Completed Event: Men's Soccer at UC Santa Barbara on September 21, 2025 , Tie , 1, to, 1
M Soccer
at UC Santa Barbara
T 1-1
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Men's Soccer
Mike Kraus
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Years at GCU:
- 2nd
- Email:
- gcusoccer@gcu.edu
- Alma Mater:
- Creighton (2010)
Mike Kraus enters his second season as head coach of the Grand Canyon’s men’s soccer team.
In his first season at the helm of the program, Kraus led the Lopes to a 7-8-3 record that included a 2-0-1 record against teams ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Those wins included a 3-2 road victory at then-No. 4 UCLA, the highest-ranked victory in program history.
GCU finished with a 4-3-2 conference record in 2022 and recorded 13 points over its final seven games to earn a WAC Tournament berth for the third consecutive season. The Lopes ranked 40th in the country in shot accuracy (.456) and top three in the conference for points (83), goals (28) and goals per game (1.56).
The season was highlighted by the offensive play of forward Shaun Joash, who Kraus coached to WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors in his first season. Joash totaled 30 points with 12 goals and 6 assists and tallied 21 points over his final seven games. Joash also received United Soccer Coaches All-Far West second-team accolades.
Along with Joash, Kraus aided GCU to five WAC postseason accolades. including a second-team honor for Innocent Jibril Rodet and All-WAC Freshman Team accolades for Erick Monge and Bright Nutornutsi. He also saw two Lopes make pro debuts in Joash (Huntsville City FC) and Ben Awashie (New England Revolution II).
Kraus spent the past decade in the Phoenix area, fostering talent for Real Salt Lake, an academy that has become one of the largest in the nation under the leadership of Brent Erwin, a former GCU soccer assistant coach. Kraus took note of the transformation of the GCU men's soccer program that he took over in 2022.
Just as Kraus was at the front end of the rise of the Real Salt Lake Academy, he held a goal to re-enter the elite collegiate men's soccer scene as a coach after starring for powerhouse Creighton and playing Major League Soccer. His decade-long, well-connected club coaching trek culminated in four years as RSL-Arizona's academy director and led to the helm of an emerging national power at GCU.
"I'm coming in to hopefully get us to another level," Kraus said at the time of his hire. "I bring my experience and expertise in player development and pushing players to that next level. Those players make it to the next level when team succeeds. The team succeeds and individuals get recognized. It's going to be about the team's performance and pushing that."
GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said, "Mike is one of the most respected coaches in the MLS Development Academy and is known nationally for his great soccer mind, his elite training and player development ability. He is a great fit for GCU in that he is strong in his faith and has been engrained in this community as a long-time Arizona resident."
Kraus, 38, moved to the Valley in 2010 when his wife, Molly, became an anesthesiologist for Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. Determined to start a coaching career after being a volunteer assistant for Creighton, Kraus applied monthly with RSL for nearly a year while coaching a youth club before becoming an RSL assistant coach amid the MLS academy's rapid rise.
He drew on his soccer passion that he formed in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, where he starred at Christian Brothers High School as the fifth of six children. Even then on his club teams, Kraus voluntarily pulled himself out of the lineup to take over coaching when his coach worked on another field.
Kraus continued in a faith-based education at Creighton, where he played on NCAA tournament qualifiers every year, reached the College Cup quarterfinals twice and was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2006.
"I have a close relationship with faith and my family, and I value that," Kraus said. "Being here on campus and talking to the leaders of the university and seeing other like-minded people that have those values high in their hearts, that's something that was familiar with my family, where I've been and the path that I've taken in my life."
Kraus was the No. 48 pick of the 2007 MLS Draft by Kansas City, where he made 11 appearances over three years and set a record for the fastest first career goal scored (48 seconds) in 2009.
GCU gives him the chance to return to competing for a city and a region, as the Psychology graduate did at Creighton and for Kansas City.
"When you're playing for your university, especially one like GCU that's the only DI men's soccer program in the state, you're playing for your university, your city, your family and the state," Kraus said. "There's a lot of pride that can go into that. I'm thankful to President Brian Mueller and VP of Athletics Jamie Boggs for the opportunity."
With RSL, Kraus developed players for pro and college opportunities as an assistant before becoming a director who deepened club and academy relationships across a growing U.S. player pool. He also has assisted on the U17 national team coaching staff since 2020.
"I know the stakeholders within all of the MLS academies around the country," Kraus said. "I'm definitely going to use those relationships to my advantage and our staff's advantage to continue to work with MLS clubs that think their players aren't quite ready to jump to the professional level right now, but they want to keep track of them, want them in a positive environment and want them in a winning culture. GCU is the home for them."
With Phoenix's still-growing soccer community, few realize the potential for talent on the GCU team and a following in GCU Stadium more than Kraus does. He wants to continue to integrate in-state players into a diverse, far-reaching roster to provide role models for the metro area's youth, which includes his four sons: Jack, Finn, Dominic and Rowen.
