NOTABLE CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• 2016 Olympic Silver Medalist (10-Meter Synchro)
• 5-Time NCAA Champion
• 14-Time USA Diving Senior National Champion
• 3-Time FINA World Championships Qualifier
• 2-Time Big Ten Champion
• 2-Time CSCAA Diver of the Year (2015, 2017)
• 3-Time Big Ten Diver of the Year (2015, 2017, 2018)
• 2-Time Purdue Male Athlete of the Year (2015, 2018)
2019-20 / LEADING UP TO 2020 OLYMPIC TRIALS
• FINA World Cup Qualifier (3-Meter Synchro)
• USA Diving National Champion at Winter Nationals (3-Meter Synchro)
• Teamed with David Boudia to win 3-meter synchro title at Winter Nationals, their first title together in 3-meter synchro
• Also won silver with Brandon Loschiavo in 10-meter synchro at Winter Nationals
• Finished fourth on 10-meter individually at Winter Nationals
2018-19 / AS A REDSHIRT SENIOR
• Academic All-Big Ten
• World Championships Qualifier (10-Meter Synchro)
• Pan American Games Qualifier (10-Meter, 10-Meter Synchro)
• Did not compete during the college season due to multiple surgeries on his foot
• Opted to turn professional in March and not return for a potential final year of college eligibility in 2019-20
• Returned to action at the USA Diving Senior Nationals, qualifying for the World Championships in 10-meter synchro with Ben Bramley
• Finished third in the 10-meter synchro final but earned the World Championships bid thanks to the highest two-list score across prelims and finals
• Also won bronze on 10-meter at Senior Nationals while competing for the first time since August
• Posted a pair of top-five finishes at the Pan Am Games in Peru, taking fourth in 10-meter synchro and fifth on the tower individually
• Teamed with Ben Bramley for an eighth-place finish in 10-meter synchro at the World Championships
• Was part of the USA's 10-meter synchro team at a third consecutive World Championships, working with a different teammate each time
• In 10-meter synchro at the World Championships, teamed with David Boudia in 2015, Brandon Loschiavo in 2017 and Ben Bramley in 2019
2017-18 / AS A REDSHIRT JUNIOR
• NCAA CHAMPION (3-Meter)
• Purdue Male Athlete of the Year
• Big Ten Diver of the Year
• All-America (1-Meter & 3-Meter)
• Honorable Mention All-America (Platform)
• Big Ten Champion (3-Meter)
• FINA Diving World Cup Qualifier (Synchronized 10-Meter)
• USA Diving National Champion (Synchronized 10-Meter)
• First Team All-Big Ten
• Four-Time Big Ten Diver of the Week
• Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
• CSCAA Scholar All-America
• Academic All-Big Ten
• Finished in the top 10 of all three diving events at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships
• Eclipsed David Boudia’s program and conference record on 3-meter with a score of 540.55 while winning the Big Ten title
• Repeated as the NCAA champion on 3-meter, the first to do so in the event since Stanford’s Kristian Ipsen in 2012 and 2013
• Won his third career Big Ten Diver of the Year award, becoming just the fourth student-athlete to win it three times
• Selected as Purdue’s Male Athlete of the Year for the second time, becoming just the fifth Boilermaker to win it multiple times
• With his fifth career NCAA title, he joined Troy Dumais (7) and Boudia (6) as the only men with at least five
• Teamed with Brandon Loschiavo to win the USA Diving national title in 10-meter synchro, earning a berth at the FINA Diving World Cup in China
• Changed his final dive of the 3-meter final at NCAAs and the score of 96.9 on the 4 ½ somersault tuck allowed him to rally for the victory
• Has finished among the top two in seven of his nine career events at the NCAA Championships, including silver on 1-meter in 2018
• Won Big Ten Diver of the Week after sweeping the springboard events over his first four meets
• Sidelined by a foot injury from mid-November through the end of January, making his return at the Big Ten Triple Duals
• Accounted for a team-high 79 team points at the Big Ten Championships, winning bronze on 3-meter and the consolation final on platform to go along with his conference title on 3-meter
• Finished in the top three of all three events at the Zone C Championships
• Accounted for 44 of Purdue’s 54 team points at the NCAA Championships, scoring in all three events for the third time in his career
