Newsletter 3/16: Queens’ fearless coach takes his shot
Plus: Join The Ledger's bracket challenge; Bridge lawsuit drags on; Podcast with wealth adviser; Club West packed; Strong storms forecasted today; Sheepish behavior in east Charlotte
Good morning! Today is Monday, March 16, 2026. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Need to subscribe — or upgrade your Ledger e-newsletter subscription? Details here.
Today's Charlotte Ledger is sponsored by PBS Unspun. Wondering what politicians are thinking but not saying? Watch PBS Charlotte Fridays at 8 p.m. as former Governor Pat McCrory delivers no-spin answers. Stream anytime on demand at wtvi.org/unspun.
Hi Ledger readers, it’s Ashley. Stay weather-aware today!
After seeing Grant Leonard’s “Ted Lasso”-themed ugly Christmas sweater last week at a press conference (which also included a nameplate for a stuffed dog), it made me curious about the person coaching Queens University’s men’s basketball team, which is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Frequent Ledger contributor Carroll Walton has a gift for writing compelling sports stories, especially about the people of sports, and her profile of Leonard in today’s newsletter is illustrative of that. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
‘A dream come true’: How Grant Leonard took an unlikely path to lead small Queens University of Charlotte to one of basketball’s biggest spotlights
by Carroll Walton
Grant Leonard abandoned an egg and cheese crescent two bites in on Friday morning, the fork still stuck in a side of potatoes, courtside at Queens University of Charlotte’s Levine Center.
It was 10:15 a.m., a week before his basketball team would play in its first NCAA Tournament, and a late breakfast just got later.
Another in a litany of interviews ran up to the start of practice for the 45-year-old coach who’s been shoe-horning media appearances, a recruiting trip to Florida and a few hours of sleep at most into his daily schedule.
Leonard, the Royals’ coach since 2022, has been running on fumes lately, as the pace of the team’s season has picked up. On Friday, he’ll lead the team against Purdue as big underdogs, with the chance to become the latest “Cinderella” story in a field of 68 that pairs powerhouses with less-heralded opponents.
At the center of Queens’ story is Leonard, a colorful character who at times waited tables as he bounced through small-school coaching jobs before landing at Queens 13 years ago. He turned a “hodgepodge” of players into a team, while adding elements of fun — like a habit of wearing holiday sweaters and introducing “Buddy the Street Dog,” a stuffed German Shepherd, as his team’s “spirit animal.”
“We have a bunch of unique stories,” Leonard said. “But really, what it’s going to do is change Queens’ trajectory.”
Possibly his, too.
Basketball fan with Midwestern roots
Growing up in Wisconsin, Leonard’s parents sprung him and his brother from school to see NCAA Tournament games in Chicago and Milwaukee. He watched Penny Hardaway play for Memphis State. He saw Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill, a favorite for a 10-year-old bearing the same first name, play for Duke.
“Now to be a part of it, it’s a dream come true,” Leonard said.
Leonard started coaching high school in his hometown, Milwaukee, before Division III and II college stops in Maryland, Texas, Florida and Georgia — a trajectory he calls “falling upward.”
His career choice didn’t make sense to his father.
“He always thought I should go make a bunch of money in some business field or sales,” Leonard said. “That’s not where my passion was.”
When his father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Leonard moved him to Charlotte to help take care of him. Instead of seeing each other two or three times a year, his father saw him in action nearly every day.
“He traveled with the team, he got to know our players,” Leonard said. “Then he said, ‘Now I realize why you do this.’”
From his father, an engineer who designed HVAC systems at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and Soldier Field, Leonard learned commitment.
“The foundation of who I am, the consistency of how I work is all him,” Leonard said.
Gaining confidence after overcoming struggles
When previous Queens coach Bart Lundy left for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in early 2022, Leonard got the job. Six months later, his father died. The following month, Leonard was arrested for driving while impaired.
He was suspended for the first five games of his first season as head coach.
