Quaker Valley assistant getting intense on-the-job training coaching boys, girls teams

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, February 8, 2026 | 11:01 AM

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By day, KC Johns is an operations manager at Rize Sports in Leetsdale.

By night, he is an assistant basketball coach at Quaker Valley

Johns rarely takes a day off from QV basketball.

In fact, he is in a unique position with the Quakers.

Johns is an assistant with both varsity teams at QV as well the junior varsity coach for the boys squad.

“Since I have been coaching both teams, I have gotten to pack two seasons into one year,” Johns said, “so it has certainly been an accelerated learning experience.

“It’s very busy, but I have been enjoying it a lot. There has not been a ton of conflict between the boys and girls teams in terms of games and practices, which is nice when it comes to making it to both.”

The experience has been rewarding for the 24-year-old Johns, who is getting his first taste of coaching at the high school level.

“It has been very rewarding,” he said. “I have really enjoyed getting to know all the players and watching them improve daily. This has been my first year coaching, and I can’t think of a better group of kids to coach for my first season. I was in school until last May.

“On both teams, effort and competitiveness are the main focus. As long as we compete hard and are locked in on both ends of the floor, everything else can be worked out. When it comes to X’s and O’s, I am learning it’s important to understand our players’ strengths and to try and put them in situations to succeed.”

Johns is being schooled by two veteran coaches. Mike Mastroianni, QV’s athletic director, coaches the boys team; Johns’ dad, Ken, coaches the girls team.

“My dad and coach Mas have both been flexible with making my schedule work when there is conflict, which I appreciate a lot. I have learned a ton from both,” KC Johns said. “My dad and I think the same way when it comes to hoops, but I have learned more about how to explain what we see as coaches and relay that message to the players in a way that it is easy for them to understand. Aside from that, I feel very blessed to get to coach with my dad because that’s not something everyone gets to do.

“I played for coach Mas and I have always been impressed with his ability to make in-game adjustments. He’s also very intentional about how he designs practices so that the players are working on specific things that they’ll need in upcoming games. It was great getting to play for him, and now I am having fun learning from him as an assistant.”

KC Johns is a 2020 QV graduate who was a part of teams that won two section championships and made it to the WPIAL finals three straight years.

He went on to play at Allegheny College for three years, graduated early then attended Geneva College, where he played for two years while earning his master’s degree and was part of the 2024 PAC championship team.

“He tore his ACL his final year at Allegheny and it was a long road back,” said his dad, “but it was great to see him play again for an incredible coach and program at Geneva.”

Johns has many great memories from his high school career under Mastroianni.

“There are a lot that come to mind,” he said, “but my favorite was probably winning the section title at home my senior year and getting to cut the nets down in our gym.”

The Johns household is a big-time basketball family.

“Aside from my dad coaching the girls, my grandfather was a longtime coach at Quaker Valley,” KC said. “I feel like coaching was always something I wanted to do, and having had a great experience at Quaker Valley, it made it easy to decide where to come back to.

“Eventually I think I’d like to be a head coach, but right now I am just focused on helping both teams become the best version of themselves that they can be.”

One of Johns’ duties in the QV boys program is to coach the junior varsity team.

“Our JV guys have been improving a lot as of recently,” he said. “It has been fun to watch them work hard in the gym and grow throughout the season.

“It can be tough for them in practice when they go against a varsity team as good as the one we have, but I think they’ve done a great job staying competitive and giving our varsity guys a good look.”

To say Ken Johns is proud of his son’s ability to coach two teams in the same season goes without saying. But it is something that would make a father feel thankful and thrilled.

“I think it goes unnoticed by many unless you are close to both programs, but it’s something that I think is unique,” Ken Johns said. “It’s been a good year for both teams, and he’s a big part of it.”

The QV boys basketball team ended January leading Section 2-4A with a 7-0 record and was 14-3 overall while riding a seven-game winning streak.

“KC has been an outstanding addition to our coaching staff,” Mastroianni said. “He has brought instant credibility from his college experience and his knowledge of our QV boys basketball program. He is extremely dedicated to all that is QV basketball and we are fortunate for his investment.

“KC has a strong basketball IQ and is eager and interested in expanding his coaching profile. KC’s outstanding habits from his high school playing days have not changed. It is always rewarding when our former players return to coach and the instant impact they have on our current players.”

The Quakers’ girls team was 9-2 in Section 1-3A and 12-6 overall with seven victories in its last eight games.

“KC’s doing a great job for the girls, and I think the boys, as well,” Ken Johns said. “It is keeping him really busy along with his fulltime job, but he seems to really enjoy all of it. He loves the game and while I’m not sure if he ever saw himself coaching, at least this soon, he’s really taken to it and does a fantastic job with the girls team.

“Having two sisters that played in high school and one still playing in college, he really understands and relates to all the girls well. He brings a great energy to it every day. For me, it’s great to spend time with him that way. We spend a lot of time together in and out of the gym, and I could not be happier about it. It’s a lot of fun to share this with him.”

Coaching for his dad and for Mastroianni has provided Johns with an education on the hardwood that is second to none.

“Having played for Mike in high school and now getting a front seat and being involved with him in coaching is tremendous,” Ken Johns said. “Mike is such a great coach and teacher so to see it from a different perspective I think is really great for KC. He then got to spend two years with Jeff Santarsiero at Geneva, another tremendous coach and person. I cannot imagine a better education in basketball being coached by those two men who care about the person not just the player.

“KC brings that experience and attitude every day and translates it in a way that is well beyond his years. He understands the game very well and more importantly, can communicate that to young people in a way in which they get it. For me, he’s always bringing things he’s seen, done, or experienced into practices and games. He’s really had an impact on our team this year.”

KC is the oldest of three children in the Johns family. Lily, 23, is a 2021 QV grad who played soccer, basketball and ran track. Nora, 20, graduated from QV two years later and is a junior guard on the Ohio Wesleyan women’s basketball team. At QV, she also was a three-sport athlete participating in basketball, track and soccer. She earned 12 varsity letters, was an all-section player in basketball and set the school record in the girls 300-meter hurdles.

“I do miss representing Quaker Valley in all three sports,” Nora said, “but I have loved playing for OWU and playing at such a high level. Being here and playing with some of the best has been such a great experience and has improved my skill and knowledge of basketball so much.”

Lily and Nora were starters on the 2021 WPIAL girls runner-up basketball team.

They undoubtedly learned much about the game from their dad.

And their older brother.

Tags: Quaker Valley