Steve McCrath was announced as the Head Coach of the Wheaton men's soccer team in February of 2022. McCrath arrived at Wheaton from Barry University, where he served as the head men's soccer coach from 1998-2021. He is the 18th head men's soccer coach in 85 seasons of the Wheaton program.
The 2025 season will mark McCrath's fourth campaign in charge of the Thunder. Wheaton enters the fall as reigning CCIW regular season champions after McCrath guided the team to ten wins and a 6-2 mark in conference play last year to claim the program's record-extending 21st conference title and Wheaton's first since 2015. McCrath was named the CCIW Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season following the 2024 campaign.Â
In his first season at the helm in 2022, he guided Wheaton to eight wins and a second-place finish in the CCIW regular season standings, the team's highest conference placement since 2015. The following year, McCrath's team won 11 matches, the highest total for the program since the 2015 campaign and secured another second-placed finish in the conference table. He earned his first CCIW Joe Bean Coach of the Year recognition in 2023, becoming Wheaton's first head coach to garner the accolade since 2014.
  Former Athletic Director Julie Davis said of McCrath at the time of his hire, "Steve comes with demonstrated excellence and experience as a successful soccer coach. His desire and passion to integrate Christian faith with competitive soccer was apparent throughout the interview process. I am thrilled to be able to welcome him to the Wheaton community!"
    McCrath began his tenure as the head men's soccer coach at Barry in Miami Shores, Florida in 1998. He compiled a 241-135-39 (62.8%) record in 23 seasons with the Buccaneers. His teams made nine NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, including the 2018 season that ended with a Division II National Championship and a 2000 National Runner-Up finish. McCrath coached 25 Division II All-Americans in his tenure at Barry.
    Prior to his appointment as Barry's head coach, McCrath served as an assistant coach to his father Cliff McCrath at Seattle Pacific University. Cliff is a 1958 graduate of Wheaton and served as its head men's soccer coach in 1958. Steve was a four-year letterwinner as a player at Seattle Pacific (1986-89), helping guide the Falcons to the 1986 Division II Championship and as a team captain in 1989 he earned NCAA Division II All-Region honors. He earned his bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific in communications in 1990 and received a master's degree in physical education with a concentration in sports administration from SPU in 1993.
Steve played professionally with the Seattle Storm of the Western Soccer League and later with the Milwaukee Wave of the National Professional Soccer League. He finished his professional career with the Everett Bigfoot in the U.S.I.S.L. Division III and toured with Athletes-in-Action to South Africa in 1996.
    McCrath says of what Wheaton soccer fans have to look forward to under his leadership, "I would pray and hope that the students and fans of Wheaton soccer will recognize a vibrant program and it would create a buzz. I want our team to realize there is something special about our program and make that connection with our Thunder supporters."
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