Queens University of Charlotte head men’s basketball coach Grant Leonard is excited to welcome Sean Evans to the Queens program. Evans brings 14 years of professional playing experience to the Royals program and will serve as the Director of Player Development.
“Sean is an unbelievable addition to our staff with both his playing experience and early coaching experience last year,” said Leonard. “Our players will gravitate towards him with his expertise playing at St. John’s and professionally for 14 years. He also coached under Mike Dunlap, a former NBA head coach and national champion in college. Sean’s character and demeanor make him a future star in this profession.”
Evans comes to the Queen City following a season as an assistant coach at Colorado Mesa University under former Charlotte Bobcats head coach and St. John’s assistant, Mike Dunlap. In his role with the Mavericks, Evans focused on developing the team’s forwards, conducting individualized training sessions aimed at improving footwork, positioning, and overall on-court effectiveness. Evans’ efforts contributed to the emergence of three All-Conference selections. During his first season, CMU finished third in the conference standings at 19-9 and led the league in rebounding.
Evans brings firsthand knowledge, credibility, and an elite standard to player development and coaching with a wealth of knowledge in offensive and defensive strategies and techniques. Evans also provides leadership and mentorship to student-athletes, fostering growth on and off the court. Evans was a four-year forward at St. John’s University from 2007-11, and helped the Red Storm reach the NCAA Tournament in 2011. As a sophomore, Evans played in 34 games and averaged 10.3 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game.
The success in college allowed Evans to continue his playing career at the professional level. Over his 14-year professional career, Evans played in some of the world’s most esteemed leagues in the United States, Germany, Korea, Israel, Turkey, Greece, and many others. In his second professional season, Evans was chosen in the 2012 NBA Development League Draft by the Idaho Stampede, the former NBA G-League affiliate of the Utah Jazz. With the Stampede, Evans averaged 12.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
In the summer of 2017, Evans competed for Team FOE, a Philadelphia-based team in The Basketball Tournament on ESPN. Across four games, Evans averaged 10.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on 56 percent shooting to help Team FOE advance to the Super 16 Round in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Leonard and the rest of his staff here at Queens,” said Evans. “The Synergy between players and staff is high level here, and that’s an important part of the recipe to a championship caliber team. I look forward to adding value each day here as a Royal.”
Queens is coming off their third Division 1 campaign, which was a historic one. The Royals reached the 20-win mark for the first time in Division 1, and the 19th time in school history. Queens made their third consecutive trip to the Atlantic Sun Tournament and defeated Florida Gulf Coast to advance to their first semifinal appearance. Following the 19-14 season, Queens accepted an invitation to the 2025 Purple College Basketball Invitational, where they took down Northern Arizona in the opening round.
