Michael Crane joined Miami Soccer in April 2023 as an assistant coach.
In 2024, Miami posted an 8-5-6 season (4-3-4 in Mid-American Conference play), including the program’s first unbeaten home season since 1999. The Red and White earned the fifth seed in the 2024 MAC tournament, advancing to postseason play for the second time in three years, and produced three All-MAC selections: Taylor Hamlett (First Team), Jamie Hlebec (Second Team) and Maris Jennings (All-Freshman Team).
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Hamlett and Hlebec were named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I All-Midwest Region Team, earning Second-Team and Fourth-Team honors, respectively. Miami also had eight student-athletes recognized as Academic All-MAC and six as CSC Academic All-District.
The previous season, the RedHawks won their final four matches of the fall to finish 8-10-1 (5-6 MAC). Five players were named Academic All-District in 2023, with 10 RedHawks earning Acacdemic All-MAC honors. Camber Hayes was named All-MAC Second Team, with Dominique Popa and Morhéa Hoefen picking up All-Freshman accolades.
Crane re-joined the Miami staff after serving as the boys' head coach at Bellbrook High School the past four years, compiling a 46-26-7 record. He was previously an assistant with the RedHawks' program in 2021.
Outside of Miami, Crane has stops at Florida Atlantic from 2013-17, Cincinnati (2012), South Alabama (2011), Clemson (2010) and Duke (2009). While at Florida Atlantic, Crane helped the team advance to three Conference USA Tournaments each of his last three years and 11 different players earn conference honors. In 2016, Crane coached Sydney Drinkwater to NSCAA First Team All-Central Region and C-USA Goalkeeper of the Year status. She had 10 of the team's 11 clean sheets (tying the women's program single-season record), finishing her career with a program-record 28 in only three seasons.
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"We are very excited to welcome Michael and his family back to our program," said Sirmans. "He is a veteran coach who is highly respected in the profession and he is going to help continue to build on the program's most recent success. I have known Michael for a number of years and his development of student-athletes combined with his passion for soccer truly elevates him in the coaching field. Our players are going to learn so much from him, and the program is going to continue to get better because of him. I am truly thankful that he is joining Roberto and I to help lead this program."
He earned his kinesiology degree from the University of Indianapolis in 2019 and completed his master's in business administration from Florida Atlantic in 2015.
Crane lives in Sugarcreek Township with his wife, Courtney, daughter Marley and son Parker.
