2024–25 Liberty Flames basketball team American college basketball season
The 2024–25 Liberty Flames basketball team represents Liberty University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Flames are led by Ritchie McKay in the tenth season of his current stint as head coach (12th overall). They play their home games at Liberty Arena in Lynchburg, Virginia as second-year members of Conference USA .
Previous season
The Flames finished the 2023–24 season 18–14, 7–9 in C-USA play to finish a four-way tie for fourth place. As an No. 4 seed in the C-USA tournament they lost in the quarterfinals to UTEP .
Offseason
Departures
Incoming transfers
2024 recruiting class
2025 recruiting class
College recruiting information (2025)
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Zander Carter PG
Ashland, KY
Paul G. Blazer High School
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
N/A
Jun 19, 2023
Star ratings :Rivals : N/A 247Sports :
Andrew Grimes PF
Clayton, NC
Clayton High School
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
N/A
Sep 4, 2023
Star ratings :Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A
TJ Drain PF
Windermere, FL
Windermere High School
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
N/A
Aug 31, 2024
Star ratings :Rivals : N/A 247Sports :
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:
2026 recruiting class
College recruiting information (2026)
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Eli Herbert PG
Grain Valley, MO
Grain Valley High School
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
150 lb (68 kg)
Sep 4, 2024
Star ratings :Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:
Roster
2024–25 Liberty Flames men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G 0
Colin Porter 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg)
Jr Paul G. Blazer HS
Ashland, Kentucky
G 2
Taelon Peter 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
Sr Arkansas Tech
Russellville, Arkansas
G 3
Kaden Metheny 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg)
RS Sr Bowling Green
Morgantown, West Virginia
G 4
Brett Decker Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg)
Fr Central Hardin HS
Cecilia, Kentucky
F 5
Bryson Spell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg)
RS Jr Cape Henry Collegiate School
Virginia Beach, Virginia
F 7
Isaiah Ihnen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg)
RS Jr Minnesota
Böblingen, Germany
F 8
Owen Aquino 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg)
Jr Eastern Florida State College
Madrid, Spain
G 10
JC Shirer Jr. (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg)
RS So Grace Preparatory Academy
Arlington, Texas
F 11
Zander Yates 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg)
RS Jr Creighton
Germantown, Tennessee
F 12
Josh Smith 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg)
Sr Stetson
Monrovia, Indiana
F 15
Will Gibson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg)
Fr DeSales HS
Louisville, Kentucky
G 21
Gabriel McKay (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
GS Trevecca Nazarene
Lynchburg, Virginia
G 24
Curtis Blair III 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
RS Fr The Steward School
Richmond, Virginia
F 25
Zach Cleveland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg)
Jr Normal Community HS
Bloomington, Illinois
F 32
Jayvon Maughmer 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg)
GS Cedarville
Chillicothe, Ohio
F 45
Kai Yu 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg)
RS Fr Link Year Prep
Zhuhai, China
Head coach Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible(W) Walk-on Roster
Schedule and results
Date
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance)
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024 *5:00 p.m., Gray Media
vs. Valparaiso Total Athlete Tip-Off W 83–63 1–0
16 –
11 – Aquino
8 – Cleveland
Wooden Family Fieldhouse (1,200)Xenia, OH
November 9, 2024 *8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Seattle C-USA/WAC Alliance W 66–64 2–0
15 – Metheny
9 – Aquino
5 – Porter
Redhawk Center Seattle, WA
November 12, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Carolina W 81–45 3–0
18 – Decker Jr.
