Maya Johnson started the 2026 college softball season with a perfect game and a win over Georgia. The redshirt senior turned down a lot of NIL money to stay at Belmont for her redshirt senior year.
She also held a grudge against the schools that did not give her an opportunity.
In an era of college softball where top athletes are getting paid as much as seven figures to leave a smaller program for a powerhouse, Johnson is the antithesis. And she got things started with a bang.
Who is Maya Johnson?
As a native of Ohio, Johnson broke all kinds of records in the circle at Saint Joseph Academy in high school. The extremely underrated recruit ultimately landed at the University of Pittsburgh in 2022.
However, she was diagnosed with lupus during her sophomore year of high school and was forced to redshirt as a freshman while she dealt with continued health issues. Team doctors at Pitt later told her that she would not ever be cleared to compete, which led her to enter the transfer portal.
Johnson briefly transferred to Bowling Green State University but the Falcons eventually told her the same thing. She would not be allowed to play because of her diagnosis.
That led her to Belmont.
The left-handed pitcher joined the Bruins in August of 2022 as a redshirt freshman. She appeared in 22 games with 14 starts that next spring and 26 games with 20 starts in 2024. The latter was a breakout year. Johnson went 16-5 with a 1.49 ERA and 216 strikeouts.
2025 was even better. Maya Johnson posted a 24-6 record with a 1.53 ERA and 366 strikeouts in 207 innings— including 23 complete games and 11 shutouts. Her incredible season led her to be named as the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, MVC Tournament Most Valuable Player and a Second Team All-American. It also led her to explore her options in the transfer portal.
How much NIL money did she turn down to stay at Belmont?
Johnson had multiple suitors in the transfer portal. She decided to run it back at Belmont University.
Part of the reason for her decision stemmed from her fight with lupus. Part of the reason for her decision stemmed from a desire to finish what she started with the place that always supported her.
Maya Johnson underwent chemotherapy over the summer as part of the treatment for lupus. The redshirt senior got back in the circle for the first time last week. She was dominant in her return.
Not only did Johnson start the season with an 83-pitch, 15-strikeout perfect game against Missouri State, she followed it up with a massive upset win over No. 15 Georgia. It was personal. The Bulldogs did not give her an offer in the transfer portal so she was out for revenge. The win marked Belmont’s first victory over an SEC opponent and sent shockwaves across the college softball landscape.
Johnson recently spoke with Softball on SI about her unique journey to where she is today. That includes the brief entry into the transfer portal over the summer. It was three-straight days of phone calls. There wasn’t even enough time to eat!
Numerically speaking, Johnson turned down “a couple hundred thousand” dollars from certain suitors.
In the end, money did not play a role in her decision. Johnson didn’t even want to enter the transfer portal in the first place. It was an academic snafu that led to her entry. Belmont later got it all figured out which allowed her to return to the place she never wanted to leave.