Collin Leyden enters his second season as SWOSU’s Special Teams Coordinator in 2026. He was elevated to the full-time role in 2025 after serving as a graduate assistant on the Bulldogs’ staff for the previous two seasons.
SWOSU produced a pair of All-Great American Conference specialists in Leyden’s first season as Special Teams Coordinator. Kicker Ethan McBee earned Second Team All-GAC honors after leading the conference in field goal percentage at 81.8%, while punter Miller Fealy was named Third Team All-GAC after recording a conference-best 80-yard punt and ranking among the league leaders in punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
Leyden first joined SWOSU in 2023 as a graduate assistant working with the cornerbacks. He transitioned to coaching the safeties in 2024 before being elevated to Special Teams Coordinator under Head Coach Andrew Rice the following season.
A native of Parma, Ohio, Leyden played defensive back at Erie Community College from 2018-20, where he was a two-year letterwinner and team captain. He later transferred to Bluefield State University and played two seasons in the secondary before earning his bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 2023.
Leyden earned his master’s degree in Sport Management from SWOSU in the spring of 2025.
The Leyden File:
Coaching Career
2025-present: SWOSU (Special Teams Coordinator)
2024: SWOSU (Graduate Assistant / Safeties)
2023: SWOSU (Graduate Assistant / Cornerbacks)
Playing Career
Bluefield State University (Defensive Back) — 2021-2023
Erie Community College (Defensive Back) — 2018-2020
Education
Bluefield State University
Political Science, 2023 (bachelor’s)
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Sport Management, 2025 (master’s)
