Grant Leonard
Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Queens Royals |
Conference | ASUN |
Record | 32–34 (.485) |
Biographical details | |
Born | August 20, 1980 |
Playing career | |
c. 2003 | William Penn |
Position(s) | Point guard / shooting guard |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
2004–2005 | Shorewood HS (WI) (assistant) |
2005–2006 | Washington College (assistant) |
2009–2010 | Flagler (assistant) |
2011–2013 | Paine (assistant) |
2013–2016 | Queens (assistant) |
2016–2022 | Queens (AHC) |
2022–present | Queens |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
2006–2009 | Texas–Pan American (DBO) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 32–34 (.485) |
Grant Leonard (born August 20, 1980) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Queens Royals men's basketball team.
Early life
[edit]Leonard was born on August 20, 1980, and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[1] He attended Martin Luther High School and later played basketball in college for the William Penn Statesmen in Iowa.[1] A point guard and shooting guard, he made over 40% of his three-point shots in his collegiate career.[2] He was selected academic all-conference twice and was a two-time academic all-region player, graduating in 2004 cum laude with a bachelor's degree in psychology.[3] He directed the North Shore Basketball Camp in Chicago while in high school and college and later received a master's degree from Washington College.[1]
Coaching career
[edit]Leonard began his coaching career as an assistant at Shorewood High School, serving as an assistant coach from 2004–05.[1] He assisted in coaching the Washington College Shoremen in 2005–06.[4] The following three seasons, Leonard was the director of basketball operations for the Texas–Pan American Broncs.[2] He then served as an assistant coach for the Flagler Saints in 2009–10.[5] From 2011 until 2013, Leonard worked for the Paine Lions, where he was an assistant coach, recruiting coordinator, director of skill development and defensive specialist.[5] He helped the NCAA Division II school have their first winning season in seven years in 2011–12.[5]
Leonard was hired by the Division II Queens Royals in 2013 and received a promotion to associate head coach in 2016.[6] In his last seven years as an assistant coach for the team, they had a winning percentage of .837 with a 189–37 overall record, being a top-25 ranked team near-consistently going back to November 2015, including a best ranking of No. 1.[4] Queens won the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) regular season championship three times with Leonard on the staff while also having two SAC tournament titles and two Elite Eight appearances.[5] He was promoted to head coach for the 2022–23 season, the first in which Queens competed in the NCAA Division I.[7] In Leonard's first season as head coach, Queens went 18–15 and had a 7–11 record in the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).[8][9] He signed a four-year contract extension after the season.[8]
Personal life
[edit]Leonard is married.[3] In November 2022, Leonard was arrested for driving while impaired, for which he was suspended by Queens for five games.[10][11]
Head coaching record
[edit]Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Queens Royals (ASUN Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
2022–23 | Queens | 18–15 | 7–11 | T–9th | |||||
2023–24 | Queens | 14–19 | 7–9 | 8th | |||||
Queens: | 32–34 (.485) | 14–20 (.412) | |||||||
Total: | 32–34 (.485) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Grant Leonard". Coaches Database.
- ^ a b "Grant Leonard". Flagler Saints.
- ^ a b "Grant Leonard". Queens Royals.
- ^ a b "Leonard promoted to Queens head men's basketball coach". The Charlotte Weekly. March 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c d White, Herbert L. (April 3, 2022). "Grant Leonard has large shoes to fill as Queens basketball coach". The Charlotte Post.
- ^ "Queens University promotes Grant Leonard to head men's basketball coach". Queen City News. March 23, 2022.
- ^ Zietlow, Alex (January 6, 2023). "In first Division I season, Queens makes it clear to Charlotte and beyond: 'We belong'". The Charlotte Observer.
- ^ a b "Queens' Grant Leonard Signs Four-Year Contract". Queens Royals. May 16, 2023.
- ^ "Grant Leonard Coaching Record". Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "Queens University head basketball coach suspended following DWI charge". WBTV. November 4, 2022.
- ^ Cox, Kallie (November 4, 2022). "Queens University basketball coach gets benched for first 5 games after DWI charge". The Charlotte Observer.