“I probably didn’t deal with his passing enough right away,” Leonard said. “Queens was very supportive when I made the mistake. Those charges ended up dismissed and expunged, but it doesn’t excuse the black eye I gave the school. Queens was supportive in getting me the counseling I needed, not just for the DUI, but for my dad, and stuck with me. I’m appreciative of that.”
Court records show he pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless driving and completed community service, a substance abuse assessment and probation.
Leonard came to Queens with a reputation for recruiting. Over time, he gained Lundy’s trust with X’s and O’s. In 2019, Leonard got his first taste of head coaching at TBT, a summer tournament for former NBA and college players with a $2M purse. He coached a team of Division II players against former University of Kentucky players. The game was in Lexington and televised on ESPN.
“I was throwing up in the bathroom,” he said.
Despite pre-game jitters, his team won 77-62.
In his four seasons at the helm at Queens, Leonard has shown no fear in scheduling tough opponents as well as in his wardrobe, his outspokenness and his mindset.
Leonard used to wear the occasional ugly Christmas sweater as an assistant coach. When Queens students started to take notice, he decided to wear them all season. He wore “Leftovers are for Quitters” at Virginia the day after Thanksgiving, “Gangsta Wrapper“ in Arkansas in mid-December and Ted Lasso’s “Believe” to a press conference last week. He promises a St. Patrick’s Day look for the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m Irish,” he said.
Leonard speaks his mind, too. He went viral for a post on X last week, calling out an SEC assistant coach for purchasing courtside seats at the ASUN tournament and verbally engaging one of his players during pre-game warmups.
Assembling a championship team
Last week, before Queens’ opponent was announced, Leonard said he had no fear of playing the best. He told a podcaster he’d like to face Duke, the No. 1 team in the country.
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Leonard said. “Failure usually brings out your best success. Last year, losing in the conference tournament in the semifinals in overtime and blowing a lead, I think, helped us win that game this year.”
Queens blew an 11-point lead in the final three minutes of regulation against Central Arkansas in the ASUN final. His message to his team in the huddle? “Attack, attack, attack,” Leonard said. Queens scored the first seven points of overtime and rolled to the 98-93 win.
Queens’ roster consists of players from Israel to Hawaii, Houston to Idaho, young men he convinced to buy into a former women’s college, new to Division I, with small classes where absences are noticed and community service is part of the package, whether it’s mentoring kids or running summer camps.
In practice, his influence is palpable. Players encourage as much as the coaches. Whenever somebody went down hard, teammates rushed to pick him up.
“That’s our culture,” said Maban Jabriel, a sophomore from Waterloo, Ontario.
Leonard rewards them with “Buddy” for playing like “street dogs.” Guard Chris Ashby is as likely to earn praise for 10 3-pointers in the ASUN championship as a screen he set that occupied two defenders. Leonard’s assistants keep a “for each other” chart of such plays.
“It’s all love,” Jabriel said. “It’s been that way since Day 1, towards all the players. He’s a great guy. It’s always in his heart to better us.”
For just a moment, early in Friday’s practice, Leonard spoke up over everybody to make a point: “Don’t stop! Go get the ball no matter what!”
It was also a nice metaphor for Leonard, too, and all he’s doing this week. Success in the NCAA Tournament might have powerful college programs taking notice.
“I’ve never been a part of a search like that, so I don’t even know how to handle it,” Leonard said. “But I don’t worry about it. I’ve always looked at Queens as I want to build something sustainable here. … If something life-changing happens, just like I will for the players, we’ll look at it. But I’m not even worried about that now. I’m worried about right here.”
Carroll Walton is a longtime journalist and freelance writer who now authors The Ledger’s weekly Fútbol Friday newsletter on Charlotte FC. Reach her at carroll@cltledger.com.
—
🏀 Join The Ledger’s March Madness bracket challenge
March Madness is upon us, with the brackets for the NCAA Tournament out last night.
And if you’re looking for somewhere to put your brackets and show off your basketball game-picking prowess, The Charlotte Ledger is here for you.
The Ledger is running a bracket pool. You’re welcome to enter (for free) and compete for a dazzling array of prizes — and, perhaps even more valuable, bragging rights.
