MSU Athletics

Honors

NABC West Region Coach of the Year (1): 2015
PacWest Coach of the Year (2): 2015, 2016
Golden State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (1): 2008

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Justin Leslie was hired as Midwestern State's 10th head men's basketball coach in program history in April of 2019.
 
He has led the Mustangs to winning ledgers in each of the two seasons earning Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament berths in each of his first three seasons at the helm.

MSU continued its trend of making late surges by winning eight of its last 10 games during the regular season in 2021-22. The Mustangs rode the momentum to a 16-15 overall record and the No. 6 seed in the LSC Postseason Tournament advancing to the quarterfinal round.

Jermane Carter (14.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg) earned All-LSC second-team honors, while Terrell Wilson (13.5 ppg) garnered second-team mention and Pierre Sanders (10.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg) gained honorable mention.

The Mustangs ran off winning streaks at the beginning and end of the 2020-21 season on the way to posting an 11-8 record and finishing sixth in the LSC with a 10-8 mark to earn a league postseason berth.

Midwestern won seven of its eight games with the only loss coming in overtime against St. Edward's. MSU suffered through a six-game slide in the middle of the campaign experiencing three one-point losses with two coming on consecutive days at No. 15 Dallas Baptist and the other coming to No. 14 Lubbock Christian.

Midwestern recovered to win the final four games of the regular season before ending the year in the quarterfinal round of the LSC Postseason Tournament.

Luke Hamilton (11.2 ppg, 61 3s) earned second-team All-LSC honors, while Terrell Wilson (12.8 ppg) and Jermane Carter (10.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg) gained third-team accolades.

The rebuilding of the Mustangs showed incremental growth throughout his first season building to a strong finish in 2019-20. MSU claimed wins in four of its last five games to claim a spot in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament.
 
The charge was led by senior guard D'Monta Harris and Darius Thompson. Harris earned third-team All-LSC honors averaging a team-high 16.1 points per game, while Thompson gained honorable mention all-conference logging 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Leslie made the move to Wichita Falls following a highly successful run at Azusa Pacific in California. He led the Cougars to an average of 22 wins per season in his 12 years at the helm of his alma mater including nine 20-win campaigns, two Pacific West Conference titles and an NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance in 2015.
 
Leslie inherited a Midwestern State program which advanced to the NCAA Division II postseason tournament in nine out of 10 seasons from 2006-16 posting at least 22 wins in each campaign. The Mustangs won three consecutive South Central Region titles (2010, 2011, 2012) during the run which also included seven Lone Star Conference championships, but had struggled to 51 losses over the three seasons prior to Leslie's arrival.
 
Leslie faced a similar challenge of upholding the reputation of a small college powerhouse at Azusa Pacific after taking over for his coach and mentor Bill Odell, who amassed 454 wins in 16 seasons before announcing his retirement in 2007.
 
He extended the Cougars' run of 20 -win ledgers registering at least 24 victories in each of his first five seasons at the helm. Then, Azusa Pacific made the jump from the NAIA ranks to NCAA Division II through the tough Pacific West Conference.
 
During the provisional seasons, Leslie's teams boasted marks of 13-14 in 2012-13 and 17-10 in 2013-14 to set up consecutive league title runs in 2014-15 and 2015-16. In total, the Cougars own 20-win campaigns in four of five seasons as a full NCAA Division II member.
 
Leslie has been directly involved with the Azusa Pacific men's basketball program for all but one year since 1996 as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach.

Playing Career

Leslie competed as a 6-8 center at Azusa Pacific form 1996-2001. He is one of just five players in Golden State Athletic Conference history to play on four conference championship teams.
 
Leslie averaged 8.6 points and 4.8 rebounds while setting the school's single season (88) and career (168) records for blocked shots. As a senior in 2001, he averaged 12.4 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds while leading Azusa Pacific to a program-best 35-3 record. In all, Leslie was a key member of teams which posted a 127-22 record (.852) during his playing career.

Personal

Justin and his wife, Joy, also an Azusa Pacific alum, have two daughters -- Jill and Jenna -- and a son, Jaren. The family resides in Wichita Falls.
 
Leslie graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 2000 before earning an MBA during his final season of play at Azusa Pacific in 2001.
 

The Leslie File

Assistant Coach at Azusa Pacific -- 2001-02, 2003-07
Head Coach at Azusa Pacific -- 2007-19
Head Coach at Midwestern State -- 2019-
 

Year	School	Overall	Conference	Conf. Finish	Postseason
2021-22	Midwestern State	16-15 (.516)	10-6 (.625)	6th
2020-21	Midwestern State	11-8 (.579)	10-7 (.588)	6th
2019-20	Midwestern State	8-21 (.276)	8-12 (.400)	12th
2018-19	Azusa Pacific	20-11 (.645)	16-6 (.727)	3rd
2017-18	Azusa Pacific	21-11 (.656)	15-5 (.750)	3rd	NCAA II West Region Semifinalist
2016-17	Azusa Pacific	16-15 (.516)	11-9 (.550)	6th
2015-16	Azusa Pacific	23-9 (.718)	15-5 (.750)	1st	NCAA II West Region Semifinalist
2014-15	Azusa Pacific	27-6 (.818)	17-3 (.850)	1st	NCAA II Elite Eight
2013-14	Azusa Pacific	17-10 (.629)	13-7 (.650)	4th
2012-13	Azusa Pacific	13-14 (.481)	9-8 (.529)	7th
2011-12	Azusa Pacific	24-8 (.750)	12-6 (.667)	2nd
2010-11	Azusa Pacific	29-6 (.828)	17-3 (.850)	2nd	NAIA Sweet 16
2009-10	Azusa Pacific	28-10 (.736)	14-6 (.700)	3rd	NAIA National Finalist
2008-09	Azusa Pacific	24-10 (.705)	14-6 (.700)	3rd	NAIA Tournament
2007-08	Azusa Pacific	24-11 (.685)	14-6 (.700)	2nd	NAIA Elite Eight
Totals	15 Seasons	274-142 (.659)	175-82 (.681)	2 Conference titles	7 postseason appearances
MSU Totals	3 Seasons	35-44 (.443)	28-25 (.528)
APU Totals	12 Seasons	266-121 (.687)	167-70 (.705)	2 Conference titles	7 postseason appearances