ANCHORAGE (June 10) – The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team further strengthened its backcourt Tuesday as head coach Rusty Osborne announced that Cole Johnson has signed a scholarship agreement with the Seawolves.

A 6-2, 180-pound guard, Johnson will have two seasons at UAA after transferring from NJCAA program Colorado Northwestern Community College, where he started all 58 games in his career, shooting .386 (123-319) from long range and .779 (113-145) on free throws. The Kaysville, Utah, native averaged 11.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game as a sophomore last year, producing a season-high 20 points against Utah State-Eastern and 19 points (9-12 FG) in a victory over Southern Nevada.

Johnson scored double figures in all but two games his freshman season, earning All-Scenic West Conference Third Team honors with 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He tallied 20-plus points on 11 occasions as a rookie, with a career-high 26 points (9-14 FG) in a victory over Community Chrisitan.

"We are excited to add a talented and experienced guard like Cole to our program," said Osborne. "Cole is versatile and can play both as a traditional point guard as well as a scoring role. He helped lead CNCC to two of their best seasons ever while competing in one of the best JC regions in the country. He has had success playing against high-level players and athletes the last two years. Cole brings more size to our backcourt as well as the ability to shoot the ball at a high level from the perimeter. He is going to be a great representative of Seawolf basketball both on and off the court."

Prior to his JC career, Johnson was an all-league standout at Farmington High School near Salt Lake City, averaging 11.5 points as a senior in 2022-23.

Johnson becomes the fourth member of UAA's 2025 recruiting class, alongside fellow transfers Akok Machar (6-7/180, G, Adelaide, Australia/Texas-Tyler) and Sylas Williams (6-7/210, F, Bothell, Wash./Jackson HS/Skagit Valley College), and incoming freshman Marek Hajdukovich (6-2/185, G, Anchorage/Dimond HS).