To enter, complete an ESPN bracket online (it’s free, but you’ll need an account) and join a private group we set up called “The Charlotte Ledgerers.” The password: LEDGER.
The prizes:
1st place: $75 Harris Teeter gift card
2nd place: $50 Harris Teeter gift card
3rd place: $25 Harris Teeter gift card
4th-5th place: 10 Charlotte Ledger pens. (They are some good-looking, high-quality pens.)
You can enter up to two brackets per ESPN sign-in. Once you create a bracket, make sure you link it to the group (TheCharlotteLedgerers) for it to count. The games start on Thursday around 12:00 p.m.
We’ll keep you updated over the next few weeks. Let the games begin! —Tony Mecia
Today’s supporting sponsor is Gingko Residential. A focused strategy in workforce rental housing across North and South Carolina. Ginkgo REIT provides tax-efficient income, portfolio diversification, and long-term capital appreciation. Next closing April 1st.
The lawsuit over the Hawthorne Lane bridge is taking almost as long as construction of the Hawthorne Lane bridge
A Texas-based construction company’s lawsuit against the city of Charlotte is entering its fourth year, as it seeks to get paid for its work on the long-delayed Hawthorne Lane bridge project in Elizabeth.
At issue in the suit is who is to blame for the seemingly interminable four-and-a-half years it took to build the bridge, which is near one endpoint of the Charlotte Area Transit System’s Gold Line streetcar. The suit was filed in February 2023 and alleges the contractor is owed at least $115M, representing the unpaid work.
Johnson Bros. Corp. of Grapevine, Texas, which won the job with a $90M bid in 2016, says the city delayed the project by changing traffic control plans, limiting construction work hours, adding requirements on storm drains and delaying approvals, and that there were also unforeseen hurdles such as conflicts with utility lines and “Covid-19, social justice protests and weather.”
The city, though, blames the contractor for the delays. CATS had said during the bridge project that Johnson Brothers was slow in budgeting, scheduling and construction.
Court documents say the contractor was given the go-ahead to start work in February 2017 and that the project was completed in August 2021, though the bridge opened to traffic in late 2020. It connects Elizabeth to Plaza Midwood and goes over Independence Boulevard.
At the time, the bridge construction was blamed for a slowdown at nearby businesses, and it was the butt of jokes on social media, with some people pointing out that the Hawthorne Lane bridge project took longer to complete than the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Court documents show that the two sides worked with a mediator last month, but that they reached an “impasse.” The court extended time for discovery, in which both sides conduct depositions and request documents, until July 1. That suggests a trial could take place later this year.
Court documents say that “the parties have collectively gathered, reviewed and produced millions of pages of documents and several terabytes of electronic data,” in addition to producing “hundreds of pages of expert reports” and retaining eight experts between the two sides.
The bridge represents one of Charlotte’s most prominent infrastructure headaches. And like the bridge itself, the legal battle is taking years to play out. —Tony Mecia
🎧 On the podcast: What mahjong has to do with financial planning
On the most recent episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, The Ledger’s Tony Mecia spoke with Mary Ware, a Charlotte native and wealth adviser with Carnegie Private Wealth whose path into finance started not with business school, but with journalism and a personal-finance class at Central Piedmont Community College that changed the course of her career.
She explains how financial planning goes far beyond picking investments, why women are poised to control more wealth in the coming years and what people often miss when navigating major transitions like retirement or divorce. They also discuss:
Why financial planning is really about values, goals and life decisions
The most common mistakes people make with retirement and estate planning
Why divorce can be one of the most financially stressful transitions in life
What artificial intelligence may change in financial advice — and what it probably won’t
Why knowing your numbers is one of the most important steps in planning well
How mahjong is like financial planning.
This episode is sponsored by Child Care Search, a service of Child Care Resources Inc. Listen to the conversation here:
Revelers pack the former Sycamore Brewing (now Club West Brewing) on its first day back
Charlotteans decked in green and shamrocks this weekend packed bars across the city, including Club West Brewing, the rebrand of Sycamore Brewing in South End. The brewery’s patio and taproom were wall-to-wall with people on Saturday afternoon — a popular day for day drinking with it being St. Patrick’s Day weekend and warm, sunny weather.