"When this position became available, it really struck me that everything I've had and everything I've done has maybe led to this," Kraus said.
In his first season at the helm of the program, Kraus led the Lopes to a 7-8-3 record that included a 2-0-1 record against teams ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Those wins included a 3-2 road victory at then-No. 4 UCLA, the highest-ranked victory in program history.
GCU finished with a 4-3-2 conference record in 2022 and recorded 13 points over its final seven games to earn a WAC Tournament berth for the third consecutive season. The Lopes ranked 40th in the country in shot accuracy (.456) and top three in the conference for points (83), goals (28) and goals per game (1.56).
The season was highlighted by the offensive play of forward Shaun Joash, who Kraus coached to WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors in his first season. Joash totaled 30 points with 12 goals and 6 assists and tallied 21 points over his final seven games. Joash also received United Soccer Coaches All-Far West second-team accolades.
Along with Joash, Kraus aided GCU to five WAC postseason accolades. including a second-team honor for Innocent Jibril Rodet and All-WAC Freshman Team accolades for Erick Monge and Bright Nutornutsi. He also saw two Lopes make pro debuts in Joash (Huntsville City FC) and Ben Awashie (New England Revolution II).
Kraus spent the past decade in the Phoenix area, fostering talent for Real Salt Lake, an academy that has become one of the largest in the nation under the leadership of Brent Erwin, a former GCU soccer assistant coach. Kraus took note of the transformation of the GCU men's soccer program that he took over in 2022.
Just as Kraus was at the front end of the rise of the Real Salt Lake Academy, he held a goal to re-enter the elite collegiate men's soccer scene as a coach after starring for powerhouse Creighton and playing Major League Soccer. His decade-long, well-connected club coaching trek culminated in four years as RSL-Arizona's academy director and led to the helm of an emerging national power at GCU.
"I'm coming in to hopefully get us to another level," Kraus said at the time of his hire. "I bring my experience and expertise in player development and pushing players to that next level. Those players make it to the next level when team succeeds. The team succeeds and individuals get recognized. It's going to be about the team's performance and pushing that."
GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said, "Mike is one of the most respected coaches in the MLS Development Academy and is known nationally for his great soccer mind, his elite training and player development ability. He is a great fit for GCU in that he is strong in his faith and has been engrained in this community as a long-time Arizona resident."
Kraus, 38, moved to the Valley in 2010 when his wife, Molly, became an anesthesiologist for Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. Determined to start a coaching career after being a volunteer assistant for Creighton, Kraus applied monthly with RSL for nearly a year while coaching a youth club before becoming an RSL assistant coach amid the MLS academy's rapid rise.
He drew on his soccer passion that he formed in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, where he starred at Christian Brothers High School as the fifth of six children. Even then on his club teams, Kraus voluntarily pulled himself out of the lineup to take over coaching when his coach worked on another field.
Kraus continued in a faith-based education at Creighton, where he played on NCAA tournament qualifiers every year, reached the College Cup quarterfinals twice and was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2006.
"I have a close relationship with faith and my family, and I value that," Kraus said. "Being here on campus and talking to the leaders of the university and seeing other like-minded people that have those values high in their hearts, that's something that was familiar with my family, where I've been and the path that I've taken in my life."
Kraus was the No. 48 pick of the 2007 MLS Draft by Kansas City, where he made 11 appearances over three years and set a record for the fastest first career goal scored (48 seconds) in 2009.
GCU gives him the chance to return to competing for a city and a region, as the Psychology graduate did at Creighton and for Kansas City.
"When you're playing for your university, especially one like GCU that's the only DI men's soccer program in the state, you're playing for your university, your city, your family and the state," Kraus said. "There's a lot of pride that can go into that. I'm thankful to President Brian Mueller and VP of Athletics Jamie Boggs for the opportunity."
With RSL, Kraus developed players for pro and college opportunities as an assistant before becoming a director who deepened club and academy relationships across a growing U.S. player pool. He also has assisted on the U17 national team coaching staff since 2020.
"I know the stakeholders within all of the MLS academies around the country," Kraus said. "I'm definitely going to use those relationships to my advantage and our staff's advantage to continue to work with MLS clubs that think their players aren't quite ready to jump to the professional level right now, but they want to keep track of them, want them in a positive environment and want them in a winning culture. GCU is the home for them."
With Phoenix's still-growing soccer community, few realize the potential for talent on the GCU team and a following in GCU Stadium more than Kraus does. He wants to continue to integrate in-state players into a diverse, far-reaching roster to provide role models for the metro area's youth, which includes his four sons: Jack, Finn, Dominic and Rowen.
"When this position became available, it really struck me that everything I've had and everything I've done has maybe led to this," Kraus said.
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