University of Missouri Athletics

The only head coach to patrol the sidelines for Mizzou Soccer, Bryan Blitz enters his 25th season at the helm of the Tigers in 2020. The program’s founding head coach, Blitz owns a 248-211-36 record since Mizzou began play in 1996, and a 293-255-44 record in 29 seasons as a collegiate head coach.

His 293 career wins ranks him 31st nationally among active head coaches, while his 248 wins at Mizzou are third among SEC head coaches at their current institutions.

Building the program from scratch, Blitz has guided the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, making the second round four times. Blitz led the fledgling Mizzou program to a postseason appearance in the program’s fourth season – hosting Marquette in a quadruple overtime game in 1999.

Blitz’ leadership transitioned Mizzou from the Big 12 to SEC in 2012 – raising the success of the program. The Tigers have qualified for the SEC Tournament in all but one season as conference members, while also never losing an SEC opener.

For his outstanding work, Blitz has earned Coach of the Year honors three times in his career. He was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2015, while also earning the honor twice in the Big 12 (2007, 2009).

Mizzou athletes have collected 61 all-conference honors under his tutelage. Former player Nikki Thole (1997-2000) stands as the program’s only All-American, earning the honor from the NSCAA in 1999 – while also being named a freshman All-American in 1997. Mizzou individuals have also collected 22 all-region honors.

Three athletes have earned postseason conference honors in Blitz’ career: Alysha Bonnick was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2007, Crystal Wagner the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2009, and Luebbert was named the 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year.

Under his leadership, Mizzou has matched its on-field success in the classroom. Both Allison Hu (2012) and Luebbert (2019) have been named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

In 2019, the Tigers opened the season 5-0 for the first time since 2012, and were just two wins shy of matching the best start in program history. Sarah Luebbert was named first-team

All-SEC in addition to being honored as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She added second-team All-Southeast Region honors in a dominant senior campaign. Julissa Cisneros scored 11 goals in her sophomore season – a mark that stands tied for ninth on the school record book.

In 2018, Mizzou knocked off Florida at home on senior day, the first time the Tigers had beaten the Gators since 2013. The Tigers also pushed eventual SEC Tournament champion LSU to the brink in round one of that event, playing a truly thrilling game that saw the squad fall in the 104th minute on a penalty kick.  

Mizzou grabbed a 3-1 win over Alabama in round one of the SEC Tournament in 2017. It was only the program’s second SEC Tournament victory ever, and first since 2012. Both Kaitlyn Clark and Luebbert were named to the SEC’s second team.

The 2016 squad finished the year with an 11-7-2 record overall and 6-4-1 mark in Southeastern Conference action, and earned the Tigers’ most-recent NCAA berth. Luebbert became only the second Tiger in program history to claim conference freshman of the year honors. Melanie Donaldson also was named to the SEC’s first team that season.

In 2015, Mizzou finished the season a program-high second in the SEC regular season standings with a 7-2-2 record. Mizzou allowed 17 goals on the season, the fewest in program history, bettering the 19 allowed in 2008. Blitz earned SEC Coach of the Year honors for leading the Tigers to a 9-5-5 season, while three Tigers earned All-SEC honors. Candace Johnson was named to the All-SEC first team while Reagan Russell and Donaldson were both named to the All-SEC second team.

During the 2014 campaign, Blitz led the Tigers to a 12-7-3 record and a 6-4-1 mark in SEC action, including a 7-1-1 record in home contests. Blitz led Mizzou to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history and advanced to the second round after posting a 3-1 win over Kansas in the opening round. 

In 2013, Mizzou knocked off three Top 25 teams, the most since 2008. Missouri recorded its first ranked win with a 1-0 defeat over No. 7 Florida, then handed No. 7 South Carolina only its second loss of the season on Oct. 18 and posted a dramatic 2-1 double-overtime win at No. 25 Kentucky on Oct. 25.

In the program’s first season in the Southeastern Conference, Blitz led the Tigers to a 14-7-1 record and their fifth NCAA Tournament berth. The squad’s 14 wins tied for the second-most in a single-season. Mizzou also recorded an 8-5 SEC mark and advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala.

While in the Big 12, Blitz regularly dominated, winning the Big 12 Tournament in 2008 while winning the conference outright in 2009. Over his 16 seasons in the conference, he compiled 175 total wins.

His best two Big 12 seasons, and maybe in his career, came in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, Blitz directed his team to a 16-5-2 mark, the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. Over the course of the year, Mizzou set school records for wins (16), fewest losses (five), shutouts (12), fewest goals allowed (19) and goals against average (0.80), among others.

In 2009 Missouri reached new highs as the team claimed the Big 12 regular season title for the first time in school history. Blitz was honored as the Big 12 Coach of the Year for his work to mark the second time in his career he earned the honor.

Blitz started coaching at Mizzou in 1996, the program’s first season ever. He first got his Tigers into the NCAA Tournament during his fourth season, as the 1999 iteration of the Black & Gold finished 14-8-1 and 6-3-1 in the Big 12. The Tigers fell to Marquette in the longest game in program history, falling 3-2 in quadruple overtime.

Blitz began his head coaching career at Butler University as the program’s inaugural head coach in 1991. In his fifth season, he took the Bulldogs from obscurity to the national spotlight in an undefeated run through the Midwestern Collegiate Conference and the team’s first national ranking. Blitz earned the 1995 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year award and received an invitation to help coach the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Developing Blitz’s unique collegiate coaching perspective, he has worked and played in soccer communities around the world improving his knowledge and abilities. Blitz traveled to England to play for one year while he was in college. He returned to the states and to the University of Tulsa, where Blitz helped start the Golden Hurricane women’s program as an assistant coach in 1987.

He took two years off from coaching to play in the Southwest Indoor Soccer League and the Northeast Super Soccer League (in Dallas and New York) before a desire to earn a master’s degree in business led him to Butler. There, he became a graduate assistant for the men’s team and two years later took the reins as a women’s head coach for the first time.

Blitz is married to his wife Alie, and has four children: Connor, Abby, Madison and Oliver.