Johnson, who was recently named NGCA Freshman of the Year, capped her inaugural collegiate with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship. She was named an NGCA First-Team All-American and earned First-Team Pac-10 honours. The freshman was also selected as a finalist for the Honda Award.

With a 2011 stroke average of 72.40, the California native ended the season ranked sixth in the Golf Week Sagarin Rankings and eighth in the Golf Stat Cup. Johnson carded six top 10 finishes and only placed out of the top 15 once in her freshman campaign.

Johnson finished in the top 20 five times during 2012 whilst also carding a career-low 63 in the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Her Best finish was T-11 at the Navistar LPGA Classic.