• Teamed with Brandon Loschiavo to win bronze in 10-meter synchro at a FINA Diving World Series event in Montreal
2016-17 / AS A REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE
• NCAA CHAMPION (1-Meter, 3-Meter)
• CSCAA Diver of the Year
• Big Ten Diver of the Year
• All-America (All 3 Diving Events)
• Big Ten Champion (Platform)
• World Championships Qualifier (1-Meter, 3-Meter, Synchronized 10-Meter)
• USA Diving National Champion (3-Meter, Synchronized 10-Meter)
• First Team All-Big Ten
• Six-Time Big Ten Diver of the Week
• Academic All-Big Ten
• Led the team with 20 individual event victories
• Swept the springboard diving national titles to join alumnus David Boudia as the only divers in the country since platform was added in 1990 to win NCAA championships in all three events during their careers
• Only diver to be a championship finalist in all three events at the 2017 NCAA Championships, finishing second on platform
• Accounted for 57 team points at NCAAs, leading the Boilermakers to a 13th-place finish in the team scoring that matched Purdue's top showing in the modern era
• Also joined Boudia as the only student-athletes to win the CSCAA Diver of the Year award multiple times since 2005
• One of only three divers to win a pair of national championships multiple times in their careers
• Finished among the top four in all three events at the Big Ten Championships to account for 85 team points, leading the Boilermakers in scoring for the second time in his career
• Won the Purdue men's first Big Ten diving title since Boudia swept the events in 2011
• At Big Tens, set a new program record on 1-meter (470.05) and established new career-best scores on 3-meter (506.45) and platform (547.8)
• Teamed with Brandon Loschiavo to win the 10-meter syncro title at USA Diving Synchronized National Championships, his 12th career senior title on the national circuit
• Also qualified for the FINA World Championships with runner-up finishes on 1-meter at Winter Nationals and 3-meter at World Championship Trials
• Finalist in 1-meter (7th) and synchronized 10-meter (6th) at the World Championships, where he also advanced to the 3-meter semifinals
• Only member of Team USA to compete in both springboard and platform events at the 2017 World Championships
• The only event he did not win during the regular season was 3-meter in the season-opening dual vs. Miami (Ohio)
• Finished among the top five in all three diving events at Zones, clinching an NCAA Championships bid with a runner-up finish on 1-meter on day one
• Swept the springboard events at IUPUI's House of Champions Invitational
• 3-meter title at the USA Diving Winter Nationals was his first career senior national title in a springboard event
• Helped Purdue win the team scoring title at Winter Nationals
2015-16 / OLYMPIC WAIVER SEASON
• OLYMPIAN & SILVER MEDALIST
• USA Diving National Champion (10-Meter, Synchronized 10-Meter)
• Qualified for the 2016 Olympics on 10-meter in both the individual and synchronized events
• Won silver with Purdue alumnus David Boudia in synchronized 10-meter at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
• It was Team USA's best showing in the event at the Olympics since synchronized diving was added to the program in 2000
• Also finished 13th on 10-meter individually, coming up one spot shy of a berth in the final
• Finished second in the individual 10-meter competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials after teaming with Boudia to win the synchronized event
• Won his third straight USA Diving national title on 10-meter at the Winter Nationals in December
• Also won the 10-meter synchro title with Boudia at Winter Nationals
• Competed at the FINA Diving World Cup in February, finishing fourth individual on 10-meter while also teaming with Boudia to clinch Team USA's Olympic bid in synchronized 10-meter
• Won bronze in 10-meter synchro at a FINA Diving World Series competition in Dubai
• Opted to exercise an Olympic Practice Waiver for his sophomore season
• Continued to train at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center, but did not compete in any collegiate meets for Purdue during the school year
2014-15 / AS A FRESHMAN
