Fairfield University Athletics

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Sydney Johnson Introduced As Fairfield University Head Coach 


Sydney Johnson became the 12th head coach to oversee the Fairfield University men's basketball program when he was introduced in April, 2011. Johnson joined the Stags program after spending four seasons as the head coach at his alma mater Princeton University.

Johnson is the first coach in 40 years to garner four winning seasons in MAAC play. During Johnson’s seven years at the helm, no MAAC program has more winning seasons than Sydney Johnson except for one (Iona Gaels).  Johnson’s historical achievements at Fairfield University also include:

--Most postseason appearances in school history (4-2017, 2016, 2013, 2012)

--Most postseason victories in school history (3)

--First win versus an ACC team in school history (12/21/16 vs Boston College)

--Tied for the second most winning seasons (five) in school history, joining the legendary Fred Barakat who earned five winning seasons for the Stags between 1970 to 1981

Head Coach Sydney Johnson has completed his seventh season at Fairfield University, leading the Stags to the postseason in four of those campaigns. In 2016-17, the Stags earned their second straight postseason berth and second straight winning season.  

Fairfield reached the MAAC tournament championship game in 2017-18, the second time under Johnson that the Stags played for the conference title. The Stags won finished strong once again under his guidance, posting seven straight victories that included the last four regular-season games and the first three MAAC tournament contests. 

The 2015-16 campaign included a 12 win improvement from the prior season and saw the Stags achieve the fourth best turnaround in wins in Division I basketball. In both 2012-13 and 2015-16, the Stags finished with 19 wins in each season and garnered berths to the CIT Postseason Tournament. The 2011-12 Stags reached the MAAC Tournament Championship game, the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) semifinals, and defeated Arizona State, Old Dominion, and Iona, among others, en route to a 22-win season.

Fairfield posted 41 victories under Coach Johnson in his first two seasons and 107 wins overall. His 41 wins through his first two campaigns ties him for the most by any Fairfield men's basketball coach through his first two seasons. The Stags three postseason wins in 2012-13 were the most by any team in school history. Fairfield also led the MAAC in scoring defense at 61.1 ppg in his inaugural season.

Since his arrival, seven Fairfield student-athletes have signed professional contracts, namely Rakim Sanders (Israel), Ryan Olander (Lithuania), Derek Needham (Lithuania), Colin Nickerson (Canada), Maurice Barrow (Austria), Amadou Sidibe (Spain), and Marcus Gilbert (Italy)..

In all 11 of his seasons as a head coach, Sydney Johnson has placed a player on the league's all-conference team or had a player earn an all-conference individual award. 

Fairfield University 
2017-18
Tyler Nelson First Team
2016-17 
Tyler Nelson First Team
2015-16 
Marcus Gilbert First Team
Tyler Nelson Second Team 
2014-15 
Marcus Gilbert Third Team
Tyler Nelson All-Rookie Team
2013-14 
Maurice Barrow Sixth Man of the Year
2012-13 
Derek Needham Second Team
Maurice Barrow Sixth Man of the Year
Marcus Gilber All-Rookie Team
Amadou Sidibe All-Rookie Team 
Amadou Sidibe Co-Freshman of Year
2011-12 
Rakim Sanders First Team
Derek Needham Second Team

Princeton University 
2010-11 
Kareem Maddox First Team & Defensive Player of the Year 
Dan Mavraides Second Team 
Ian Hummer Second Team
2009-10 
Douglas Davis Second Team
Dan Mavraides Second Team
2008-09 
Douglas Davis Honorable Mention 
Pawel Buczak Honorable Mention
2007-08 
Noah Savage Second Team 

Johnson has recruited and coached some of the most accomplished student-athletes in school history at two separate institutions. While at Princeton from 2008 to 2011, Johnson recruited Ian Hummer and Doug Davis. Hummer (1,625 points) and Davis (1,550) finished their careers as second and third respectively on the all-time scoring list (behind Hall of Famer Bill Bradley). 

Beginning at Fairfield in 2011-12, Johnson coached Derek Needham for two seasons on Needham's way to finishing as the school's third all-time leading scorer (1,875 points). Following Needham, Marcus Gilbert and Tyler Nelson emerged as Johnson's most recent historically great players. Gilbert ranks as the fourth most prolific scorer in school history (1,661 points); Nelson broke the school scoring record with 2,172 points and the career three-point field goal mark with 315. 

All told, Johnson has recruited and coached the #2 and #3 scorers at Princeton and the #1, #3, and #4 scorer at Fairfield. 

At Princeton, Johnson led the Tigers to the 2010-11 Ivy League championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Princeton took the University of Kentucky to the final seconds before dropping a 59-57 decision in the NCAA tournament second round. It marked the second straight season that the program advanced to postseason play, playing in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in 2009-10. During his tenure, Johnson owned a 66-53 record as the Tigers' head coach. 

Johnson helped turn around the Princeton program in his four-year stay as the Tigers posted a 6-23 overall record and a 3-11 Ivy League slate in his first season. After improving to 13-14 overall and 8-6 in Ivy play in 2008-09, Johnson led Princeton to its first 20-win season since 2004 when the team finished the year with a 22-9 overall record. That year, the Tigers tied the second-highest win total in Princeton history with a 25-7 mark. Johnson led Princeton's turnaround with an intense focus on recruiting that led to remarkable results. Both Ian Hummer and Doug Davis, the second and third all-time leading scorers respectively in Princeton history, were recruited by and played for Johnson during his time at the helm. 

Under his guidance, Princeton became one of the top defensive teams in the country. The Tigers led the nation in scoring defense during the 2009-10 season, allowing fewer total points (1652) and fewest points per game (53.3) than any other Division I team that year. 

Johnson was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year by Collegeinsider.com following the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. 

Before taking over the Princeton program, Johnson was an assistant coach at Georgetown University under John Thompson III. He helped the Hoyas advance to the program's first Final Four in 22 years. Georgetown owned a 30-7 record that season, winning the Big East regular season and tournament titles. Georgetown advanced to the postseason in all three of his years as an assistant coach which included two NCAA tournaments and one NIT berth. 

Johnson also experienced postseason play as a student-athlete, leading the Tigers to the NCAA tournament during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons. In the 1996 tournament, Princeton upset defending national champion UCLA to advance to the second round. 

As a student-athlete, Johnson earned the 1997 Ivy League Player of the Year as well as an All-Ivy League first team honors in 1995-96 and 1996-97. He is the only three-time captain in Princeton men's basketball history. He earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 1997, but decided to continue his basketball career overseas. 

He was a starter for Gorizia Pallacanestro in Italy and helped the team capture the Italian Second Division championship. The following season, he was part of another championship team as Reggio Calabria won the league title. Johnson moved on to play five more years in the top divisions of Italy and Spain including a two year stint in the Spanish league with Girona Basket and an Italian championship with Siena.