| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Wartburg |
| Conference | American Rivers |
| Record | 30–23 (.566) |
| Biographical details | |
| Education | UMaine Farmington BS Springfield MS |
| Playing career | |
| 2010–2014 | UMaine Farmington |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2014–2015 | Southern Maine (assistant) |
| 2017–2019 | Springfield (assistant) |
| 2019–2020 | Bates (assistant) |
| 2020–2024 | UMaine Farmington |
| 2024–present | Wartburg |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 83–48 (.634) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| NAC Coach of the Year (2023) | |
Sam Leal is a former men's basketball player and current head coach at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
Sam Leal played college basketball at UMF in Farmington, Maine. In his junior campaign the Beavers would win the North Atlantic Conference regular season championship and finish with an overall record of 21–6. In his final year at UMF, the beavers would end their season with an overtime loss to Husson in the NAC tournament championship game.
Leal began is head coaching career at his alma mater, University of Maine at Farmington. Sam spent 4 seasons at the helm, recording a 53–25 overall record. Following the 2022–2023 season, Leal was named NAC coach of the year after posting a 19–8 overall record, 13–1 in conference play, earning them the #1 seed in the conference tournament. They would fall in the conference championship game to SUNY-Delhi.
Sam Leal was announced as the 13th head men's basketball coach in Wartburg history on May 1, 2024. He replaced longtime head coach Dick Peth.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UMaine Farmington (North Atlantic Conference) (2020–2024) | |||||||||
| 2020–21 | UMaine Farmington | 2–1 | Postseason not held due to COVID-19 | ||||||
| 2021–22 | UMaine Farmington | 14–7 | 8-2 | 1st (East) | |||||
| 2022–23 | UMaine Farmington | 19–8 | 13–1 | 1st (East) | |||||
| 2023–24 | UMaine Farmington | 18–9 | 9–5 | 2nd (East) | |||||
| UMaine Farmington: | 53–25 (.679) | 30–8 | |||||||
| Wartburg Knights (American Rivers Conference) (2024–Present) | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | Wartburg | 16–11 | 8–8 | T–5th | |||||
| 2025–26 | Wartburg | 14–12 | 6–10 | T–6th | |||||
| Wartburg: | 30–23 (.566) | 14–18 (.438) | |||||||
| Total: | 83–48 (.634) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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