SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana women's basketball head coach Nate Vogel has announced the hiring of Leah Szabla as the team's assistant coach. 
 
Szabla arrives to Augustana following a pair of seasons as the head coach at DIII North Central University, a private institution in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She finished with a 34-27 overall record in her two seasons at the helm. Szabla led her team to back-to-back UMAC postseason appearances, a UMAC Championship appearance in 2022-23, two straight NCCAA North Region Championship titles and two NCCAA DII National Tournament appearances. She also had five student-athletes named UMAC All-Conference and one NCCAA All-American honoree.

"Things just keep getting better for Augustana women's basketball," said Vogel. "I'm excited to add Leah to our staff.  She checks all the boxes.  She's been a college head coach, an NSIC assistant coach and also played DI basketball.  She's very well connected in the region and will do a great job recruiting for us.  I've known Leah for many years and have always thought she would be the perfect fit for my staff. I'm excited to be able to make that a reality. Leah is a big time hire that Viking fans should be extremely excited about."

In the 2021-2022 season, Szabla served as the head women's basketball coach at Crown College where they showed tremendous improvement and set the foundation for a very bright future. They tallied their highest win total in over four seasons, broke school records and earned multiple UMAC awards. The 2021-2022 season was highlighted by a first-ever victory over St. Scholastica, a sweep of conference foe, Northland College, and a trip to the Conference Tournament. Two players accomplished UMAC all-conference awards, set game records of points in a game and field goals made. Szabla's team saw huge improvements over the course of the season.

Prior to her time as head coach at Crown College, Szabla served as an assistant coach at North Central University. During her time as an assistant at NCU, the team won their first UMAC championship in school history. Szabla was a key piece to their success as she oversaw their defensive efforts. She also served as the coordinator of student-athlete services. Szabla spent the 2019-2020 season as the recruiting coordinator at Wayne State College. She coached three All-NSIC players and a Division II All-American. Szabla first began coaching at Black Hill State where she served as a graduate assistant from 2017-2019. There, she oversaw their player development and recruiting strategies. The 2017-2018 season was historic as they received an at-large bid to the NCAA DII tournament. Her coaching career has been marked by elite culture-building, leadership development, recruiting efforts, and strategy.

Szabla's playing career took place at the University of North Dakota where she competed at the DI level in the Big Sky Conference. She was an instrumental member of two championship seasons and was a 4-year starter. She was a two-time team captain, 1,000-point scorer, and UND Athletics Unsung Hero recipient. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from North Dakota and her master's degree in Strategic Leadership from Black Hills State.