Cornell University Athletics

Reid Johnson, who has spent more than a decade developing rowers at every level from novice to Division I, was named the Henry E. Bartels '48 Head Coach of Men's Lightweight Rowing in August 2026.

Johnson spent nine years at the Pelham Community Rowing Association (PCRA), most recently as the club's Director of Youth Rowing. He grew the club's youth program from the ground up to roughly 130 athletes, a staff of three full-time and up to eight part-time coaches, and one of the most competitive youth rowing operations in the Northeast. As Head Youth Men's Coach, his crews earned 12 medals at the New York State Scholastic Rowing Championships, set the program's best-ever finish in the Men's Youth 8+ at both the Head of the Charles (11th, 2022) and the Youth National Championships (eighth, 2023), and qualified six crews for Youth Nationals as recently as this spring. In all, 22 of his athletes went on to row at the Division I level, including 10 in the Ivy League, and three earned invitations to the U.S. Under-19 Selection Camp.

Before PCRA, Johnson spent two seasons (2015-17) as an assistant coach for Princeton's heavyweight program, helping every varsity boat medal at the 2016 IRA National Championships. The program was also the Team Points Champion at the 2016 Eastern Sprints Regatta and produced a number of athletes who went on to earn national team selection, including three Olympic medalists. Johnson began his coaching career in 2014 as a novice coach at Saugatuck Rowing Club in Westport, Conn.

A 2013 graduate of Hobart College with a degree in History, Johnson served as team captain and a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He'll be joined in Ithaca with his wife, Emma and twin girls, Imogen and Whitney.