photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Senior guard Brynnae Johnson passes to a teammate during a 61-43 win over Olathe East at Lawrence High School on January 14, 2025. Johnson led the team with 25 points.

One year removed from an ACL and meniscus tear, Lawrence senior guard Brynnae Johnson was nominated for the McDonald’s All-American Game, the yearly all-star high school basketball game that features some of the top senior basketball talent in the country.

Johnson is one of over 700 nominees, which will be whittled down to 24 boys and 24 girls. Only four other girls in Kansas were nominated, and there were nine girls nominated in the Kansas City metro area.

Johnson is the fourth Lawrence High School player nominated in the last 11 years, joining E’Lease Stafford, Chisom Ajekwu and Amaya Marshall.

“It proves to me — which I think is most important — it proves to myself that the work I’ve been putting in since I started basketball is truly paying off,” Johnson said. “I’m getting recognition for what I’m doing and the work I’m putting in. It feels really cool.”

Last year was difficult for Johnson. She suffered a knee injury to her ACL and meniscus that came at a critical time in her college recruitment, just before the AAU season. Johnson had to stay at home, away from basketball and school, because she couldn’t walk at the start of her recovery.

As trying as the injury was for Johnson, it never deterred her — it fueled her. It showed her what the sport truly meant to her. She wasn’t going to give it up.

“Now, I don’t like taking games off or practices off because you never know when it can be taken away from you,” Johnson said.

The Lawrence Lions are 5-2 this year and 2-2 in the Sunflower League. Johnson is averaging 9.4 points, 2.9 assists, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.3 rebounds per game while only a year removed from her injury and around 10 and a half months from her surgery. Johnson and the Lions have demonstrated an ability to beat teams in different ways, depending on how the Lions can best match their opponent.

“We have a lot of young people coming in, and I feel like we’re adapting really well,” Johnson said. “There’s so much IQ and talent on our team, even without a lot of experience. We have been able to adapt to anything this year.”

Johnson doesn’t just see the nomination as validation for her work as a high school player and as a future college athlete. Her goal is to play college basketball, which is validated by the scholarship offers and recruitment as well as the all-star game nomination. The list of nominees includes many players ranked as five or four-star recruits. Johnson’s name is among them.

Johnson entered the basketball season with a lot of motivation. This is her final year with the Lions. It’s a year in which she can show college coaches what she’s capable of, even after the injury and surgery. Now, she has a little more validation that her hard work and dedication to basketball is paying off.

The McDonald’s All-American games will take place on April 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.