Last week, Sycamore owner Sarah Taylor said she was selling the business to Brad Bergman, who had been director of brewery operations at Sycamore. Taylor and Justin Brigham were the married co-owners of Sycamore Brewing until December, when Brigham was arrested on multiple charges, including sex crimes involving a minor. Taylor said she assumed full ownership of the brewery in the wake of Brigham’s arrest. She closed the brewery in early January and also filed for divorce from Brigham that month.
Saturday was Club West’s first day of operations. Its beer menu may have new drink names, but the vibes resembled Sycamore in its heyday.
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
MARCH 26: “Learning Society: AI and the Future of Everything,” 7-8:15 p.m., at Queens University of Charlotte, 1900 Selwyn Ave. AI and robotics aren’t just transforming industries—they’re redefining humanity. Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and former Wired editor, and Nita Farahany, author of The Battle for Your Brain, offer an insider look at AI’s rise, ethics, and what it will take to thrive in a future of new rules and values. $45-$75.
APRIL 11: “Tosco Music Party,” 7:30-10:30 p.m., at Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. Come experience a fun night of music and community with a dozen local, regional and national acts sharing a wide variety of music genres. Plus, singalongs throughout the night led by John Tosco and the TMP House Band and Singalong Choir! Don’t miss it! $22-$59/ticket.
APRIL 14: “CREW Charlotte’s Gaming Night,” 4-6:30 p.m., at Queen Park Social, 4125 Yancey Rd. Come play your favorite games at CREW’s Gaming Night! All proceeds to support scholarships in fields of commercial real estate. Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 919-814-5400. The license is not an endorsement by the State. $95 for members. $120 for guests.
APRIL 23: “Fourth Annual “Perfectly Paired” Wine Tasting & Auction,” 5:30-8 p.m., at the Duke Mansion, 400 Hermitage Road. This signature fundraiser supports four Charlotte-area children’s nonprofits. Guests will enjoy a curated wine tasting, supper-by-the-bite offerings prepared by The Duke Mansion culinary team and both silent and live auctions featuring travel experiences, golf, spa and dining packages. $125/ticket.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
In brief:
Strong storms possible today: A series of strong to severe storms is moving into the Charlotte region this morning. A severe thunderstorm watch from the National Weather Service is in effect for the Charlotte area until 11 a.m. Short-term computer models show the severe weather threat to be highest between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., but strong storms are also possible at other times Monday, according to longtime weather reporter Steve Lyttle. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are closed today because of the potential for severe storms.
Suit says Border Patrol cost bakery $50,000+: A federal lawsuit alleges the November 2025 federal immigration operation known as “Operation Charlotte’s Web” harmed Charlotte’s immigrant community and local businesses, with Manolo’s Bakery in east Charlotte losing an estimated $50,000 to $64,000 during a weeklong closure. (WBTV)
Legislators question hospital ‘facility fees’: North Carolina lawmakers are weighing limits on controversial “facility fees” hospitals charge at clinics and doctors’ offices — a practice insurers say adds about $200M a year to health costs but hospitals argue helps fund staffing and services, especially in rural areas. The Ledger examined the issue in September 2024. (NC Newsline)
Google to expand data center north of Charlotte: Google said on Friday it would invest $1B over the next two years to expand its data center infrastructure in Caldwell County, about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte. The Lenoir data center supports Google services including Maps, Photos, Search, Workspace and YouTube. (Charlotte Business Journal)
On the lamb: Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers herded a sheep on the loose in east Charlotte on Friday. The pair was able to catch the sheep after herding it into a fenced area, according to Melissa Knicely, spokesperson at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control office. As it did not have identification, the sheep was being housed in the barn at Animal Care and Control’s main shelter on Byrum Drive. (Charlotte Observer)
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer a free version, as well as paid memberships for full access to all 6 of our local newsletters:
The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
◼️ About The Ledger • Our Team • Website
◼️ Subscribe • Sponsor • Manage Your Account