Hoosiers Now

Bloomington South's Anthony Leal Wins Indiana Mr. Basketball Award

Indiana signee Anthony Leal of Bloomington South won the Indiana Mr. Basketball award on Friday, the third straight IU signee to be so honored.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Everything about Anthony Leal's senior year at Bloomington South was perfect — right up to the shocking and painful and way-too-soon ending.

Leal and his teammates were 26-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4A. They had won a sectional title and were four games away from winning a state title when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the basketball season across the state. The dream Leal and his teammates had chased for years was taken away from them.

But all that Leal had accomplished as a player this season was recognized on Friday when he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball. 

He is the third straight Indiana signee to win the award, following Trayce Jackson-Davis in 2019 and Romeo Langford in 2018. It's the first time Indiana has recruiting three consecutive Mr. Basketball winners.

Leal is the second Bloomington South player to win the award. Jordan Hulls, who also played for the Hoosiers, won the award in 2009,.

The award, sponsored by the Indianapolis Star, is done by a vote of the state's coaches and media members. Leal was named on 103 of the 236 ballots, and was the landslide winner. Lawrence North’s Tony Perkins was second with 37 votes, followed by Culver Academy’s Trey Galloway — another Indiana signee — with 33 votes, Gary 21st Johnell Davis (22 votes) finished fourth and Lawrence Central’s Dre Davis was fifth with 15 votes.

Leal became Bloomington South's all-time leading scorer late in the season and finished with 1,620 points. He averaged 18 points a game this season, shooting 59 percent from the field and 37 percent from the three-point line. He also made several game-winning south for Bloomington South, beating both Floyd Central and Silver Creek buzzer beaters.

Leal is a Bloomington native, and his parents, Martin and Sherry Leal, both work for the IU Foundation. Leal's older sister Lauren is a college basketball player (DePauw) as well.

Related stories on Indiana recruiting

  • NEXT GENERATION: Meet Anthony Leal, the local hero chasing a state title with all of his best friends CLICK HERE
  • BLOOMINGTON SOUTH WINS SECTIONAL OPENER: Anthony Leal leads the way in sectional debut, wins title a few nights later. CLICK HERE
  • MEET CULVER'S TREY GALLOWAY: It's been a family affair on Trey Galloway's journey to Indiana. CLICK HERE
Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

Home/Basketball