Coming Home: Kerron Johnson's Journey from Player to Coach at Belmont

Homecoming game against Indiana State, Feb. 22

As a former basketball standout and currently a third-year member of the Belmont coaching staff, Kerron Johnson (’13) understands better than most the legacy he’s now helping to shape for the Bruins basketball program.  The Huntsville, Alabama native was elevated to assistant coach in May 2024, signifying his full-circle journey.  

Johnson played professional basketball overseas in New Zealand, Germany, France, Poland, Italy and Israel after graduation. Now back at his alma mater, he is coaching under his former mentor and coach, Casey Alexander. 

"I've been blessed," Johnson reflected. "It's not often, well, hardly ever, that players get to come back and coach with the guys who coached them. You can't write this." 

Playing Forward Perseverance

The transition from player to coach has given Johnson a unique perspective on the program that helped shape him. His coaching philosophy has been deeply influenced by his playing days at Belmont, particularly the lessons of perseverance he learned as a student-athlete. 

 "The coaching staff did a great job — even though it was uncomfortable at times — pushing me to be the best version of myself." 

Now, Johnson finds himself on the other side of those tough conversations, drawing from his own experiences to mentor current players. "There's no feeling or emotion or frustration that you have that I haven't had," he tells his players. "I try to give them space to be angry or upset or express their feelings, because I can understand those things." 

Johnson was inducted into the Belmont Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021. Throughout his four-year playing career as a Bruin, he experienced the program's conference transitions from the Atlantic Sun to the Ohio Valley Conference which afforded him the distinct privilege of joining an exclusive list of players in college basketball history to earn conference tournament Most Valuable Player honors in two different leagues (Atlantic Sun, 2012; OVC, 2013).

Now as an assistant coach, he's helping guide the team as it works to establish itself among competition in the Missouri Valley Conference.  

"It’s a physical and prestigious league and Belmont is receiving wider exposure on a bigger stage because of it," Johnson said regarding the transition into the MVC. "It's cool to see the University and the program continue to take steps forward."  

For Johnson, every day at Belmont is a kind of homecoming. As an alumnus and former player, he intimately understands that homecoming is more than just another game, it's a celebration of the program's past, present and future — a continuation of the legacy he once helped build as a player and now helps sustain as a coach. 

"Hopefully for homecoming, you'll see a celebration of the program in general," Johnson said. "A bunch of guys come back for the game. Homecoming is a culmination of celebrating the past and moving into the future." 

When the Bruins take the court against Indiana State, Johnson will be where he belongs – home at Belmont, helping guide the next generation of players. It's a homecoming story that continues to unfold, one game at a time.