Alexandria Carter/Winonan

The Winona State University men’s basketball team has all but one player returning for the 2015-16 season, but for the first time in 28 years it will be a team without Mike Leaf as head coach.

According to the Winona Daily News, a current player accused Leaf of making drunken sexual advances that took place on June 20. Five days later, Leaf resigned as head coach.

According to John Casper Jr.’s article on Aug. 23, the player said, “We wanted the truth to be out there so we could move forward as a team.”

Leaf, a Winona native, spent 28 seasons with the men’s basketball program with 17 of those seasons as head coach. He became the Warriors winningest coach with 16 winning seasons, winning 57 consecutive games (Jan. 13, 2006 to March 22, 2007), and leading the team to three straight NCAA Division II National Championships while winning two in 2006 and 2008.

When asked to comment on Mike Leaf’s resignation, Winona State responded with the following statement:

“Our top priority is the safety of our students. We have clear policies in place to promote the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff, and others in our community. The University is committed to enforcing these policies by taking prompt and appropriate action when a complaint is received…”

On Aug. 17, Todd Eisner was introduced as the 20th head coach in the program’s history.

Eisner, whose coaching history includes Benedictine College (Kan.), Bellevue University (Neb.) and Viterbo University (Wis.), has spent 17 seasons at the NAIA level and posted a record of 417-165. His most recent coaching position was the head coaching spot at Midland (Neb.).

Eisner also took Bellevue to the national championship game twice and a trio of teams to the Elite Eight, with Viterbo achieving that mark in the 1998-99 season.

“The important thing is to set the foundation for how we want to play the game,” said Eisner. “To build that foundation a day at a time so that we continue to get better.”

Current assistant coach Zachary Malvik said, “We have a great group of guys who get along both on and off the court and really enjoy playing with each other.”

In addition to being an assistant coach to Leaf, Malvik also won the 2006 and 2008 NCAA National Championships as a player.

“I think the guys have worked really hard this off season, and we will see improvements out of a lot of our returners,” Malvik said.

The Warriors are coming off a season that saw them go 14-13 overall and 11-11 in NSIC play.

Key returners this season include NSIC All- Academics Josh Mongan, Conrad Masberg, Riley Bambenek, Nick Arenz, Mark Blacklock and Isaiah Gray, who earned All-NSIC second team honors.

Gray is coming off a strong sophomore season after leading the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game in NSIC play. The guard also led the offense in assists (64), steals (32) and finished second in rebounding (95).

Despite the events that have unfolded, the Warriors are ready to make the proper adjustments and take on the 2015 season.

“Change always makes it different. Change doesn’t mean it’s better or that it’s worse, it’s just different,” Eisner said.