Isaac and Gracie Johnson continue family legacy at USU
For many athletes, sports are a family affair, but rarely do athletes have the opportunity to compete at a collegiate level with their siblings. Gracie and Isaac Johnson have spent the last six months watching each other compete on the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Utah State University and have grown closer while doing it.
Isaac played high school basketball at American Fork High School, where he became the 41st-ranked recruit in the country before enrolling at the University of Oregon following the completion of a mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
After playing in Eugene for one year, Isaac decided to enter the transfer portal. Wanting to return to a familiar environment, Isaac ended up deciding to transfer to Utah State, where his father played on the basketball team for two years before transferring to Snow College.
“I wanted to come to Utah. I wanted to be back in this community and around like-minded people with like-minded values and still play basketball, and Utah State provided me with the best opportunity for that,” Isaac said.
During Isaac’s recruiting efforts, his younger sister Gracie was introduced to the women’s coaching staff.
“The Utah State coaches made a trip out to Oregon to come and do a home visit with Isaac. I was there during the visit and they asked me, ‘Have the Utah State coaches reached out to you yet?’” Gracie said. “I said, ‘They haven’t,’ and they were like, ‘Alright, well, we’ll get on that,’ and they eventually offered me.”
Although both Gracie and Isaac play basketball, while they were growing up, their parents tried to make sure they were well-rounded people instead of being hyper-focused on playing sports.
“I think my parents did a really good job of helping us understand that basketball is something we do, but it’s not who we are,” Isaac said. “My parents always instilled it in us that we’re going to go through hard things. Basketball is one of them. And it just so happened that our family was pretty good at basketball.”
In addition to Isaac and Gracie playing at Utah State, their older brother Spencer currently plays on the men’s basketball team at BYU, and their oldest brother had an offer to play at Utah Tech University but decided to turn it down.
Despite having three older brothers who all played basketball at a high level, Gracie did not feel pressured to start playing the sport, but she did appreciate having older siblings she could look to for advice during her collegiate recruitment.
“My parents didn’t tell me that I have to play basketball. They kind of let us do whatever we wanted,” Gracie said. “After schools started recruiting me, it really helped just to have my brothers because I have kind of a background of what to do and what not to do during the recruiting process, which was really nice.”
Gracie and Isaac’s mother, Emily, echoed the importance she sees in using things other than sports to define her children’s internal worth.
“I think people can get caught up in the identity of something specific like basketball, and at some point in our lives, basketball’s going to end, and then—and then where are you?” Emily said. “I’ve seen too many kids, or even adults, get wrapped up in an identity and when it ends, they’re lost. I didn’t want my children to ever be lost.”
Isaac has seen the important role his parents have played in his life.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that my parents are really good people and really good parents. I think they helped us to know what love is and what love feels like in a family dynamic and to be able to help reciprocate that for our siblings,” Isaac said. “That’s one reason I think why I also wanted to come back to Utah. I wanted to be closer to my family. And that’s why I think Gracie chose Utah State, she wanted to be closer to her family and feel that love.”
Gracie and Isaac both have incredibly busy schedules, but they still find time to spend with each other.
“On Sundays when it’s kind of slow and you have an off day, we’ll go on a drive, or sometimes she’ll come over for a meal or go out to eat every now and then. One time she got a flat tire, and I got to go help her out with that,” Isaac said. “It’s been a super cool dynamic. We’re both adults and out of the house, so to kind of see who we are and know what makes us who we are as individuals as well as have the same values kind of as a family has been super cool.”
For Gracie, having a familiar face close by has helped ease the transition to the new environment.
“He’s a great older brother. He always checks in on me, he calls me. Last Sunday, he actually came to church with me,” Gracie said.
Both Isaac and Gracie have found success on the court as well this season. Isaac has started 17 of the Aggies’ 19 games this season and has accumulated a 49% field goal percentage while also making 38% of his three-point attempts.
Gracie has played in 8 games for the women’s team this year and had a single-game program record 8 blocks in 21 minutes during the Aggies’ loss to Boise State on Jan. 20.
Both Johnson siblings look to continue to contribute to their team on the court this week. Isaac and the men’s team take on San Jose State at the Spectrum on Jan. 30 and San Diego State on the road on Feb. 3. Gracie and the women’s team visit Nevada on Jan. 31 and will take on Fresno State at home on Feb. 3.