With three years captaining the De La Salle High (Concord) hoops squad under his belt and coming out of a controlled as well as very successful system of play, Leo Ricketts initially landed 70 miles away at Sacramento State. He played as a freshman for interim Coach Michael Czepil, averaging 4.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 15.3 minutes an outing, appearing in 16 games with four starts in the 2024-25 season. After a 7-25 record, Czepil wasn't retained and Ricketts then decided to move to a program where he would likely be playing major minutes as a sophomore, with exposure being a critical element, so that he could earn the opportunity of returning to the D1 level.
Ricketts headed south to Citrus College in located Glendora (Los Angeles County), a location that "initially was third on my list" he recalled. City College San Francisco and West Valley College were his other options. One of the reasons he selected Citrus is that Head Coach Brett Lauer is a native of Clayton in Contra Costa County. Another being that Lauer's Citrus teams usually average close to 100 points per game as well as defend with a full court press and Ricketts had yet to experience performing in a high-octane offensive system or a 94-foot defensive style.
The Owls finished the 2025-26 season with a 30-2 record, averaging 102.5 points a game. Citrus topped West Valley 84-54 in the state quarterfinals this year before falling to CCSF 73-71 in the semis. Ricketts earned State Co-Player of the Year honors from the California Community Colleges Men's Basketball Coaches Association after averaging 19.7 points, 3.9 assists and 3.0 rebounds while shooting remarkably well at 49% overall, 48% from three-point range and 83% at the foul line. Add in a 3.93 grade point average and to employ a non-hoops phrase, Ricketts had all the bases covered.
Time For Another Decision
Ricketts' production earned the 6-footer offers from St. Mary's, South Carolina Upstate, California Baptist (headed by Rick Croy, a former Citrus College head basketball coach before he moved over to Arizona State as an associate head coach), Ball State and Loyola University Maryland, located in Baltimore.
After visiting Loyola Maryland, he decided it was time for him to head east. His reasons were multiple. "I wanted to explore beyond California (as his previous experiences covered the upper and lower portions of California). I really liked the coaching staff (head by Josh Loeffler) and the returning players were great. It was easy to visualize myself there." Not mentioned but worth noting is that Iggy the Greyhound, known for his agility, speed, loyalty and intelligence, is the Loyola team mascot and those traits also aptly describe Ricketts.
Ricketts also explained that "Loyola is a Jesuit school where God is a pillar, a common value, and this will provide me the opportunity to grow my faith with Jesus." He also enjoyed this spiritual aspect when he was attending De La Salle High.
He believes going the JC route was beneficial in his case because "I got older, better and more mature." His mantra of advice is twofold: "go where you can play" and "never think of yourself as the victim."
So what does he do best on the court? "I'm a very good shooter, I can pass, I'm a winner and a good leader, having respect for my teammates. My approach is one of day-to-day, getting small wins every day. I like to push the pace but not play out of control. For me, it's the common goal being greater than individual statistics." In describing his leadership style, Ricketts said "there's no such thing as a quiet leader. " He added, "but if you aren't doing what you are saying to teammates, you'll fail." While at Citrus College, "I led with my voice" but now at Loyola Maryland, "I'll pick and choose my vocal moments while earning respect in the first few weeks. Then, I’ll step into a greater vocal leader role.”
Asked where he believes he'll be positioned this coming season, he explained "as a guard and this is the intriguing part -- I'll be playing on and off the ball." That flexibility was another attraction for signing with Loyola Maryland.
Regarding goals for this season, Ricketts quickly said, "the biggest for sure is something I've dreamed about since I was a little boy and that's making it into March Madness. Then, go and win one (game)."
As for a major at Loyola Maryland, Ricketts will be earning his degree in Communications. "But I'm not sure yet what I'll do with it," he added.
Moving from early on to the present stop of his hoops journey, Ricketts offered one of the most gracious and genuine compliments ever spoken about any coach. Besides what they imparted as basketball mentors, he lauded Brock Winter of the North Bay Basketball Academy, De La Salle Head Coach Marcus Schroeder, Citrus College Head Coach Brett Lauer and Loyola Maryland Head Coach Josh Loeffler as "great human beings."
Ricketts is too modest to currently place himself into such a category, but it's coming.
