Jerod Johnston begins his first year as assistant rodeo coach at South Plains College after serving as an assistant at Tarleton State since 2005.

Coach Johnston has roots in West Texas as he spent most of his childhood in Big Spring, Texas, where his father was the rodeo coach at Howard College. As he entered high school the family moved to Mena, Arkansas where his father took a job as the Vice President of Instruction at Rich Mountain Community College. His father is now the president of Vernon College.

Johnston earned his undergraduate degree in Agriculture Communication in 2005 from Tarleton State University. The next year he completed his master's degree in Agriculture Education.

In 2005, Johnston's first year assisting the Tarleton rodeo team, the TSU Texans and Texanns won both men's and women's National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association championships, a feat that has only been accomplished by four other schools.

A member of the Profession Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) since 2000, Coach Johnston has competed on tour as a bareback rider, and in 2007 qualified to the Prairie Circuit Final.