Johnson named Lady Gators new coach

Published 8:44 pm Saturday, April 25, 2026 Brad Johnson was content with retirement from coaching, joking to a friend that the Boston Celtics was the one job that could lure him back to the hardwood. Instead of the Celtic green, Johnson has opted for Gator green – formally introduced as Greenwood’s girls’ basketball coach on Friday. The longtime coach, who most recently spent two years as head coach of the Edmonson County boys’ basketball team, replaces Terrance Williams – who spent three years as the Lady Gators head coach. “I’m very excited,” Johnson said. “I’ve been out of coaching a couple of years and the timing is really good for me. Our last child is leaving for college, so we’ve kind of got an empty nest. My wife loves basketball, loves me coaching. I got a call when this came open from a good friend that I really trust. He said, ‘Coach, you really need to take a look at this job.’ There is a lot of potential here and the culture is good. I’ve got a few more grey hairs since the last time I coached, but I still have a burning desire for it. I’ve been keeping up, so I am super excited to get going.” While his previous stop was at Edmonson County, Johnson is no stranger to girls’ basketball in the area. He previously coached girls’ basketball at Ohio County, Grayson County and Barren County. Johnson won 114 games at Grayson County and won 152 games in six seasons at Ohio County, which included three Region 3 titles. He inherits a team that finished 15-17 last year, advancing to the Region 4 and pushing the eventual region champion Franklin-Simpson to overtime in the opening round. The Lady Gators return a strong nucleus, including top scorers Molly Spidel and Anzlee Hendrix. Johnson said he sees potential for the group with a core of very coachable kids. “I’ve watched some film on these girls, some games from the prior years,” Johnson said. “To be honest, it kind of reminds me of some of the teams I have had. There is some size and quickness. We want to try to play up-tempo as much as we can. We want to be the team that other teams don’t want to play.” And while the talent is there, Johnson added he also knows it will be a challenge in a district that has been dominated by Bowling Green in recent years and a region full of title contenders. “Yeah, I’ve kept up,” Johnson said. “I hired Piper (Lindsey) at Barren County when I was principal, so I have followed her and admired what she has done. Franklin is really good. A couple of other teams are assembling good teams, getting that together, so we hope to be right there. We may not be there in December, but we hope to be there in March.” For now, Johnson said he wants to hit the ground running and get started guiding this program. “I’ve got some people in mind for the staff,” Johnson said. “I want to get in the gym as soon as possible. If they will go at 6 in the morning, I will be here at 6 in the morning. Hopefully we will get them in two or three times a week and get some sweat rolling and start getting to go the way we want.” I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.