Huskers Add All-SoCon Guard Claire Johnson

Nebraska secured its fourth women's basketball transfer of the spring with the addition of All-Southern Conference selection Claire Johnson, Husker Head Coach Amy Williams announced on Monday, May 5.

“We are thrilled to be adding Claire Johnson to the Husker women’s basketball family," Williams said. "Claire is coming off an outstanding freshman campaign where she showcased her versatility, efficiency and ability to impact games. Her skillset coupled with her maturity, focus and work ethic make her the perfect fit for the Huskers.”

Johnson averaged 12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals as a freshman at Samford in 2024-25. The 5-9 guard from Paducah, Ky., came on strong down the stretch for the Bulldogs, starting the team's final 14 games to earn second-team All-SoCon honors. Over the final 10 games of the season, Johnson averaged nearly 19 points while adding 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. She also claimed a spot on the SoCon All-Tournament team after going for 19 points and a career-high seven rebounds in a narrow loss to Wofford (March 6).

Johnson showed her explosiveness in midseason, earning SoCon Player-of-the-Week honors (Feb. 4) after averaging 28.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in back-to-back games against Western Carolina and UNC Greensboro. She opened the week with a then-career-high 26 points on a then-career-high five three-pointers to go with a career-high four steals against Western Carolina (Jan. 30), before erupting for a career-high 30 points and career highs of nine made field goals and nine made free throws against UNCG (Feb. 1). 

For the season, Johnson played in 30 games with 14 starts for Samford, hitting 47.2 percent (120-174) of her shots from the field, including a sizzling 40.4 percent (61-151) of her three-pointers. She also knocked down 87.7 percent (64-73) of her free throws. She played at least 30 minutes in each of her final 11 games of the season.

In her collegiate debut, Johnson scored 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting with a pair of three-pointers to go with four rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench in a loss at Tennessee (Nov. 5). Two games later, she added 13 points and two more threes at Memphis, before scoring eight points at Florida State (Nov. 14). Later in the non-conference campaign, she added 10 points on perfect shooting (3-3 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT) at TCU (Dec. 17).

For the season, Johnson produced double figures 18 times, including nine of the last 10 games. She hit multiple three-pointers in a game 18 times, including a career-high six against Western Carolina in the regular-season finale (March 1). She also hit six threes in just 19 minutes off the bench against Berry College (Jan. 4).

Johnson committed to Samford following her junior season at McCracken County High School, where she was one of 16 finalists for Kentucky Miss Basketball honors as the Region 1 Player of the Year as a senior in 2023-24. She scored more than 2,000 points during her high school career and finished her senior season with 878 total points (23.1 ppg). She also ranked fifth in the state in free throw percentage (.844). She led the Mustangs to the 2024 KHSAA state championship game with a 39-point performance in a state semifinal win over Butler. She was a member of the 2024 KHSAA All-Tournament team. She averaged 17 points per game for McCracken County as a junior, and began playing for the Mustangs varsity team while she was still in junior high school. McCracken County went 98-10 in her final three seasons.

The valedictorian of her high school class, Johnson scored 26 points in the Kentucky-Ohio All-Star game following her senior season. She was also invited to play in the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star game, but did not participate.

Johnson joins 2025 transfers Eliza Maupin (Kansas State), Hailey Weaver (Northwestern), Emily Fisher (Maryland) and 2025 high school senior Alanna Neale (Ontario Christian, Calif.) as newcomers to the 2025-26 Nebraska roster.