Mike Leaf has redefined success as the head coach of the Winona State men’s basketball program. In his 16 seasons as the Warriors’ head man, Leaf has established his program as one of the best in the nation, while cementing his reputation as one of the top coaches in the game.
Leaf guided the Warriors to the 2006 and 2008 NCAA Division II National Championships, setting an NCAA Division II record with 57 consecutive wins over a span that reached from Jan 13, 2006 to March 22, 2007. The Warriors’ 38 wins during the 2007-08 season are a record for any division of NCAA basketball.
Overall Leaf has spent 27 seasons with the Warriors’ basketball program, the last 16 as head coach. In the his 15 seasons as head coach, Leaf’s Warriors have had 15 winning seasons which has made Leaf the all-time leader in coaching victories at Winona State (368) along with the highest career winning percentage (.726).
The volume of accolades recorded by players under Leaf is simply amazing. During his tenure at Winona State, three Warriors have been named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year while 11 have been selected as All-Americans. On five different occasions a Warrior has been named the NSIC’s Player of the Year under Leaf while the league’s Defensive Player of the Year has been from Winona State seven times.
Winona State has also been a postseason constant, advancing to the NCAA Tournament ten times. Four times the Warriors have reached the NCAA Central Region championship game, each time emerging victorious. WSU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2013, winning the National Championship in both 2006 and 2008.
WSU has been NSIC Champions six times under Leaf and have added five more NSIC Tournament crowns to the school’s trophy case.
Leaf and the Warriors have amassed at least 20 wins in each of the past ten seasons.
Despite having to replace six graduated seniors, including NABC Player of the Year Clayton Vette, the Warriors didn’t miss a beat during the 2013-14 campaign. WSU posted a 26-8 overall record while making yet another appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The team also advanced to the championship game of the NSIC Tournament, led by NSIC Defensive Player of the Year Kellen Taylor. Riley Bambenek was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year as well.
Winona State claimed its fourth NCAA Regional Championship during the 2012-13 season, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 2008. The team won an overtime thriller over Minnesota State to claim the regional title. The Warriors’ 27-8 overall mark was the fourth-highest victory total in program history. Clayton Vette was named the NABC Division II Player of the Year after leading the Warriors in both scoring (20.5 ppg) and rebounds (7.7 rpg). He was an All-American for the second consecutive season and was named the NSIC’s Player of the Year.
The 2011-12 season saw Leaf reach another personal milestone, as he won his 300th career game in a 78-72 victory over Minnesota State on Dec. 17. The Warriors finished the season with a 25-5 overall mark, the fifth-most wins in a single-season in program history.
In 2010-11 the Warriors finished 20-10 overall and qualified for their seventh consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The team also claimed its fifth NSIC Tournament title, dispatching sixth-ranked Minnesota State in the process.
Winona State posted a 20-10 mark during 2009-10 season while advancing to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the sixth straight season. The Warriors beat a ranked St. Cloud State team twice on the year, led by All-American David Johnson.
Leaf led the Warriors to a 24-9 record overall in 2008-09. The Warriors finished second in the NSIC with a record of 15-5 on their way to qualifying for their fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
In 2007-08 Leaf and his Warriors won the NCAA Division II National Championship for the second time with an 87-76 victory over Augusta State (Ga.). The championship capped off a campaign which saw the Warriors go 38-1, setting a Division II record for wins in a season. Those wins included both the NSIC Championship and NSIC Tournament Championship for the third consecutive year. The 2008 national championship also completed a three year run that landed the Warriors two national titles in three trips to the NCAA Division II National Championship game. Winona State posted an overall record of 105-6 during those three seasons.
John Smith was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year by four different publications while also taking home NSIC Player of the Year honors. He was joined as an All-American selection by teammate Jonte Flowers, with the two players sharing regional Player of the Year honors. Flowers collected his fourth consecutive NSIC Defensive Player of the Year award while setting a NCAA Division II record for career steals.
The 2007-08 season also witnessed Leaf record career coaching win 200 in a 100-81 victory over Viterbo University (Wisconsin) on Dec. 19, 2007.
Following the 2008 national championship, Leaf was recognized with national coaching awards. Leaf was named the 2008 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Coach of the Year as well as the National Coach of the Year by Molton/DII Bulletin. For the 2007-08 season, Leaf also received conference and regional recognition as North Central Region Coach of the Year to go along with a third consecutive NSIC Coach of the Year award.
