-digit halftime lead against eventual champion Cal State East Bay in the semifinals in another strong showing.

Johnson, a talented coach with a lengthy record of success, began the process of rebuilding the Golden Eagles in earnest when he took over as the head coach prior to the 2019-20 season. Johnson had spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Cal State LA.

Johnson has instituted a prolific offense attack that shattered program records in 3-point shooting. The 2019-20 team set new single-season marks for 3-pointers made with 190, 3-pointers attempted with 532 and 3-point percentage made with .357. The previous mark for 3-pointers made had stood since 2002-03 and is now at 199 after the 2022-23 team upped the bar.

Johnson led the Golden Eagles to a three-game improvement from 2018-19 and to a four-game increase in CCAA victories. Cal State LA finished just one game out of a conference tournament spot.

In addition, the Golden Eagles earned just the second CCAA Freshman of the Year award in program history and the first since the 2003-04 season when Flennaugh nabbed the honor. It was the first major conference award for the Golden Eagles since a Newcomer of the Year award in 2011-12.

Johnson was a steadying force as the top assistant coach during a challenging 2018-19 season that saw the Golden Eagles slip to a 9-18 overall record and miss the CCAA Tournament. Johnson was active revamping Cal State LA’s lineup with a solid group of returners and a promising list of newcomers.

In his first year with the Golden Eagles, Johnson helped lead Cal State LA to a 14-15 overall record, including a 13-9 record in conference play in 2017-18. The Golden Eagles had just one senior on their team and yet finished just one game out of third place in the CCAA. Cal State LA had a 9-4 record at home and qualified for the CCAA Tournament.

Before coming to Cal State LA, Johnson was one of the most decorated and influential high school coaches in California while transforming Palisades Charter High School into a Southern California power. He led his teams to four Los Angeles City CIF Championships in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016 and his teams made seven California State tournament appearances. He concluded his high school coaching career with an overall record of 203-134.

Johnson earned multiple coaching accolades from his peers and was a four-time recipient of the Los Angeles City Section Coach of the Year (2012, 2015-17) and was the Cal-High California State Coach of the Year in 2016.

In addition to his success at Palisades Charter High School, Johnson supported Team USA as a court coach in 2015, giving him the opportunity to develop and train USA Olympic Players and future collegiate student-athletes. Following that experience, he piloted the Los Angeles region USA Basketball Open Court basketball program. The national program provided safe spaces for boys and girls 18-years-old and under to learn and play pick-up basketball on select Saturday evening.

Johnson is a lifelong learner and prides himself on relationship-building. His coaching mentors include George Raveling, Rich Sheubrooks, Gary Colson, Jim Burson, Colleen Matsuhara, and the late John Wooden.

Johnson is a Southern California native who attended Manual Arts and Susan Miller Dorsey High schools in Los Angeles. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sports and Health Sciences with a coaching concentration from American Public University in Charles Town, West Virginia.