Michael Kraus (born September 10, 1984 in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

former player and coach. In 2022 Kraus was hired to be the head coach of

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on ...

Career

College and Amateur

Kraus played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...

, where he was named the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

Player of the Year in 2006, the same year he served as Creighton's team captain. He was named First-Team All-MVC in 2006 and Second-Team All-MVC in 2005. He was named MVC Offensive Player of the Week four times in his collegiate career. In 2004, Kraus played with the

Memphis Express The Memphis Express was a professional American football franchise based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a member of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) during its single season in 2019. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadi ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

in 2004,2004 Memphis Express
and played again in the PDL with

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The Menace have had sustained success in USL League Two duri ...

in 2005. In 2002, Kraus was named Tennessee Player of the Year as a high school senior. He played youth soccer for Memphis Futbol Club for 9 years under Coach Richard Bute.

Professional

Kraus was drafted 48th by the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

in the

2007 MLS Supplemental Draft The 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft was held on January 18, 2007, following the SuperDraft (held on January 12, 2007), as teams filled out their developmental rosters. Changes from 2006 * 2007 expansion club Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (co ...

. He made his MLS debut against

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

on March 28, 2009, coming on as a 67th-minute substitute, and scored his first MLS goal one minute later. Kraus was released by Kansas City on March 23, 2010. (With the waiving of Kraus, the Kansas City Wizards roster was at the 24-player limit required by MLS.)

Honors

Des Moines Menace

Champions (1): 2005

Personal

Kraus is fifth youngest of six children. His father is a doctor of internal medicine in Memphis, TN. He majored in psychology at Creighton University. He enjoys watching Seinfeld re-runs and reading books by one of his favorite authors, Greg Iles.

References

External links

MLS player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraus, Michael 1984 births Living people American men's soccer players Soccer players from Tennessee Creighton Bluejays men's soccer players Memphis Express (soccer) players Des Moines Menace players Sporting Kansas City players FC Tucson players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Sporting Kansas City draft picks Real Salt Lake non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer coaches