The Warriors advanced to their second consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship game during the 2006-07 season, finishing as national runner-up while establishing a NCAA Division II record with 57 consecutive victories. The win streak began on January 13, 2006 by beating Wayne State in overtime and ended on March 22, 2007 with a loss in the national title game. For the second straight season the Warriors won both the NSIC Championship and the NSIC Tournament Championship while finishing with a record of 35-1. Leaf received more national recognition following the season, winning the Basketball Times Coach of the Year and for a second straight season while earning both the North Central Region Coach of the Year and NSIC Coach of the Year awards.
Smith became the first player in Winona State history to earn National Player of the Year honors while also being named to the All-American team. He was joined as an All-American by Zach Malvik and Jonte Flowers. Smith also took home the NSIC Player of the Year award after his outstanding junior season.
The 2006 campaign was a season of firsts for Leaf and his program. The Warriors won the first NCAA Division II National Championship in school history, defeating Virginia Union 73-61 in the title game. The 2006 National Championship was also the first NCAA Championship for any member of the NSIC. Leaf took home numerous awards for the 2005-06 season including North Central Region Coach of the Year, Basketball Times Coach of the Year, Molton/DII Bulletin Coach of the Year, Daktronics National Coach of the Year and NABC National Coach of the Year.
The Warriors ended the 2005-06 season with a record of 32-4. Leaf led his team to the first of three consecutive NSIC Tournament Championships, in addition to the Warriors’ second of four consecutive NSIC Championships, and helped Leaf earn the 2006 NSIC Coach of the Year award as well as the 2006 Winona Daily News Sportsman of the Year honor.
David Zellman was an All-American while also being named the NSIC’s Player of the Year.
Leaf’s Warriors finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 24-11 which earned Leaf the 2005 NSIC Coach of the Year award. That same season he led the Warriors to the first NCAA Regional Tournament in victory in school history with a 64-58 win over Nebraska-Omaha. The year also featured the Warriors’ first of five consecutive NSIC championships.
During the 2000-01 season Leaf and his Warriors went 21-9, winning the program’s first NSIC Tournament Championships and qualified for the program’s first ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. A year earlier the Warriors had a record of 19-9 to go along with their second of back-to-back NSIC Championships.
The 1998-99 season marked the beginning for Leaf as head coach of the Warriors. In his first season Winona State won the NSIC Championship with a record of 15-12, with Leaf receiving his first NSIC Coach of the Year award. This made Leaf only the third head coach in the history of the men’s basketball program at Winona State to win conference coach of the year honors.
Individual coaching awards aside, Leaf takes pride in what his talented recruits have accomplished at Winona State. Leaf has recruited outstanding athletes to develop in his basketball program and the awards recognizing the accomplishments of Leaf’s players are as numerous as his coaching awards.
Leaf has recruited Smith, a two-time national player of the year (2006-07 and 2007-08) and Winona State’s all-time leading scorer. Smith and Flowers won Elite Eight Most Outstanding Player awards following the 2005-06 and 2007-08 championship seasons, respectively. The list of national awards won by Warriors includes four players (Zellmann, Malvik, Flowers and Smith) who earned a combined 18 All-America awards. In addition, the Warriors have been named to the Elite Eight All-Tournament team seven times.
The Warriors have received regional and NSIC recognition as well. Warriors have earned five Regional Player of the Year awards, 16 all-region player awards, four NCAA Division II Region Tournament MVP awards, and ten Regional all-tournament team members.
The list of NSIC awards won by Warriors includes five NSIC Players of the Year, 36 NSIC All-Conference Awards, five NSIC Tournament MVPs and seven NSIC Defensive Players of the Year.
Leaf has recruited and coached players who have gone on to play professional basketball, including Flowers and Vette who are currently playing professionally in Europe.
Even greater than the pride Leaf receives from the success of his players on the basketball court is the pride he receives from the success his players earn in the classroom. His players’ work in the classroom have allowed them to accumulate two Academic All-America awards, seven NSIC academic standouts and 58 NISC Academic All-Conference selections.
As an assistant coach for the Warriors, Leaf helped Winona State finish second in the NSIC three times.
Leaf earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 from Saint Mary’s University, MN in Elementary Education. He graduated from Winona State in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. In 1989 Leaf completed his Masters of Arts studies at Winona State in Physical Education.
Along with running the Warriors’ basketball program, Leaf is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Science at Winona State University.
In his spare time Leaf enjoys playing golf, reading and riding his bike around Lake Winona.
