The message delivered: she’s back for another run at it.
The junior, a first-team All-ACC selection in 2026, had put her name into the transfer portal last week, after UVA Athletics fired Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who had just led Virginia to a surprise Sweet 16 appearance, but was also, reportedly, the subject of an internal investigation that included allegations of staff mistreatment within the program.
Johnson, a five-star prep recruit, was the foundational piece of the rebuild that Agugua-Hamilton was trying to engineer in her four-year tenure, a five-star recruit from literally just down the street – Johnson played her high-school ball at St. Anne’s-Belfield.
KJ averaged 19.5 points and 5.9 assists in 37.2 minutes per game in the 2025-2026 season.
Olivia McGhee, another local kid who was a four-star recruit out of high school, is also coming back after having entered the portal, so, more good news there.
This is a sign that the new hire, Aaron Roussell, who had led Richmond to three NCAA Tournament appearances in the past four seasons, is going over well internally, which, that’s a good place to start.
Roussell picked up another commitment from a familiar place – Erica Gribble, the 3A state player of the year in Pennsylvania, who had signed with UR last year, flipped her commitment, and is now following Roussell to UVA.
Gribble, a 5’11” guard, is a four-star prep recruit and consensus Top 100 player in the Class of 2026.
Archives: UVA Basketball
- UVA Basketball: Everything you need to know about the dismissal of Coach Mox, what’s next
- UVA Basketball: Williams lands UR’s Aaron Roussell to head up women’s hoops program
- UVA Basketball: Who can Aaron Roussell bring with him from Richmond?
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Chris Graham
