Grant Leonard was promoted to head men’s basketball in Spring 2022. Leonard, who has been coaching for 18 years, joined the Royals in 2013 and has served as associate head men’s basketball coach since 2016. He is the sixth head coach in Queens men’s basketball history.
Leonard has been a key component to the Royals’ success on the court for nearly a decade as Queens has posted a 189-37 record and an impressive .837 winning percentage over the past seven seasons. The Royals have been nationally ranked in the top 25 in 111 of 112 polls (NABC or D2SIDA) dating back to November 2015. Additionally, they have reached the top 10 in each of the last seven seasons peaking at No. 1 in January of 2018.
Recording a winning streak of eight or more games in each of the last eight seasons with this year’s 17-game winning streak setting a new program record, the Royals have made seven consecutive NCAA Championship appearances. They completed the 2021-22 season reaching the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past six seasons which includes the COVID-interrupted 2019-20 season. Queens also recorded its fourth 30-plus win season in such time.
Queens won the 2018 and 2019 Southeast Regional Championships to advance to the Elite 8 in back-to-back seasons, advancing to the national semifinals in 2018. Leonard also helped the Royals secure three regular season titles and two conference tournament titles after finishing in the top two for eight consecutive seasons in South Atlantic Conference play.
In addition to serving as associate head coach for the Royals, Leonard has been the head coach and general manager for Team D2 which has competed in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) since the summer of 2019. TBT is a single elimination, 64-team tournament that has a grand prize of over one million dollars. Leonard’s teams have been comprised of former DII players who are now competing at the professional level, and they have made it to the round of 32 or better all three seasons.
Leonard has also been instrumental in recruitment and player development for the Royals over the years. Twenty-four Queens alumni have played professional basketball in the past nine seasons. Additionally, three have been named NABC All-Americans and 10 have earned all-region and all-conference first-team honors.
During his collegiate coaching career, Leonard has worked at five schools and in all three divisions of NCAA competition. He came to Queens from Paine College (2011-2013) where he served as first assistant coach, recruiting coordinator, director of skill development, and defensive specialist. In his first of two years at Paine, the Lions achieved their first winning season in seven years and finished second nationally in Division II with seven blocks per game. Leonard also worked as an academic advisor for student-athletes and an adjunct professor while at Paine.
Leonard’s previous coaching stops include Flagler College (2009-2010), the University of Texas-Pan American (2006-2009), and Washington College (2005-2006). In his lone season at Flagler, the Saints accumulated more Peach Belt Conference victories than at any other point during the program's tenure in the league at the time. Texas Pan-American saw similar success with an increase in total wins during each of Leonard’s three years with the team. At Washington, Leonard helped head coach Rob Nugent record a career-high 14 wins and his first-ever conference tournament victory.
Leonard graduated Cum Laude from William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 2004, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He was a two-time Daktronics Academic All-Region Player as well as a two-time Midwest Classic Academic All-Conference Player with the Statesmen. He also holds a master’s degree in psychology from Washington College.
Leonard and his wife Haley, a Charlotte native and math teacher in the CMS school district, both reside in Belmont.
Former Queens men's basketball standout Dan Bailey, joined the men's basketball coaching staff in the summer of 2022 as an assistant coach. Bailey comes back to his alma mater with a wealth of knowledge in coaching, skills and the game of basketball, as he has spent the past nine years as a coach/instructor on the heels of a seven year professional basketball career overseas.
Bailey, undoubtedly, left his mark on the Royals' history books as he is the all-time leader in field goals made (687), defensive rebounds and defensive rebounds per game, while sitting in second in career points (1,771) and rebounds (812). He was a three-time all-conference forward in his time here at Queens, and was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District team twice. As a senior, Bailey led the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game and shot 52-percent from the field.
After graduation, Bailey went on to have a successful professional basketball career that saw him trek the world, making stops in Romania, Finland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. He then transitioned into the coaching world in 2013 by starting Gamechangers Basketball Camp in Columbia, S.C. In 2016, he took it a step further becoming a tour coach and skill development instructor for AAU basketball here in Charlotte where he worked with players to asses their strengths and teach them how to use those strengths to their advantage. Bailey also has a strong background in game strategies and basketball analytics, both as a player and coach.
This past July, Bailey was added to the coaching staff of Team D2 of The Basketball Tournament, which is headed up by coach Leonard. It afforded him the opportunity to work with a variety of athletes from the Division II level and hone his skills that will make him a valuable member of the coaching staff here at Queens.
Charlie Wilson joined the men's basketball staff as an assistant coach in June of 2022 after spending the previous seven seasons as head coach of Indian River State College, where he brought the Pioneers to national prominence at the NJCAA level with a coaching style that should translate easily to the next level.