6 –
6 – Porter
Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA
November 16, 2024 *6:00 p.m., YouTube
vs. Florida Atlantic Field of 68 Tip-Off L 74–77 OT
3–1
19 – Metheny
8 –
7 – Cleveland
TD Arena Charleston, SC
November 17, 2024 *4:00 p.m., YouTube
at Charleston Field of 68 Tip-Off W 68–47 4–1
20 – Cleveland
9 – Maughmer
5 –
TD Arena (4,858)Charleston, SC
November 22, 2024 *5:30 p.m., ESPN+
vs. Louisiana Paradise Jam QuarterfinalW 89–69 5–1
20 – Metheny
7 – Cleveland
8 – Cleveland
Elridge Wilburn Blake Saint Thomas, USVI
November 24, 2024 *8:00 p.m., ESPN+
vs. Kansas State Paradise Jam Semifinal W 67–65 6–1
17 – Porter
9 – Cleveland
8 – Cleveland
Elridge Wilburn Blake (2,225)Saint Thomas, USVI
November 25, 2024 *8:00 pm, ESPN+
vs. McNeese Paradise Jam Final W 62–58 7–1
16 – Porter
6 –
5 – Porter
Elridge Wilburn Blake (1,986)Saint Thomas, USVI
November 29, 2024 *4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Central Penn W 93–36 8–1
25 – Ihnen
8 – Ihnen
5 – McKay
Liberty Arena (2,713)Lynchburg, VA
December 7, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Mississippi Valley State W 89–52 9–1
22 – Metheny
8 – Aquino
4 – Aquino
Liberty Arena (3,169)Lynchburg, VA
December 14, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
North Carolina A&T W 83–74 10–1
28 – Aquino
10 – Aquino
7 –
Liberty Arena (2,685)Lynchburg, VA
December 17, 2024 *7:00 p.m., ESPN+
St. Andrews W 124–50 11–1
30 – Peter
12 – Blair III
9 – Porter
Liberty Arena (2,125)Lynchburg, VA
December 21, 2024 *2:00 p.m., ESPN+
UT Arlington C-USA/WAC Alliance W 79–56 12–1
25 – Metheny
10 – Cleveland
8 – Porter
Liberty Arena (2,649)Lynchburg, VA
Conference USA regular season
January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., CBSSN
Western Kentucky L 70–71 12–2
18 – Cleveland
10 – Aquino
6 – Aquino
Liberty Arena (3,115)Lynchburg, VA
January 4, 2025 6:00 p.m., CBSSN
Middle Tennessee W 73–63 13–2
19 – Metheny
13 – Aquino
6 – Cleveland
Liberty Arena (2,690)Lynchburg, VA
January 9, 2025 9:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Sam Houston
W 76–68 14–2
17 – Porter
12 – Aquino
5 – Porter
Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, TX
January 11, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Louisiana Tech
L 74–79 14–3
33 – Peter
6 – Maughmer
4 – Cleveland
Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA
January 16, 2025 9:00 p.m., CBSSN
UTEP L 70–72 14–4
20 – Peter
9 – Cleveland
5 – Aquino
Liberty Arena (3,598)Lynchburg, VA
January 18, 2025 7:00 p.m., CBSSN
New Mexico State W 68–60 15–4
14 – Porter
7 – Peter
3 –
Liberty Arena (3,776)Lynchburg, VA
January 25, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at FIU
W 82–59 16–4
21 – Peter
4 –
5 – Porter
Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL
January 30, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Kennesaw State
Convocation Center Kennesaw, GA
February 1, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Jacksonville State
Pete Mathews Coliseum Jacksonville, AL
February 6, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN
Louisiana Tech
Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA
February 8, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPNU
Sam Houston
Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA
February 13, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+
at New Mexico State
Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM
February 15, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+
at UTEP
Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX
February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+
FIU
Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA
February 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Jacksonville State
Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA
March 1, 2025 1:00 p.m., CBSSN
Kennesaw State
Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA
March 6, 2025 7:30 p.m., CBSSN
at Middle Tennessee
Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN
March 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Western Kentucky
E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA Tournament
March 11–15, 2025 TBA
vs.
Von Braun Center Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern .
Sources[ 4]
References
^ LeRoy, Oscar (April 24, 2024). "Report: Former MCS star Venzant heading to play at ACU" . Midland Reporter-Telegram . Retrieved October 23, 2024 . ^ Jablonski, David (May 23, 2024). "Wright State lands transfer from Liberty" . Dayton Daily News . Retrieved October 23, 2024 . (subscription required) ^ a b Gordon, Bryson (April 18, 2024). "Region Roundup: Flames add a pair of forwards in transfer portal, and more" . The News & Advance . Retrieved October 23, 2024 . (subscription required) ^ "Schedule" . Liberty Flames . Retrieved October 23, 2024 .
