John Smith is in his fourth season on Jeremy Gunn's staff and second as associate head coach after his promotion in September 2014.
With Gunn every step of the way in Stanford’s transformation over the past three seasons, his work culminated in 2014 with the team’s best campaign in more than a decade and his selection as the NSCAA Far West Region Assistant Coach of the Year
The Cardinal claimed its first Pac-12 Championship since 2001, a No. 1 NSCAA ranking, its most wins (13-3-3) since 2002 and its best winning percentage (.763) since 2001.
Focusing primarily on Stanford’s strikers, Smith’s tutelage has yielded some impressive results. In just one season of work with Adam Jahn in 2012, the Cardinal forward had a career year as a senior. He scored 13 times to lead the Pac-12, the highest total for a Stanford player since Roger Levesque in 2001 (14), and parlayed that performance into a professional career with the San Jose Earthquakes.
More recently, junior forward Jordan Morris has become the face of college soccer in two years on The Farm. A 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and NSCAA First Team All-American, in November 2014 he became the first active collegian since 1995 to receive a cap for the U.S. Men’s National Team when he came on in the 76th minute in a friendly against Ireland in Dublin. On April 15, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas, Morris started and scored for the United States against Mexico, becoming the first college player to score for the USA since September 1992.
Smith has also been instrumental in assembling significant talent and translating it into some impressive play on the pitch. The Cardinal’s most recent recruiting haul was ranked 11th in the country by College Soccer News, high praise which came on the heels of the nation’s sixth-ranked class in 2014 and 11th-ranked group in 2013.
Smith came to Stanford from Incarnate Word where he spent six seasons as head coach of the Division II soccer powerhouse. He compiled a 62-26-10 record, winning three straight Heartland Conference Championships and three straight Coach of the Year awards. During his time at the helm of the program, his team produced four All-Americans, five academic All-Americans and three future professional soccer players.
Smith began his coaching career as an assistant at CSU Bakersfield. During his stint with the program, the Roadrunners made two postseason appearances, won one CCAA title and produced four All-Americans and six future professionals.
He was also a standout player in his own right, beginning his career in England where he spent three years with Wigan Athletic Football Club. Smith made his first appearance for the squad with Wigan's first team as a 16-year-old.
He later moved to Oldham Athletic Football Club, which was then in England's top division. During the year he spent at Oldham FC, the squad reached the semifinals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup, ultimately losing out to Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, respectively.
Statistically speaking, Smith's most successful portion of his playing career came in the United States with Rollins College. While at Rollins, he tallied a record of 50 goals and 42 assists to break a 26-year old record for points (142). He was a two-time All-American and a GTE Academic All-American. Smith was awarded the Sunshine State Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in 1996 and was inducted into the conference hall of fame in 2004.
Following Smith's successful collegiate tenure he continued his playing career with the Columbus Crew, where he was the 13th overall pick in 1997. The following two years he represented the Nashville Metros, Rochester Rhino's and the Hershey Wildcats in the A-League. In Nashville, he became the team leader in points and his efforts were rewarded with a Central division title and a place on the All-A-League Second Team.
Smith is a native of Manchester, England. He earned his bachelor's degree in history from Rollins College and his master's degree in curriculum and instruction from CSU Bakersfield. Smith and his wife Julie have two sons, Isaac and Jacob.