Howard volleyball started their season by retiring the No. 10 jersey of three-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion Khaila Johnson (formerly Donaldson). The ceremony took place in Burr Gymnasium during last Friday’s season opener against George Washington University.
“It doesn’t even feel real,” said Johnson, who graduated from the university in 2018. “It’s crazy that Howard athletics feels that I had as big of an impact on them as it had on me. That was never the goal, so for that to happen is just like… wow.”
Along with having her jersey recognized, Johnson was presented with an award by Head Coach Shaun Kupferberg and MEAC Faculty Athletic Representative Deborah Johnson.
The former outside hitter joins Breshawn Harris, Ericka Rockwood, Carla Ellis and Kialyn Walker as the only players in Howard volleyball history to have their jerseys hung in the rafters.
These four women didn’t play for Coach Kupferberg, but were still recognized by him in 2017. Johnson is the first player who competed under him to earn recognition. There is a committee that decides which players get their jersey recognition, but the decision is ultimately up to Kupferberg.
“Everyone up there [in the rafters] has made a major impact on the program,” said Kupferberg. “Khaila was a very strong player and leader on the team. She was somebody who obviously racked up a lot of kills, stats and numbers, but she was also someone that we could rely on over the years to keep us at an elite level.”
Johnson joined the Bison in 2014, immediately making her presence known by finishing third in total points with a 4.23 point average, fourth in the conference in kills with a 3.57 kill average and earning MEAC Rookie of the Week three times while helping lead her team to their first appearance in the MEAC Championship game since 1994.
After falling to Hampton University in that title match, she and the Bison captured the next three MEAC Championships. Along the way, Johnson became the program’s all-time leader in kills and a two-time MEAC Player of the Year, cementing her place as one of the most decorated players in Howard volleyball history.
“Khaila was a leader. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with on the court and off the court,” said Indira Dandridge, Johnson’s former teammate. “It’s awesome, but it’s also expected [that her jersey was retired]. She got all different types of awards and stuff when we were playing with her, so it’s expected, but we’re all very proud of her, to say the least.”
Dandridge played as a freshman during Johnson’s final season with the Bison, where they captured their third straight MEAC Championship title in 2017. Even after Johnson’s departure, the team remained successful, winning the next two MEAC championship games and another in 2021.
Now, Johnson, a School of Business graduate, serves as a vice president, commercial banker at J.P. Morgan Chase & Company. She continues her “Howard love story” with her husband, former Howard quarterback Kalen Johnson, and together they are raising their child, Karrington Johnson.
Copy edited by Daryl Thomas Jr.
