EDWARDSVILLE - Senior golfer Rachel Johnson, who was one of the top girls golfers in the St. Louis area this past season, signed a letter of intent on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, to play for Butler University in Indianapolis during a ceremony at the auditorium of the Jon Davis Wrestling Center.
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Johnson completed her successful senior season by winning the IHSA Class 2A regional for the third consecutive year, shooting an even-par 72 to win the O'Fallon regional at Tamarack Golf Course in Shiloh, followed up with a one-under par 71 to win the Pekin sectional at the Pekin Country Club, then shot a two-day total of nine-over par 153 to finish in a four-way tie for 15th at the state tournament at Hickory Point Golf Course in Forsyth.
Rachel is a Spencer Homes Female Athlete Of The Month.
In a post-ceremony interview, Johnson was attracted to Butler by the coaches and the program itself.
"I just really loved the coaching program," Johnson said, "the golf program. It was just really amazing, it was a perfect fit for me, and I'm really glad that I chose it."
The Bulldogs are also a member of the Big East conference, which has made enormous strides to come back from near-obscurity to becoming a powerful athletic conference in the nation.
"The Big East is a really great conference," Johnson said, "and I'm really excited to be a part of it."
She considered other schools such as Murray State University in Murray, Ky., the University of Dayton, and others, but Butler was her first choice, and is very excited about the Bulldogs. She plans to major in business, but is undecided about which branch she plans on going in.
"I'm still trying to figure that out," Johnson said. "I'm sure I'll figure that out over my four years in college, so we'll see."
There's also a possibility of trying her luck on the Ladies' Professional Golfers Association tour, but she is very content with her status as of now.
"I mean, if that's possible, it would be great," Johnson said, "but I'm proud of where I'm at right now, so we'll see what happens in the future."
Tigers girls golf coach Libby Koonce is very proud of Johnson and her accomplishments, and thinks she'll bring much to the Butler program and team.
"I couldn't be prouder of her," Koonce said, "Definitely her perseverance, she's got a great game, and a good head for it, so I think she's going to do great things at Butler."
Her overall game was a great asset to the Tigers this year, as Edwardsville won the team title at the O'Fallon regional and the Pekin sectional, along with the Southwestern Conference title as well.
Johnson's short game will be a big plus for her with the Bulldogs.
Koonce said: "She is excellent at reading a green and putting, and she's fantastic off the tee as well, also. When her driver's working, she can't be stopped."
The Tigers' loss of Johnson will definitely be Butler's gain, and Koonce is looking forward to seeing her play in college.
"It'll be great for Butler," Koonce said. "This will be my first year of coaching without a Johnson on my team," she said. "So we'll see how it goes, but we have a really strong group coming back next year, so I know we're going to do great things next year. We're really going to miss Rachel, though."
When asked about a favorite memory of playing for the Tigers, Johnson thought long and hard about it, but picked winning the regional for three consecutive years.
"Probably winning regionals three years in a row," Johnson said. "That was a good accomplishment for the team, and we were really excited when that happened."
Johnson is ready to play at the next level and is excited about playing at Butler.
"I'm really excited to take my abilities on to college," Johnson said, "and see what I can accomplish, and just learn new things."
