Mike Leflar

Head Coach

Mike Leflar was named the 12th women's basketball head coach at the University of Massachusetts on April 10, 2023, after serving as the assistant women's basketball coach from 2018-2021, before being promoted to associate head coach on December 30, 2021. Leflar assumes his new role with 20 years of collegiate coaching experience with the previous five seasons coming at UMass, working primarily with the Minutewomen post players and contributed to a theme of rapid upward momentum within the program.

"I am thrilled to promote associate head coach Mike Leflar to serve as our Massachusetts women's basketball head coach," said Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford. "Mike has been an integral part of our success since his arrival in 2018. His efforts have contributed to the winningest era in program history and we feel strongly that he is the ideal leader to both support the personal development of our student-athletes and to continue the program's ascent competitively. Mike is an experienced tactician, a passionate and genuine recruiter and someone we have watched build impactful relationships within our department and throughout the UMass athletics community."

Leflar has been an integral part of building the most successful era in Massachusetts women's basketball, helping the program to its first regular-season Atlantic 10 championship this past season after the program earned its first Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship in 2021-22, while adding an NCAA Tournament berth in 2022 to go along with WNIT appearances in 2021 and 2023.

The 2022-23 season turned into one of the most successful campaigns in program history as the Minutewomen posted a 27-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in A-10 play while qualifying for the WNIT and advancing to the second round for just the third time in program history. In the first round of the WNIT, Massachusetts defeated Albany for win No. 27 of the season, marking the highest single season win total in program history.

Massachusetts also posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and during the middle of the 2022-23 season put together a program-best, 12-game winning streak. The 14 Atlantic 10 victories in 2022-23 also marked the most league wins in a season. The offense posted the highest scoring average (76.2 ppg) since the 1979-80 season and it marked the third straight season Massachusetts led the A-10 in scoring.

Experienced working with guards, forwards and centers, Leflar most recently worked closely with the Minutewomen forwards, including 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year, Sam Breen.
Under Leflar's guidance, Breen developed into one of the most decorated players in program history and earned back-to-back Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023.

In 2022-23, Breen averaged 17.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 47.5% from the field and adding 46 three-pointers. She shattered a 43-year-old career points record, finishing with 1,974 points while also scoring the most points in a single season in 2022-23 (589). Breen ranks second in program history in rebounding (1,154) and in 2022-23, she was selected to the A-10 All-Conference First Team, named the ECAC Player of the Year, landed on the All-ECAC First Team and was named to the FIU Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team.

The 2021-22 season shattered glass ceilings and broke records, as the program garnered its first Atlantic 10 Championship Title to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament for the first appearance since 1998. The No. 3-seeded Minutewomen defeated No. 1 seed Dayton in the Title Game to hoist the A-10 trophy. On March 19, 2022, the team made its appearance in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. In addition to a successful postseason, UMass tallied the most wins in program history after finishing 26-7 overall on the year.

Capped by a historic postseason run, the 2020-21 season was one to remember, the first in program history with multiple postseason wins. UMass reached heights not seen since the 1990s, playing in the Atlantic 10 Championship Game for the first time since 1998 and later earning an at-large bid to the WNIT, also the first postseason appearance since ’98.

With the advisement of Leflar, Sam Breen continued to be one of the most decorated athletes in the season, earning the program’s first A-10 Player of the Year honor, plus the league’s All-Conference First Team and All-Academic Team. She also was named the A-10 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and tabbed a spot on the All-Championship Team. Breen collected CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, while being announced a 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Semifinalist.

Under Leflar’s tutelage, Breen was named to the A-10 All-Conference First Team and All-Championship Team, before earning WNIT All-Region accolades. Breen finished with 15 double-doubles, a feat tied for 11th in the country, and averaged 18 points per game to sit second in the A-10. She also pulled down 10 rebounds per night, fourth in the league.

Massachusetts played in the Atlantic 10 Championship game in each of the past three seasons and in the five seasons since Leflar joined the staff the Minutewomen posted a combined 105-49 (.682) record.

It was a record campaign for the Maroon and White in 2019-20, a year to be remembered for a slew of team and individual performances. The squad tied a program record with 20 wins, set a new top mark with an 11-game winning streak and finished tied for fourth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the highest under the league’s current alignment. Massachusetts hosted, and won, an A-10 Tournament game at the Mullins Center for the first time since 1998, en route to the league Quarterfinals.

In his first season in Amherst, UMass won more games (16) than any other season since 2006-07, won an Atlantic 10 Tournament game for the first time in three years and reached the quarterfinal round of the league championship for the first time since 2005.

Prior to UMass, Leflar spent 2015-18 at Northeastern, including his final year as associate head coach. The Huskies won 16 games in 2017-18 including a program-record 11 victories in the CAA, capping the season with a trip to the WBI Tournament. That marked the program’s first postseason appearance since 1999.

Leflar came to Northeastern following a stint as Binghamton’s associate head coach in 2014-15. In his one season in New York, he spearheaded recruiting initiatives and was instrumental in beginning the rebuilding process for the Bearcats.

He spent a total of 10 seasons at Boston University both as an assistant coach (2004-12) and associate head coach (2012-14). Under Leflar’s tutelage, the Terriers were crowned America East regular season champions in 2009 and 2012 and reached the WNIT on four occasions (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013). Along with his role in developing offensive and defensive schemes, he led instruction for the team’s guards and post players.

Before his first coaching stop in Boston, he served in an assistant capacity at the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked with post players and helped the Quakers bring home the 2004 Ivy League title.

In addition to his on-court basketball duties, Leflar is a member of the Athletic Department's Diversity & Inclusion Committee. In Summer 2020, Leflar joined Coaches 4 Change (C4C), an organization founded by college basketball coaches who are dedicated to helping their student-athletes, campuses and communities.

A native of Horsham, Pennsylvania, Leflar graduated from Boston College in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in communications, while also completing minors in American studies and black studies. He has previously been invited to participate in Nike’s Villa 7 and has presented at the WBCA Assistant Coaches Roundtable.

He and his wife, Kate, have two sons, Graham and Jackson.