SLCC’s Leading Scorer Signs With BYU Basketball On Signing Day

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah – Early Signing Period began for College Basketball programs around the country. Mark Pope and the BYU basketball program landed a signature from one of the top in-state JUCO players in Spencer Johnson.

Johnson, the leading scorer for the Salt Lake Community College program through four games, made his commitment to BYU official by signing his Letter of Intent at the Lifetime Activities Center on the SLCC campus.

.@SLCCbasketball sharpshooter Spencer Johnson made it official and signed his letter of intent to play for @BYUbasketball. ✍️ 🏀 #BYU #BYUhoops pic.twitter.com/O1yflvi6py

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 13, 2019

“This is a big day. I’m really excited,” said Johnson. “I’m really excited to be signing with BYU and knowing where my future is going to be. Really grateful for my coaches here at Salt Lake and all the stuff they’ve done for me. This is a great opportunity. I’m excited about what the future holds.”

Johnson signed with BYU over offers from Boise State and Dixie State. Through four games, Johnson is averaging 14 points per game on a roster that features eight former Division 1 players on first-year head coach Kyle Taylor’s squad.

The road to BYU has been a long and windy one for Johnson who prepped at American Fork High and signed with Randy Rahe’s Weber State Wildcats out of high school. Johnson served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy then returned home to play for the Wildcats.

Two months into the regular season of his first year at Weber, Johnson entered the transfer portal where he committed to play for Mark Pope at Utah Valley University. Johnson was enrolled at UVU for only one semester before then landing at SLCC.

A redshirt freshman with the Bruins, Johnson will have three years to play three when he arrives in Provo.

Why did Johnson pick BYU?

“Honestly, I’ve known these coaches for a long time. I knew them in high school and I was at Utah Valley with them for a little bit. It was just the most comfortable situation and they believed in me the most and I knew I could go there and have the most success,” said Johnson.

#BYU signee Spencer Johnson on why he picked the Cougars. #BYUhoops @kslsports pic.twitter.com/6qrDqhBtzu

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 13, 2019

A lot is made about Mark Pope’s relentless approach and recruits like Johnson have seen that as well.

“He talks a big game and he’s here to win. Honestly, I think that’s what attracted me the most. You wanna win and you wanna win big. At BYU, I feel there’s no better place to do that,” Johnson said.

Younger Brother at Oregon

Johnson is the older brother to Isaac Johnson who is currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Isaac returns home from his mission, he will play for the Oregon Ducks.

SLCC to BYU

Johnson is the first Salt Lake Community College player to sign with BYU since guard Skyler Halford signed with BYU in 2013. Others that have gone from the Taylorsville SLCC campus to Provo include Craig Cusick, Logan Magnusson, and Augstin Ambrosino.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.