Heather Johnson (Everhart), one of the most decorated athletes in the history of Grace College, is set to start her eighth season at the helm of the softball program.
Johnson has patiently worked at rebuilding Grace's program. The Lady Lancers had a season to remember in 2015. Grace (32-27) posted its first winning season in 18 years and eclipsed the 30-win plateau for the first time in 21 years. Grace tied a program record with 19 league wins and had two players earn All-American accolades.
The Lady Lancers experienced a breakout season in 2014, enjoying the team's most wins (29) since 1994 and a fourth-place finish at the NCCAA National Championships. Prior to Grace's run at the 2014 NCCAA Nationals, the Lady Lancers had not reached a national tournament since 1997. The 2014 and 2015 campaigns marked the first back-to-back national tournaments in team history.
Her successful recruiting has produced the best offensive talents in Lady Lancer history. Johnson, who was Grace’s first NAIA All-American in 1994, has the unique distinction of both being and coaching an All-American. Johnson's strong recruiting pedigree can be seen in Grace's recent revision of the record books. Of the top seven players on Grace's career hits list, six of the Lady Lancers have played under Johnson.Â
In her four years playing softball at Grace, Johnson was chosen to every All-Tournament or All-Conference team that the Lancers took part in. Heather reserved her spot in Lancer history by setting career records such as 783 innings pitched and 727 strikeouts. She averaged 6.5 strikeouts, per seven inning game for her career. Her final pitching stats boast a career record of 86 wins, only 29 losses, and an outstanding career ERA of 0.92 runs per game.
In her senior season, she was named an NAIA All-American and took the Lancers on their first-ever trip to the National Tournament in Columbia, Mo. During their Cinderella postseason run, Johnson and Grace picked up four victories, including a win over NAIA No. 1 ranked and No. 1-seeded Kennesaw State (44-2) of Georgia.  After her senior season, Heather was honored by USA Softball when she was invited to the Olympic tryouts in June 1994.
For her athletic efforts, Johnson was elected into the inaugural 2008 class of the Grace College Lancer Hall of Fame. In her senior season (1994), Heather set school records with 238 innings pitched, most wins in a season with 28, most strikeouts in a season with 253, and the lowest ERA for a single season at 0.56 runs per game.
Upon graduation from Grace in 1994, she served under the late Coach Phil Dick as an assistant softball coach on the Lancers staff for one year before taking over as the head softball coaching in the inaugural season at Montreat College in Montreat, N.C. During her first season as a head coach and the first year for the softball program in 1996, Montreat finished fourth in TVAC while knocking off four top-10 NAIA teams during the year. Johnson was named TVAC Coach of the year after going 20-26.Â
In 1997 Johnson moved to NCAA Div. II Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N.C. She served on the volleyball staff for one year before getting into administration where she completed her master’s degree in business administration and served as the director of facilities. In 2001 Johnson returned to coaching at her alma mater, Northwest High School in Canal Fulton, Ohio, as the head softball coach. Johnson directed the softball program at Northwest from 2001-05, taking over a struggling program that went 6-19 during her first year at the helm. In 2003 they went 12-12 and in 2004 the team finished 17-9 while advancing to the regional championship first time in school history.
The Johnsons are the proud parents of three beautiful children: Grace, Taft and Mack.