• NCAA CHAMPION (1-Meter, Platform)
• CSCAA Diver of the Year
• Big Ten Diver of the Year
• Purdue Male Athlete of the Year
• All-America (1-Meter, Platform)
• Honorable Mention All-America (3-Meter)
• USA Diving National Champion (10-Meter, Synchronized 10-Meter)
• World Championships Qualifier (Synchronized 10-Meter)
• Second Team All-Big Ten
• Six-Time Big Ten Diver of the Week
• Six-Time Big Ten Freshman of the Week
• First diver since Boudia in 2009 to win NCAA titles on a springboard & the platform in the same year
• Won national titles on 10-meter at USA Diving Winter Nationals in December and synchronized 10-meter (with Boudia) at USA Diving Synchronized National Championships in May
• Qualified for the 2015 FINA World Championships in synchronized 10-meter diving, where he finished fifth with Boudia as his partner
• Won the consolation final (ninth place overall) of 3-meter diving at 2015 NCAA Championships for Honorable Mention All-America acclaim
• Won four of the six rounds (prelims/finals) of diving competition across the three events at the 2015 NCAA Championships
• One of five student-athletes to earn All-America accolades in all three diving events at the 2015 NCAA Championships
• Finished second in the championship final of all three diving events at the Big Ten Championships
• Eclipsed Boudia's Purdue freshman-record score on 1-meter
• Joined Boudia as the only Purdue freshmen to ever win Athlete of the Year
• Fifth diver to be selected as a Purdue Athlete of the Year since 2005
• Honored as the team MVP
• Season-best scores on 1-meter (468.15) and platform (532.70) at NCAAs while winning the national titles
• Posted season-best score on 3-meter (476.05) at the Big Ten Championships
• Accounted for a team-high 51 team points at the Big Ten Championships, the most by a Boilermaker since 2011
BEFORE PURDUE
• Trained under Adam Soldati at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the club level with the Boiler Diving Academy before enrolling at Purdue
• Represented USA Diving at the FINA Diving World Cup in the summer of 2014, winning bronze with David Boudia in synchronized 10-meter platform
• Six-time senior national champion with USA Diving before enrolling at Purdue, including 10-meter platform winner at the 2013 USA Diving Winter Nationals
• 15-time Junior National champion
• Four-time champion at the junior Pan-Am Games
• Earned his high school diploma from Laurel Springs, an accredited, private, online school based in Ojai, California
PERSONAL
• Major: Interdisciplinary Film and Video Studies
• Full name is Steele Alexander Johnson
• Born in Indianapolis, Indiana
• Parents are Bill and Jill Johnson
• Family also includes siblings Race and Hollyn
• Brother Race was a defensive back on the Purdue football team
• Father played baseball at Sam Houston State
Purdue Personal Preferences
Favorite Pro Team: Team USA
Favorite Athlete: David Boudia
Favorite Aquatic Center (Other Than Purdue): Water Cube - Beijing
Swimmer He'd Like to Compete Against: Hudson Bursch
Most Exciting Event to Watch at a College Meet: Women's 1-meter diving
Favorite Marquee Events: World Series & Olympics
Person He'd Like to Have Dinner With: His Wife
In His MP3 Player: Silent Planet
Last Concert He Attended:Fit for a King
Band He'd Love to See Play Purdue: Metallica
Last Book He Read: The Meaning of Marriage, Time Keller
Favorite Author: Jefferson Bethke
Favorite Multimedia App: A Vinyl Record Player
Favorite Actor, Actress & Director: Liam Neeson, Betty White & Briam Blum
Favorite Movie to Watch on Team Bus: The inside of my eyelids
Favorite Online Series: Roosterteeth (YouTube)
Favorite Month: October
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
Favorite Dessert: All Desserts
Favorite Outdoor Activity: Hiking
Another Sport He Enjoys Playing: Soccer
Favorite Purdue Building: Wilmeth Active Learning Center
Favorite Big City: New York City
Unique Travel Locale: Dubai
Country He'd Like to Visit: Iceland
Favorite Thing About the Boilermaker Aquatic Center: The Platforms
Most Memorable Moment at Purdue: Failing a dive in my first meet of 2016-17
Best Thing About Being a Boilermaker: Being on campus with my brother
Enjoyed this Professor's Class: Ben Lawton, Liberal Arts
Furry Friend: Star, Black Lab