USF Athletics

Chris Johns joined the USF coaching staff in July 2021 as a volunteer assistant and earned a full-time role on the coaching staff in 2023. He brought over 10 years of coaching experience with him to South Florida including stops at Northwest Florida State College, Hofstra, Iowa Western Community College and the University of Northern Colorado.

Johns’ has put together a proven track record of both team and individual success, winning a pair of National Championships and sending 51 players onto the professional level including three that have reached the Big Leagues. 

In his three seasons with the Bulls, USF has collected a number of Top 25 wins including No. 7 Florida, No. 13 Maryland and No. 5 East Carolina while reaching the AAC Tournament Semifinals in 2023. With Johns on staff, four Bulls have signed professional contracts including Carmine Lane, Brad Lord, Orion Kerkering, and Jack Josiak. Johns also worked with 2023 First Team All-AAC recipients Bobby Boser and Drew Brutcher. Boser again earned First Team honors in 2024. Johns saw his role expand to working with the pitching staff in 2024 as the Bulls team ERA went down a full run from the previous year.  

Prior to joining the Bulls, Johns served as an Assistant Coach at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville where he helped lead the Raiders to 157 wins in five seasons including a Panhandle Conference Championship in 2019. Ten of Johns’ players were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft during his time with the Raiders. 

Johns spent two seasons at Hofstra University as the Pitching Coach, leading his staff to the lowest team ERA in school history in 2014.

In 2009 Johns reunited with his former college pitching coach Marc Rardin at Iowa Western Community College and together the pair won NJCAA National Championships in 2010 and 2012.  In his four seasons with the Reivers, Johns helped lead Iowa Western to a 195-62 (.759) record and four NJCAA Region XI Championships while seven players were drafted by Major League Baseball organizations. 

Johns began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Northern Colorado while also spending his summers coaching in the New England Collegiate League and the Northwoods League. 

A Colorado native, Johns began his collegiate playing career at Lamar Community College where he continues to hold the program’s all-time wins record with 21. He was an All-American in 2003, going 12-0 with a 1.38 ERA and was the 2004 Baseball America Preseason Pitcher of the Year.  After graduating from Lamar, he signed at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette before finishing his career at the University of Northern Colorado where he pitched the Bears to wins over #2 Nebraska and Big 12 Champion Kansas among others.

Johns married the former Tara Arnold in the fall of 2022. Arnold serves on the USF women's basketball staff as coordinator of basketball operations.