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Grand Canyon University

Grand Canyon University Lopes Athletics
 3300 W Camelback Road Phoenix, AZ 85017
Division 1 Arizona
Private Small National competitor
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Mike Kraus

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.

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Austin Nyquist

Austin Nyquist enters his third season as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator of the Grand Canyon men’s soccer team.


The Lopes have compiled a 22-12-4 record with Nyquist as assistant coach with two WAC Tournament berths and an NCAA Tournament match at home, the first in program history.


In 2022, Nyquist helped coach the Lopes to a 7-8-3 record with a 2-0-1 showing against teams ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll, including a 3-2 road victory over #4 UCLA. The win over the Bruins was the highest ranked win in program history.


The 2022 season also saw forward Shaun Joash earn WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. GCU earned five WAC postseason awards in 2022 including one first team, a second team (Jibril Rodet) and two freshman honors (Erick Monge & Bright Nutornutsi).


The Lopes had one of its best seasons in program history in 2021, finishing 15-4-1 with a 9-2 conference record and 9-1-1 showing at home en-route to their second NCAA Tournament game and first at GCU Stadium. Highlighted wins include a 1-0 victory at No. 22 Oregon State and a 1-0 shutout of (RV) Saint Mary’s at home.


Nyquist’s first year saw two players drafted in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft in Esai Easley (22nd overall, Sporting Kansas City) and Justin Rasmussen (27th overall, Portland Timbers). Easley won WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2021 while Rasmussen earned All-WAC First Team. In his second, Nyquist saw two players earn MLS Next Pro contracts in Joash with Huntsville City and Ben Awashie with New England Revolution II.


Prior to GCU, Nyquist spent two seasons at the University of Portland as both an assistant coach and director of performance analysis. He conducted and coordinated the filming, coding, and presentation of both analytical and tactical aspects of the game for the Portland coaching staff. He also assisted with oppositional scouting, postgame analysis, and live game coding, utilizing both SportsCode and InStat software systems. Nyquist was also an Advisor for the Leadership Certificate Program in the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation.


In 2019, Portland endured a difficult non-conference schedule and challenging WCC slate to finish 9-7-1 on the season. Six Pilots earned All-WCC honors that season, led by Rey Ortiz as Portland’s All-WCC First Team selection. Luke Hendel earned second team honors while Gio Magana-Rivera, Jacobo Reyes and Francesco Tiozzo all eanred honorable mention. Reyes and defender Delentz Pierre also made the All-WCC Second Team.


Along with the conference recognition, Ortiz, Tiozzo and Hendel all went on to earn All-West Region honors, with Ortiz making the second team and Hendel making the third team. Reyes made TopDrawerSoccer’s Freshman Best XI Second Team in his only year with the Pilots, and he later competed in the MLS College Showcase in Raleigh, N.C.


In 2018, the Pilots climbed to No. 7 at 10-0-3 and in the national rankings as they were one of two teams in the country without a loss. The unbeaten streak was the longest for Portland since 1995 when the team put together 14 games without a loss.


Portland was rewarded when they received a berth to the postseason and a first-round home match against the Pac-12’s UCLA, a storied program that was making their 45th playoff appearance. The game in mid-November was the first home playoff contest for the Pilots since 2002. The win was Portland’s first in the playoffs since 2009 and their first at home since 2002.


The end of the season brought more individual accolades for the Pilots as seven Portland players landed All-West Conference recognition, five were named all-region, and Michel was named a Second Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches. Michel, who led the team with 11 goals and was No. 3 in the nation with seven game-winners, is the first Pilot to be named an All-American by the United Soccer Coaches


Top Drawer Soccer named Michel to their Best XI Second Team, while Jake Arteaga was place on the TDS All-Freshman Second Team.


Michel and Magana-Rivera were named to the All-WCC First Team, Ortiz landed on the All-WCC Second Team, Esteban Calvo, Malcolm Dixon, and Lionel Mills all received honorable mention, and Jake Arteaga was named to the conference’s all-freshman team.


Earning United Soccer Coaches All-West Region were Michel and Ortiz (First Team), Weekes and Magana-Rivera (Second Team, and Dixon (Third Team).


Portland also ended the year ranked 21st in the country, marking the first time the Pilots finished the year in the national rankings since 2009.


In his recruiting role, Nyquist has had four top-15 recruiting classes via TopDrawerSoccer. With Portland, his classes ranked 8th in 2019, 4th in 2020 and 3rd in 2021. His first season at GCU during the summer of 2021, Nyquist brought the 14th best recruiting class to Phoenix en-route to an NCAA Tournament team.


Nyquist has coached multiple players who have gone on to the professional ranks, including Benji Mitchell (2018/Orlando City Homegrown), Rey Ortiz (2020 FC Cincinatti draft pick), Delentze Pierre (2023 Real Salt Lake Homegrown) and Brandon Cambridge (2023 Charlotte FC draft pick) while at Portland. In addition, he coached goalkeeper Nico Campuzano at Portland who signed an MLS Next Pro contract with New England Revolution II.


Prior to joining Portland during the summer of 2018, Nyquist spent the 2017 season scouting collegiately for Chicago Fire of the MLS, as well as coaching for North Carolina FC. During the 2016 season he worked as the director of performance analysis for the University of North Carolina’s men’s soccer program.


For the 2015-16 season Nyquist was an assistant coach at Robert Morris University, in Chicago, Ill. He was responsible for developing and leading training sessions, scouting and presenting technical/video reports on future opponents, conducting analysis of both individual and team performance, game day coaching and management.


Nyquist has also spent time in youth development programs, including coaching with New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire.


He played collegiately at Seton Hall (2006-08) and Wisconsin (2008-10). Owner of a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies from Wisconsin, Nyquist has achieved the A License from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), and the Premier Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).


Nyquist is married to the former Abby Newcom with two sons Rhodes and Wells. He is currently enrolled in the GCU Master's program and obtaining and master's of science in Leadership.

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James Garces

James Garces enters his second season as assistant coach for the GCU men’s soccer team.


Garces began his time at GCU in 2022, where he aided Coach Mike Kraus and the team to a 7-8-3 record with a 2-0-1 showing against nationally ranked teams. The Lopes defeated #4 UCLA 3-2 on the road, the highest ranked victory in program history.


Garces coached four players who earned five WAC postseason awards in 2022, including WAC Offensive Player of the Year Shaun Joash. Along with Joash, who earned first team recognition, Jibril Rodet garnered second team while Erick Monge and Bright Nutornutsi received All-Freshman accolades. The Lopes finished the 2022 season third in the WAC in scoring offense, shot accuracy, total goals, and total points.


Prior to GCU, Garces spent eight seasons at his alma mater of CSU Bakersfield, one year as associate head coach (2021) and seven seasons at assistant coach (2015-21).


At CSUB, was actively involved in all aspects of the coaching process, including designing and facilitating training sessions, scouting, opposition analysis, video editing, recruiting, and more. As a local product, Garces bolstered the program’s alumni and community relations and was instrumental in the CSUB Soccer Mentoring Program which placed current CSUB Soccer athletes with local club teams to promote the program, guide young pupils, and excite them about the importance of education and hard work in the classroom, as well as the soccer field.


Garces held various roles at the club level with Central California Aztecs (CCA) and South Valley Surf.


Garces graduated from CSUB with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in Public Relations in 2014 and a master’s degree in public administration in 2016. Garces played all four years as a defender for the Roadrunners and was instrumental to the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2011.

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