John Smith

Biography

Entering his ninth season as head coach at Cornell University, John Smith has accumulated a 75-48-14 record with the Big Red men's soccer program. Under his guidance, Cornell has experienced remarkable success, including four consecutive 10-win seasons from 2018-2023 (a program first) and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022. Smith has coached 25 players who earned 41 combined Ivy League honors, including three Rookies of the Year and the program's first Offensive Player of the Year. Prior to Cornell, Smith was an associate head coach at Stanford, where he helped lead the Cardinal to the 2015 NCAA national championship. He previously served as head coach at Incarnate Word, compiling a 62-26-10 record with three consecutive Heartland Conference Championships. As a player, Smith was a two-time All-American at Rollins College who broke the program's 26-year-old points record and was selected 13th overall in the 1997 MLS draft by Columbus Crew. He played professionally in England's top division for Oldham Athletic and had stints in the A-League. A native of Manchester, England, Smith holds a bachelor's degree in history from Rollins College and a master's in curriculum and instruction from Cal State Bakersfield.