Pitt women’s basketball coach Tory Verdi continues to retool his roster after a difficult debut season in Pittsburgh.
Mikayla Johnson — a 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore guard from Colorado — announced Monday afternoon that she’s committed to Pitt, the third transfer portal addition of the spring for the Panthers.
“Let Go, Let God,” she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Johnson, an Anchorage, Ala. native, spent two seasons at Colorado before hitting the transfer portal earlier this year. She arrived in Boulder, Col. as an early enrollee in 2022, redshirting her freshman season and emerged as a reserve option last season.
Johnson played in 15 games as a second-year freshman, averaging 1.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists in 4.5 minutes per game. She shot 44.8% from the field (18.2% from beyond the arc) and 33% from the free throw line.
In a matchup against Oregon in the first round of the 2024 Pac-12 tournament, Johnson poured in five points and grabbed three rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
She was a standout at Bartlett High as a senior, earning Cook Inlet Conference Player of the Year honors as she averaged 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Pitt was in need of some talent from the portal after losing forward Gabby Hutcherson, forward Rapuluchi Ayodele, All-ACC forward Liatu King and guard Jasmine Timmerson to the portal.
The retooling has included commitments from Johnson, Kentucky transfer guard Brooklynn Miles and Clemson transfer forward MaKayla Elmore.
Verdi and his staff will continue to pursue the portal after an 8-24 (2-16 ACC) season in what was the head coach’s first year with the Panthers.
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