Women's Basketball Coaching Staff

Leon NealLeon Neal, Head Coach

Leon Neal, 46, will begin his 11th year as the head Evangel women’s basketball coach during the 2004-05 season. The upcoming season is Neal’s 18th overall year on the EU women’s basketball coaching staff. He was co-head coach with Lynn Bowen the five years prior to 1999-2000 and was an assistant for seven years for the lady Crusaders. Neal earned his bachelor’s degree from Evangel in 1989 and completed his master’s degree at Drury in 2001. In addition to his coaching duties, Neal is also an assistant professor in EU’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department.

Neal has also served as the head volleyball coach for two years (1998, 1999) and was the assistant men’s basketball coach for 12 years, stepping down from that job prior to the 1998-99 season. Neal has put together an outstanding 236-101 overall coaching record during his ten years as head women’s coach of the Lady Crusaders.

All of Neal’s ten teams have advanced to postseason play and, with the exception of two squads, all won 20 or more games each season. His first team, the 1994-95 squad, finished 20-10. Then in 1995-96 Neal (and Bowen) had their best year ever. That team ended its season with a 33-5 mark, won the conference championship, won the postseason conference tournament and advanced to the final four round of the NAIA 11 national tournament. Neal and Bowen each won the conference’s coach-of-the-year award in 1995-96. Neal’s 1996-97 team finished 24-11 and in 1997-98, the Crusaders again finished strong with a 25-10 mark. The 2000-01 team was also highly successful, earning a trip to the NAIA II national tournament and finishing with a 20-11 record. The 2000-01 Lady Crusaders also won the Heart of America Athletic Conference championship with a 16-4 record and Neal was awarded his second conference coach-of-the-year honor.

Neal’s 2001-02 team continued the tradition set down by the previous year’s team and won the conference title for the second straight and third overall season. The team also won the conference postseason tournament, advanced two games into the NAIA II national tournament, and finished with an outstanding 28-7 record. At the conclusion of the 2001-02 season, Neal was presented with his third conference coach-of-the-year award.

At the end of the 2002-03 season, Neal’s ninth, the Lady Crusaders were 29-9, tied for first place in the conference, won the postseason conference tournament, and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NAIA II national tournament.

Neal’s 2003-04 team won the program’s fifth conference championship, won the postseason conference tournament and competed in the NAIA II national tournament for the fourth straight and sixth overall time. The 2003-04 squad turned in a 29-7 overall record and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the national tournament. In addition, Neal was honored with his fourth conference coach-of-the-year award at the season’s end.

An excellent motivator and teacher and a person with a great personal testimony, Neal is also active away from Ashcroft Center. Neal has worked with the Springfield Police Department’s Gang Task Force, he speaks to several youth groups and various athletic groups on drug and alcohol abuse, gives private basketball lessons to area athletes, and coaches in several basketball camps during the summer. Neal is also the head coach of an area AAU team that is comprised of sophomores and juniors. His teams have advanced to the national AAU tournament six times.

A former Crusader basketball standout and arguably one of the best players ever to wear the maroon and white, Neal earned NAIA all-America honors in 1978. He set a new season scoring record at Evangel during the 1977-78 season with 782 points and finished as the No. 13 scorer in the nation (NAIA). During his two-year career at Evangel, Neal averaged 24.4 points per game. He transferred to Evangel from Cuesta College (Calif.), where he also won all-America status.

Following his final year of basketball at Evangel, Neal turned down NBA tryouts to perform with Athletes in Action in Canada for one season. He returned to Evangel in 1979-80 to assist then head women’s basketball coach Dr. David Stair. At the end of that season, Neal left Evangel to pursue a professional basketball career in Portugal.

As a professional player, Neal was the recipient of several honors while playing for Porto and Sanglhos in Portugal. As he had at Cuesta and at Evangel, Neal consistently averaged 24 points per game during his six-year professional career. At Porto, Neal’s team won two national championships and they played in the European Cup Championships twice. Neal won MVP honors for his 44-point game in one of the national championship finals. The Sanglhos team was the national runner up at the end of two seasons. In addition, he coached the Sanglhos women’s basketball team for three years, accumulated a 77-6 record, and advanced to the national finals twice.

Following his stint in Portugal, Neal returned to Evangel for the 1986-87 season and finished his degree, graduating in 1989. Neal’s Evangel players have won 11 all-America honors and six were first team all-America picks. In addition, his players have won 35 all-conference awards and 17 were first team selections.

A native of Los Angeles (Crenshaw High School), Neal and his wife, (assistant coach) Dawn, have a daughter, NaTasha, who will be a senior on the 2004-05 Lady Crusader basketball team. The Neals reside in Springfield.

Coaching History

Coaching Highlights

Playing History

Dawn NealDawn Neal, Assistant Coach

Dawn Neal begins her fifth year as the assistant women’s basketball coach at Evangel in 2003-04. Neal was the co-head volleyball coach at the university with Mary Penrod in 2000 and was the interim head volleyball mentor in 1997. In addition to her coaching duties, Neal is also the facilities coordinator for Evangel’s Mabee Student Fitness Center.

Like her husband, (head coach) Leon, Dawn is a former Evangel athlete. She played on the 1980 volleyball and 1978-80 Evangel basketball squads. Neal then returned to Evangel in 1995 after playing in the Professional Women’s Basketball League in Europe for five years. She served as a student assistant on the Evangel volleyball team in 1996 and also was a student assistant for the Evangel women’s 1995-96 and 1996-97 basketball teams. Neal graduated from Evangel in 1997 with a B.S. in physical education. She is currently working on her master’s degree at Drury University in Springfield.

Dawn and her husband, Leon, have a daughter, Natasha, who is a junior on the 2003-04 Lady Crusader basketball team. The family resides in Springfield.