Head Coach Maurice Leitzke
Leitzke joined the Aggie coaching staff in 2004 after spending the previous two seasons as assistant men's basketball coach at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. At Cameron, he has helped guide the Aggies to three of their best seasons over the last decade, including the team's first winning record since 1998, with a 15-12 mark during the 2004-05 campaign.
Four Cameron players, all of which were recruited by Leitzke, have been honored with Lone Star Conference individual postseason recognition over the past three seasons, including 2006 LSC North Division Co-Defensive Player of the Year, junior guard Brandon Smith. Another player, junior guard Matt Reid, was named to the All-LSC North Second Team each of the last two seasons, leading the LSC-North in scoring last year.
Cameron finished the 2006-2007 season with a 12-14 overall record and was able to accomplish a great deal:
- Defeated three teams that eventually qualified for the D-II National Tournament: Pittsburg State, Midwestern State, West Texas A&M
- Defeated five nationally-ranked (Top 25) teams: Tarleton State, Midwestern State, Pittsburg State, West Texas A&M, and Southwestern Oklahoma State
- Senior guard Matthew Reid named to Second-Team All-Lone Star Conference for the second consecutive season
- Achieved the second-most D-II wins since Cameron University was elevated to Division II status 18 years ago
- Third-consecutive year with a winning record in the Lone Star Conference Crossover contests.
"I think Cameron is on the brink of tremendous success in the next few years and I plan on helping our team become a proud, winning program both on and off the floor," Coach Leitzke said.
Prior to his work at Southwest Baptist, Leitzke played professional basketball in Australia and Austria. He was the second-leading scorer in Australia's SBL league, averaging 22.1 points per game. He also led the SBL in three-pointers made and free throw percentage from 1998-2000. Leitzke set a league record with 24 points scored in the fourth quarter of a game and also set a league mark with 10 three-pointers made in a game. He was voted Best New Import by SBL referees in 1998.
Before beginning his professional career, Leitzke was a collegiate standout, as well. He played at Valparaiso University from 1991-93, before transferring to McHenry Community College for the 1993-94 season. Leitzke also played one season at Southwest Baptist before finishing his eligibility at Evangel University, where he was an NAIA All-American selection in 1996, after leading the school to its first conference title and NAIA national tournament appearance.
As a prep player at Woodstock High School in Woodstock, Ill., Leitzke was a two-time Northern Illinois Class 2A Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American candidate.
Leitzke, who also serves as an instructor in the Health and Physical Education department at Cameron, lives in Lawton with his wife Torey, a former Miss Basketball Arizona and a member of the Butler University women's basketball team that garnered the school's first-ever invitation to the NCAA women's basketball championships in 1997. She served as an assistant coach on the women's basketball staff at Southwest Baptist from 2002-04.
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