Over his final two seasons at Indian River State College, Wilson led the Pioneers to 48-9 record, including the first two NJCAA National Tournment births in program history and an Elite Eight finish in 2020-21. Wilson was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year in each season coaching multiple All-Americans and back to back NJCAA Region VIII Players of the Year.
This past season, Wilson's Pioneer squad set a school record in wins with 28, finishing 2nd in the Region VIII Tournament and ranked as high as No. 2 in the NJCAA D1 National Polls. Wilson also helped the program to at least one All-American nod in each of the past three seasons, winning the Southern Conference in back to back years in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Prior to taking the helm at Indian River State College, Wilson was the associate head coach for Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri. In his eight seasons with the Eagles, Wilson had the duties of being the recruiting coordinator, directed all opponent scouting, and monitored academic processes amongst many other responsibilities. Wilson recruited nine NAIA Division I All-Americans and multiple conference players of the year. CMU was ranked in the National NAIA polls for five of the seven seasons that Wilson was on staff, with 20 or more wins in his final four season, two Heart of America Conference Championships.
McClurg joins the Royals staff prior to the 2022-23 season after previously serving as the Video Coordinator on the New Mexico State Men's Basketball staff. With the Aggies, McClurg oversaw the film and scouting of team's and opponent's and delivered metrics to the Head Coach suggesting potential adjustments. McClurg used advanced analytics to coordinate practice plans while improving targeted areas for specific players. The Aggies made two NCAA Tournament appearances after winning a pair of WAC Tournament titles with McClurg on staff. McClurg assisted the Aggies in setting a school record 30 wins while also going unbeaten at 19-0 in league play.
Prior to his stint at New Mexico State, McClurg served as a graduate assistant with the Louisiana Tech Men's Basketball program. The Bloomfield, N.J. native assisted their analytics staff and developed new tools for the team's lineup combinations and shot efficiency. McClurg played a significant role in the development of All-Conference guard Jacobi Boykins and professional standout Jalen Harris.
McClurg began his coaching journey as a Student Manager on the Virginia Tech Men's Basketball staff under former Head Coach Buzz Williams. While attaining a Bachelor of Science in Computational Modeling and Data Analytics, McClurg assisted the Hokies in recruiting while also developing player-specific training plans based on shot chart tendencies and player efficiency metrics. While in Blacksburg, McClurg helped the Hokies make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 years. Additionally, Virginia Tech set the most ACC wins in school history (10) in back-to-back seasons and took down perennial AP Top 5 teams in Duke and Virginia. McClurg assisted in the development of All-Conference players Justin Robinson and Kerry Blackshear, and NBA players in Justin Bibbs, Ahmed Hill, and Justin Robinson.
Michael Jenkins joined the Royals coaching staff in the summer of 2022. Prior to getting into coaching, Jenkins put together a remarkable playing career, including stints in the NBA, G League, and FIBA. Jenkins participated in the NBA Orlando Summer League with the Brooklyn Nets in 2014 before joining the Oklahoma City Thunder for their NBA Training Camp. With the Thunder, Jenkins played in all seven preseason games averaging 6.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists across 17.5 minutes per game.
Jenkins continued a professional career overseas competing in three different countries, including Italy, Russia, and Greece. For Umana Reyer Venezia in Venice, Italy, Jenkins guided the team to a #1 seed in the Lega Basket Serie A playoffs before winning the Basketball Champions League and earning the 2018 FIBA Europe Cup Champions title. The Charlotte native was also a member of the Basketball Club Nizhny Novgorod in Russia where he made the Round of 16 in the Basketball Champions League.
Before embarking on a professional career, Jenkins was a successful standout at Winthrop University where he was eventually inducted into the 2019 Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame. The two-time Big South All-Conference selection led the Eagles to four Conference Tournament titles and was named the 2008 Big South Tournament MVP. Jenkins poured in 1,253 career points which was 10th most in program history at the time as he won 77-percent of the games he played in for the Eagles. Jenkins was the leading scorer as a member of the best team in Winthrop and Big South history in 2006-07. The Eagles hoisted an unbeaten 14-0 conference record, took down Notre Dame in the 2007 NCAA Tournament advancing to the Round of 32, and finished the season ranked No. 22 in both the Associated Press and Coaches Poll.
Jenkins began his coaching journey in 2019 as an Assistant Coach at Catawba Ridge High School in Fort Mill, S.C. Jenkins assisted in generating game plans, scouting, skill development, and building team chemistry while cultivating a winning culture during the inaugural season of the athletic program. Jenkins would serve as an Assistant Coach on D2 Unheralded, a premier team in the West Virginia region composed of the best Division II talent in The Basketball Tournament. The tournament was involved in a one million dollar winner-take-all single-elimination tournament which was televised on the ESPN family of networks.
Jenkins received a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management from Winthrop University. The North Carolina native was an Athletic-Academic Scholarship recipient from 2004-08 and made the Dean's List in 2006.