Michael Porter

Coaching Highlights
1– Qualifier for the 2023 Pan American U20 Championships at Vanderbilt
1– Qualifier for the 2017 World Junior Cross Country Championships at Clemson
1– All-SEC Freshman cross country selection at Vanderbilt (women’s XC)
1– SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year at Vanderbilt (men’s XC)
1– College Sports Communicators Academic All-American at Vanderbilt (men’s XC)
3– School records at Vanderbilt
4– All-South Region cross country selections
6– All-America selections at Clemson
6– College Sports Communicators Academic All-District at Vanderbilt
6– USTFCCCA All-Academic selections at Vanderbilt
11– qualifiers for the NCAA DI Track & Field Championships at Clemson 

Michael Porter joined the Vanderbilt cross country and track and field programs as an assistant coach in 2021. He coaches distance student-athletes.  

Achievements at Vanderbilt – Assistant Coach (2021–present)
In Porter’s inaugural season with the Commodores, the women’s cross country team, seeded eighth, finished in sixth place at the 2021 NCAA South Region Championships. At the same meet, the men’s team recorded a 12th-place finish. That year, Cameron Fawcett became the 12th woman in program history, and the first since 2019, to earn All-SEC Freshman honors. 

On the track, Porter tutored Grace Jensen, who broke school records in the mile and 1,500 meters and placed in the top five in both events at the SEC Championships. In 2022, student-athletes Porter coached achieved 11 marks ranking in the program’s all-time top 10. 

During the 2022 cross country season, the women’s team, paced by Niki Narayani, finished 10th at the NCAA South Region Championships, the team’s fifth top-10 finish of the season. With Porter’s guidance, Narayani placed 23rd and earned all-region honors for the first time in her career.  

In 2023, Porter Coached Narayani and Caroline Eck on the track to the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in school history in the 3,000 meters. Five additional Commodore performances were added to Vanderbilt’s all-time top 10 lists. At the SEC Indoor Championships, Narayani scored points for Vanderbilt in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters. With Porter’s tutelage, Eck and Narayani advanced to the NCAA East Regional in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, respectively. 

Audrey Allman, coached by Porter, medaled in the 1,500 meters at the 2023 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships and earned a spot on Team USA for the Pan American U20 Championships. 

Student-athletes achieved academic, as well as athletic, success under Porter’s direction. The men’s and women’s cross country teams earned all-academic honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, the men’s team boasted the highest grade point average across all Division I teams.  

In 2021, Nick Laning was named the 2021 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a College Sports Communicators Academic All-America selection. Laning and Matthew Estopinal were also named CSC Academic All-District in 2021.  

Narayani and Eck made the USTFCCCA All-Academic team during the 2023 track season, and four cross country and distance student-athletes earned CSC Academic All-District recognition. 

Prior to Vanderbilt
At Kentucky – Volunteer Assistant Coach (2019–21)
Porter came to Nashville after a brief stop at the University of Kentucky, where he served as a volunteer assistant coach. 

At Clemson – Assistant Coach (2014–19)
Before his stop in Lexington, Porter was an assistant coach at Clemson from 2014 to 2019. During that time, the Tigers earned two ACC team titles, while Porter tutored six All-Americans, 11 NCAA qualifiers, 12 top-three ACC finishers and 27 student-athletes among the school’s all-time top 10. 

Porter mentored six-time All-American Grace Barnett, who placed ninth at the 2016 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships, and three-time All-ACC recipient Logan Morris, who represented the United States at the 2017 World Junior Cross Country Championship. 

Beginnings of a coaching career
Before Clemson, Porter was a volunteer assistant coach at LSU, and he served as head coach at Colonial Forge High School in Stafford, Virginia from 2008 to 2012. 

Coaching Experience
• Assistant Coach, Vanderbilt (2021–present)
• Volunteer Assistant Coach, Kentucky (2019–21)
• Assistant Coach, Clemson (2014–19)
• Volunteer Assistant Coach, LSU (2012–13)
• Head Coach, Colonial Forge High School (2008–12)