He is known for his tenure as head coach at Winona State University, where he won two NCAA Division II National titles.
He went on to obtain his undergraduate degree from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, where he played two years of basketball and tennis.
During a three-year stretch from 2005 to 2008, Leaf's Warriors won two NCAA Division II championships (2006 and 2008) and went 105–6.
In the 2007–08 season, behind NABC National Player of the Year John Smith, the Warriors went 38–1 to set a Division II single-season win record.
[2] He resigned as head coach during the 2015 offseason following an accusation that he made a sexual advance on a player.