Work hard.
Compete.
And grind.
As a player, that carried Stevi Johnson to a Central Section Division I championship in 2011 when she was a member of the El Diamante High School softball team.
Now, Johnson has taken that same approach as a head coach.
The results?
Another section softball title.
In her fifth season as the Redwood head coach, Johnson guided the Rangers to the Central Section Division II plaque in May. Her squad defeated Garces-Memorial 1-0 in eight innings to give Redwood just its third section crown in school history.
Which championship victory was more fulfilling: winning a ring as a player or as a coach?
“Coach,” Johnson said. “As a coach, it means a lot more because you see it from such a different perspective. When you get to witness the kids enjoy it, but from the coaching standpoint, all the hard work that you’ve put in, all the time that you’ve put in as a coach, all of the plans and the practices, the strategy, all of that just feels so much more rewarding. What you were doing solidifies your dedication to coaching.”
Johnson’s rise as one of the section’s premier coaches isn’t a surprise.
She was a four-year varsity player during her days at El Diamante, amassing a career .371 batting average with 142 hits, 111 RBIs, and 12 home runs.
That led to a scholarship at Charleston Southern University — an NCAA Division I program in South Carolina that competes in the Big South Conference.
There, Johnson finished her college softball career among all-time CSU program leaders in batting average, hits, home runs, doubles, runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. She is third all-time in career games played at CSU with 230 appearances and was a starter on CSU’s 2014 Big South Conference Championship team, highlighting her career, earning all-conference honors in 2017.
With that resume, Johnson entered the coaching ranks after her playing career, serving as an assistant at her college alma mater, while also earning a Master’s Degree in history.
Johnson eventually found her way back home and took over the head coaching duties at Redwood in 2022.
In five seasons, under Johnson’s leadership, the Rangers have won four straight East Yosemite League championships and are averaging nearly 20 wins per season.
Johnson concluded the 2026 season just three victories shy of career win No. 100, earning her 97th coaching win on June 3 in Redwood’s historic 5-2 state playoff victory over Birmingham-Lake Balboa in the quarterfinal round of the CIF State Division II SoCal Softball Championships.
“That’s amazing,” Johnson said of approaching the 100-win coaching milestone. “Over these past five years, we put a lot of growth into this program, and a lot of hard work has been put into this program. So to hear that number, it’s kind of crazy. I don’t keep tally of those things, so I didn’t even realize I was that close. Hearing that, obviously, it’s a great feeling. But that success, it all comes from them, the players. Without them, that number wouldn’t even be possible. The hard work that they’ve put in, being able to buy into what I’ve brought into this program, it does mean quite a lot.”
Kenzi Cantu and Jaden Lopez, both 2026 Redwood grads, helped lead the Rangers this season.
Cantu, a four-year starter, led the team in batting average (.471) and hits (48), and also registered 28 runs, 31 RBIs, 10 doubles, 2 triples, and a pair of homers.
That outstanding play propelled Redwood to its first section title in nearly a decade.
What’s it like to play for a coach like Johnson?
“It’s nice,” Cantu said. “Knowing that she’s able to step on the gas whenever we need it, and take it off if we slowly need that reassurance that we’re able to do this, and immediately be able to put her foot back on the gas and knowing that we will be able to get this win. She knows exactly when to be hard on us and when not to.”
That coaching style resulted in a collective .347 team batting average and 16 home runs.
Lopez launched a Redwood-best six round-trippers this season and also finished among the team leaders in batting average (.410), hits (43), RBIs (38), and doubles (11).
Cantu and Lopez each concluded their Redwood careers with over 100 hits.
“It’s been great,” Lopez said. “She’s helped build a very strong program here. I’m just grateful to be coached by her.”
Jackie Ramirez, who concluded her outstanding junior pitching season with a 17-4 record and 291 strikeouts, echoed similar sentiments about Johnson.
“She’s a great coach,” Ramirez said. “I think she really cares about us. It’s great playing for someone who cares for you on and off the field.”
Johnson built lifelong memories this season, too.
As a player, she had the opportunity to win a section title with her father, Steve Johnson, front and center in support.
And now as a coach, she shared a dugout with dad during Redwood’s championship run. Steve is Johnson’s assistant.
“That was really special,” Johnson said. “It was really emotional after the game, just knowing that he’s been by my side from the very beginning. He’s been here for the full five years of building up this program, and I couldn’t do it without him. So to be able to share that win and share that moment is one for the books. One that I’ll never forget. That was very emotional and special having him by my side for that.”
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: How Stevi Johnson elevated Redwood softball to a section powerhouse
Reporting by Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta | USA TODAY Network
