Mickey Blythe is entering year seven of his second stint as an assistant men’s soccer coach at Gannon in 2025. It will be his 11th season overall as an assistant with the Golden Knights. As the right-hand man for head coach Billy Colton he has helped the Golden Knights enjoy great success, including NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in his first season back -- 2019 -- along with 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Since joining Colton on the bench in 2019 Blythe has helped Gannon run off an 82-20-10 record. Colton has been named the PSAC West Coach of the Year three times during that period.
The 2023 Gannon edition enjoyed an unforgettable. The Golden Knights went 16-0-2 during the regular season and won the PSAC West regular-season title with a 9-0-1 mark. They went on a memorable NCAA Tournament run by claiming consecutive victories over PSAC champion Millersville and powerhouse Charleston (W.Va.) to reach the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The season finally came to an end with a 1-0 loss to eventual national champion Franklin Pierce.
In his first year back with the Knights, Blythe helped lead Gannon to the program's second-best finish the team's history. Gannon posted an 18-3-0 overall record in 2019 with a 9-1-0 finish in PSAC Play for their first ever regular season title. The Knights made it to their fourth straight PSAC Tournament appearance and their second PSAC Championship game in three seasons. Gannon also earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 2012 season as the No. 2 seed in the Super Region 1.
Blythe helped the Knights rake in 44 various accolades over the 2020 season and, as part of Colton's staff, was named to the United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Blythe returned to Gannon in 2019 after spending four seasons as the head coach at Medaille College in Buffalo, New York. There, he led the Mavericks to a 49-17-5 overall record and three consecutive berths in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference tournament title game.
He was named the AMCC Coach of the Year in 2016, and followed that up with a conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament in 2017. Blythe’s teams picked up two conference Offensive Player of the Year awards, and produced three all-region players.
Before Medaille, Blythe got his collegiate head coaching start with two seasons at Mercyhurst North East. The Saints finished as runners-up in the Western New York Athletic Conference both years, and set program records for victories with nine in 2013 and 10 in 2014.
Blythe’s first college coaching experience came with the Golden Knights as an assistant under Gannon Hall of Fame member Rob van Rheenen. He was an assistant for four years from 2009 through 2012. During that run, the team collected 37 victories, and capped it with a 13-6-0 record and an appearance in the NCAA Division II round of 16.
Blythe made his first stop in Erie as a four-year starter at Mercyhurst. He earned Freshman of the Year honors from the GLIAC in 2001, and followed that up with conference Offensive Player of the Year laurels in each of the next three seasons. He left the Lakers as the program’s leader in goals (56) and points (138) and was second in assists (26).
After graduation, he began his coaching career with Hull City in his native England, working with the academy teams of 10 to 16 year olds. When he returned to Erie to work on the Gannon staff, he also served as an assistant coach with the Erie Admirals of the semi-pro NPSL. After five years as an assistant, he was the head coach of the Admirals in 2014.
Blythe received his bachelor’s degree in sport business management from Mercyhurst in 2005.
