Email coach
Craig Jones
Craig Jones enters his 12th season leading GW in the fall of 2023. A GW graduate, the coach has guided the Buff and Blue to a winning record four times, highlighted by an Atlantic 10 regular season championship in 2015 for which he was honored as the conference's Coach of the Year.
In the spring of 2021, the Buff and Blue, picked 11th in the conference preseason poll, went on to capture the Atlantic 10's Central Pod and then advanced to the A-10 Championship final for the first time since 2011.
During his tenure, GW has produced 13 All-Conference honorees, including six first-team picks. Most recently, Tom Cooklin garnered First Team All-Conference accolades in 2022 after finishing tied for fourth in the NCAA with 13 assists.
A native of Wales, Jones was named head coach on Nov. 17, 2011, just four days after helping lead the Buff and Blue to an appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship title match as an assistant coach under George Lidster.
After taking over the program, Coach Jones oversaw a major rebuilding effort that saw GW win just 16 games in three years. But in 2015, his fourth season at the helm, Jones guided GW to an impressive turnaround. Picked to finish 10th in the A-10 preseason poll, GW posted its first 10-win season since 2011 and went 6-2 in conference play to claim the A-10 regular-season title and top seed in the league championship. GW was also ranked regionally for the first time in four years.
Jones was named the 2015 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, and four student-athletes earned spots on the All-Conference First or Second Teams, the most for GW since 2001. Midfielder Garrett Heine ranked among the A-10's leading scorers and earned the A-10 Midfielder of the Year, and goalkeeper Jack Lopez anchored a defense that allowed just four goals in conference games. In addition, Heine and defender Tobi Adewole became the first men's soccer student-athlete to garner NSCAA All-Region distinction since 2009.
In 2017, GW returned to the Atlantic 10 Championship after tying for second-place in the conference standings and earned the right to host a game in the tournament for the first time since 2004. Christian Lawal was honored on the All-Conference First Team and Haynes Brown earned All-Rookie honors for their roles in leading the Buff and Blue.
Academically, the Buff and Blue have excelled under Jones. GW has earned five NSCAA Team Academic Awards for boasting a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the academic year, including a 3.25 GPA in 2012-13, which tied for 30th among Division I programs. In addition, a pair of student-athletes - Tyler Ranalli (2013) and Sam Summerlin (2015) have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, while Matthew Scott became GW's first repeat A-10 All-Academic Team selection since 2001-02, and Jonny Forrest was named the School of Business' 2016 Outstanding Bachelor of Business Administration. In 2018, Thor Arne Höfs became the first student-athlete in two decades to be honored on the A-10's All-Academic list three times in his career and was also honored on the CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District Team. In 2022, goalkeeper Justin Grady became the first GW men's soccer student-athlete to earn the A-10 Postgraduate Award - a once per year scholarship given by the A-10 to one student-athlete from each of its member institutions.
Jones served as GW's top assistant coach for three seasons from 2009-11 after working as the GW's volunteer assistant from 2002-08. A GW alumnus, Jones was also a four-year letterwinner for the Buff and Blue on the pitch from 1995-98.
In addition to his duties in training and game management, Jones played a crucial role under Lidster with recruiting, scheduling and goalkeeper workouts.
Jones holds a USSF `A' Coaching License and is a Virginia State Education Instructor, teaching courses to soccer coaches in Virginia and Washington, D.C. He has served as the director of numerous college and residential summer soccer programs in both the U.S. and Europe and is the founder of DC Soccer School, offering soccer services to youth players in the metropolitan area.
Jones played for and captained the Wales National Youth Team prior to his four-year career at GW. He started all but one of his 63 matches played during his four seasons with GW and totaled 28 points on 12 goals and four assists. Following his collegiate career, Jones competed semi-professionally in England and Wales before returning stateside to pursue his coaching licenses.
Jones graduated with a bachelor's degree in exercise science from the university in 1999 and currently resides in Arlington, Va., with his wife Liz, and their three children, Cerys, Dylan and Seren.
show more