American University

Michele Rodriguez-Smith, who carries an extensive coaching background at the college, club and national levels, joined head coach Phil Casella' staff in March, 2026, following two seasons as an assistant coach at Johns Hopkins University.

In Rodriguez-Smith's two seasons at Johns Hopkins, the Blue Jays advanced to the Division III NCAA Quarterfinals in 2024, and to the third round of the tournament in 2025. They posted an 18-3-3 record in her first season, winning a third straight Centennial Conference title and producing two All-Americans as well as a pair of Academic All-Americans. Senior Katie Sullivan was named the National Player of the year to highlight a highly-successful season. In 2025, Johns Hopkins finished at 17-5-1, won a fourth straight Centennial Conference title, and once again produced two All-Americans as well as two Academic All-Americans.
 
A graduate of the University of Maryland, Rodriguez-Smith has served as the head coach at George Washington and at Notre Dame University with assistant coaching stops at Georgia and William and Mary.  She was also an assistant at George Washington for four seasons.  As the top assistant at Georgia, she helped the Bulldogs to a pair of appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

In addition to her work at the collegiate level, Rodriguez-Smith served as an Oppositional Analyst with the US Women's TST (The Soccer Tournament) Team and helped the team to titles in 2024 and 2025.  The 7v7 tournament featured a $100,000 top prize and featured, among others, standouts Carly Lloyd, Allie Krieger, Heather O’Reilly, Allie Long, and Joanna Lohman. She actively collaborated with the coaching staff on tactical strategies and developed performance metrics to guide post-event improvements for both individual players and the team.

A noted US Soccer educator and scout, Rodriguez-Smith has also worked as a broadcast analyst for the USL W-League Champion Annapolis Blues and has been a member of the broadcast team for the Johns Hopkins men's soccer team.

Rodriguez-Smith also spent three years as an assistant coach and scout with the US Soccer Federation and four years as the director of the girls program with the Washington Capital United.  She also spent one year as an assistant coach with the Washington Spirit.

Rodriguez-Smith has a USSF B Coaching License and is scheduled to earn her Senior A badge in December 2025. She played collegiately at Maryland and earned her degree in behavioral and social sciences.