Bio

Jon Cross was appointed the eighth head men's soccer coach at Rivier University in December 2023.

Cross spent most of his career at Saint Joseph's (Me.), a fellow Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) institution, where he helped the Monks men's soccer program as an assistant coach and head recruiter from 2017-20 and then again for the last two seasons. During the 2017 season, the team finished 19-0-2 with a loss coming on penalty kicks to Tufts in the NCAA Second Round to finish ranked 17th in the country.

While assisting the Monks, Cross was the head recruiter, initiating and maintaining contact with high-level recruits to help build the program. He also assisted with training sessions, facilitated group activities to build team culture, and acted as a liaison between the international student-athlete population and school personnel.

In between stints in Standish, Cross was appointed the associate head coach for the University of Southern Maine from 2020 to 2022 where he helped the team to its first winning season since 2008 after joining a program that had gone winless in 18 games the previous year. During his short stop in Gorham, Cross brought in 12 recruits to help USM toward a competitive future in the Little East Conference (LEC).

Cross got his start in collegiate soccer in the LEC as a two-year member of the men's soccer team at UMass Boston from 2008-10.

He transferred to USM in 2015 after five years away from the game and became a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and has continued to give back to those struggling with substance abuse as a counselor at Westbrook High School in Westbrook, Maine.

In 2015, Cross began his own venture called Cross Wellness which serves to educate students on wellness through meditation, yoga, and group facilitation. Additionally, he co-founded the Kennedy Park Football Club in 2020 to provide a mentorship program that empowers aspiring members of the youth community through the universal love of soccer.

Cross earned his bachelor's degree in economics from UMass Boston in 2010 before receiving a master's degree in education from Saint Joseph's in 2020. Cross has his Class D licensing and Goalkeeper Level 2 certification through the U.S. Soccer Coaching Education.