Clayton Schmitt
Clayton Schmitt
Title: Associate Head Coach
Phone: (404) 727-6903
Email: ceschmi@emory.edu

The 2023 season was Clayton’s seventh year as the Assistant Coach at Emory, and marked the 4th time that the Eagles qualified for the NCAA DIII Tournament in his career at Emory. Prior to the start of the 2022 season he was promoted to Associate Head Coach.

Clayton played a key role in the Eagles' return to the national stage in 2023, when he helped the Eagles improve from a 5-win team in 2022 to a 12-win team the year later. The Eagles reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament under Clayton's assistance. The Eagles won a UAA Championship in 2023, the second time Clayton was a part of a conference championship team at Emory, with the first coming in his initial stint with the program in 2012.

The 2021 season was another excellent campaign for the Eagles, which saw the team host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament including a dramatic PK shootout victory of Centre College in the first round of the tournament. 

Clayton rejoined the Eagles' program after spending the 2014-2016 campaigns at Oglethorpe University, where he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.  He helped the Stormy Petrels to an overall record of 24-20-7 during those three seasons, which included 2015 and 2016 Southern Athletic Association regular-season titles. 

Schmitt's first go-around as an assistant at Emory came from June 2011 through April of 2014.  During his tenure, he helped the Eagles to an overall slate of 31-20-4, which included a 2012 University Athletic Association co-championship and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Schmitt also has been the head coach of the women's program at Holy Innocents Episcopal School in Atlanta since December of 2014, most recently leading the team to the 2021 GHSA State Championship. He was also named the United Soccer Coaches High School SE Regional Coach of the Year for the 2021 season. In his career as a high school coach, he has won 175 games in 13 full seasons.

Clayton also is the Director of Coaches for the Southern Soccer Academy's Northside (Buckhead) branch in Atlanta, and has coached at the ECNL and Girls Academy League levels, with dozens of his former players going on to play at the D1, D2, D3 and NAIA college levels.

Clayton is a former goalkeeper from Mercer University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business in 2006. He also earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State University in 2008.  He holds the NSCAA Premier, Advanced National, and National Diplomas, and, as well as the National Goalkeeping Diploma, and a UEFA “C” License.