Rayshawn Johnson, a former Division I sprinter and hurdler at Liberty University, was hired as an assistant track coach in August 2024. He enters his second year coaching Pepperdine’s sprinters and hurdlers in 2025-26. Under his guidance the 400-meter hurdles record was set.
In May 2024, Johnson earned his master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Liberty. While earning his master’s degree, Johnson not only competed for the Flames, but also helped his team as a volunteer assistant coach for the hurdlers and jumpers from 2022-24. On the track, he specialized in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles outdoors, the 60-meter hurdles indoors and also competed in the relay events.
As a senior, Johnson finished ninth in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2024 Conference USA Outdoor Track Championships and ninth in the 60-meter hurdles at the CUSA Indoor Championships. During his first season at Liberty, he placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles at the ASUN Outdoor Track Championships to help the Flames win their fourth-consecutive ASUN title.
Outside the track, Johnson earned Conference USA’s Spring Spirit of Service Award for participating in local elementary literacy programs by reading to second-grade classes on a weekly basis. He also helped raise $8,600 for Lynchburg students and teachers.
He began his collegiate career at Saint Peter’s University in 2018, where he spent his first four years before transferring to Liberty. At Saint Peter’s, Johnson served as the Student Athletic Advisory Council president and was a team captain for three seasons. Johnson graduated with his bachelor’s degree in marketing management in 2022.
Outside of collegiate track, Johnson served as a coach for a variety of high school and club track teams in his home state of New Jersey, including the Bayonne Track Club, the Tri-State Elite Track Club and Willingboro High School’s hurdles and jumps event groups.
In high school, Johnson graduated from the Burlington County Institute of Technology in 2018 after winning New Jersey state titles in the 55-meter hurdles, the shuttle hurdle relay and both the indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relays as a senior. Additionally, he was a national qualifier in the 4x400-meter relay during his senior year.
