In August of 2023, Michael Schmidt was named Brandeis's head coach of men’s and women’s cross country and assistant coach of men's and women's track and field.
In his first season with the Judges, Schmidt coached a pair of USTFCCCA Academic All-Americans in cross country and two All-Region athletes in track and field. TJ Carleo '26 qualified for both the NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the 800-meter run, earning All-America honors outdoors with a 12th-place finish. In 2024-25, he helped Garret Rieden '26 reach the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 800, where he won his heat and finished sixth overall to claim first-team All-America honors.
Overall in 12 years of coaching, he has overseen 38 track and field All-Americans, 25 USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams and 163 All-Academic individuals.
Schmidt joined Brandeis after spending the last 11 years at Tufts University. He joined the Tufts staff in 2012 and moved into the role of the head distance coach in 2013. Since then, he served as interim head coach of men’s cross country and track and field in 2015 and director of men’s cross country from 2017 to 2021. Since August 2021, Schmidt has served as associate head coach of men’s and women’s cross country and track and field for Jumbos. While at Tufts, Schmidt was chosen as United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches (USTFCCCA) New England Division III Assistant Coach of the Year three times and was part of the NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year five times, including in 2022-23.
In his 11 years at Tufts, Schmidt coached the Tufts men’s cross country team to one NESCAC title and seven NCAA championship berths and one East Regional Championship for the women. His teams also won five NESCAC track and field championships, including back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, plus two New England titles in 2017 and 2018. His teams have been named All-Academic teams 23 times and produced USTFCCCA 161 All-Academic individuals.
Schmidt is a 2012 graduate of Middlebury College with a B.A. in psychology and film and media culture. He was a six-time All-American and four-time All-Academic selection while running for the Panthers, who named their men’s cross country team MVP award after him in 2011. Schmidt also received an M.A. in child study and human development from Tufts in 2017. Since 2019, he has served as a running coach at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, and was the co-founder of their Elite Road and Trail Running teams in 2021.
Schmidt also serves as the distance coach for the men’s and women’s track and field programs.
