Cornell University Men's Soccer

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.

COACHING EXPERIENCE • Volunteer Assistant Coach, Cornell University (2022-current) • Assistant Coach, Cortland University (2016-20) AT CORNELL Peters joined

Luke Staats is the Associate Head Coach for Cornell University's men's soccer program, entering his first season in this role after serving two seasons as an assistant coach. Prior to Cornell, Staats spent four years at Chowan University, serving as both assistant and associate head coach. In 2021, his first season as associate head coach at Chowan, he helped lead the Hawks to a historic season with 13-4-2 record, Conference Carolinas Tournament championship, NCAA Tournament bid and Sweet 16 appearance. During his tenure at Chowan, the program compiled a 42-15-6 overall record. Before his coaching career, Staats played professionally in the Netherlands for SV Spakenburg and FC Volendam as a defender, and played four seasons at Lees-McRae (2008-12), where he earned All-America honors and helped guide the team to three conference titles, four consecutive NCAA appearances, and a national championship finalist appearance. A native of Almere, the Netherlands, Staats holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Lees-McRae (2012) and a master's degree in organizational leadership from Chowan (2022).

Tyler Keever joins the Cornell men's soccer staff as an assistant coach in April of 2024. In Keever's first season on staff, the Big Red clinched its first Ivy League Tournament berth in program history, along with a first round College Cup victory over Fordham. Keever helped produce a season where two Cornellians were named All-Americans, in Alex Harris and Connor Miller, along with five members of the Big Red earning First Team All-Ivy nods. Prior to Cornell, Keever spent six seasons at DePaul University as an assistant and associate head coach, where he developed exceptional goalkeepers including Gandhi Cruz, who made 76 saves ranking 17th nationally in 2021 and earned All-BIG EAST honors. Before DePaul, Keever spent two seasons at Colgate where he helped guide the Raiders to a Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016, with goalkeepers securing nine shutouts. He also had stints at DePauw and IUPUI, his alma mater, where he played as a four-year letterwinner goalkeeper with 59 starts in 61 games. During his senior campaign at IUPUI, he was voted Second Team All-Summit League. Throughout his career, Keever has worked with club soccer organizations and goalkeeper academies across Indiana.