# 2024–25 Liberty Flames basketball team

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

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Brody Peebles | 1 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Junior | Hartselle, AL | Transferred to Belmont |
| Jaylen Davis | 12 | G | 6'6" | 180 | Freshman | Richmond, KY | Transferred |
| Kyle Rode | 22 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | Lexington, KY | Graduated |
| Joseph Venzant | 23 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Junior | Midland, TX | Transferred to Abilene Christian |
| Shiloh Robinson | 33 | F | 6'7" | 235 | Senior | Kearney, NE | Graduated |
| Ben Southerland | 34 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Freshman | Cincinnati, OH | Transferred to Wright State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous college |
| Taelon Peter | 2 | G | 6'4" | | Senior | Russellville, AR | Arkansas Tech |
| Isaiah Ihnen | 7 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Junior | Böblingen, Germany | Minnesota |
| Owen Aquino | 8 | F | 6'8" | 200 | Junior | Madrid, Spain | Eastern Florida State College |
| Josh Smith | 12 | F | 6'9" | 215 | Senior | Monrovia, IN | Stetson |
| Jayvon Maughmer | 32 | F | 6'6" | 210 | GS Senior | Chillicothe, OH | Cedarville |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Brett Decker PG | Elizabethtown, KY | Central Hardin High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Oct 23, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ||||||
| Will Gibson PF | Louisville, KY | DeSales High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Oct 23, 2022 |
| 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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 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: "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

### 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: "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| 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 – Tied | 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 (999) Seattle, WA |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Carolina | W 81–45 | 3–0 | 18 – Decker Jr. | 6 – Tied | 6 – Porter | Liberty Arena (3,546) 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 – Tied | 7 – Cleveland | TD Arena (331) 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 – Tied | TD Arena (4,858) Charleston, SC |
| November 22, 2024* 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Louisiana Paradise Jam Quarterfinal | W 89–69 | 5–1 | 20 – Metheny | 7 – Cleveland | 8 – Cleveland | Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center (2,125) 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 Sports and Fitness Center (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 – Tied | 5 – Porter | Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center (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 – Tied | 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 (0–1) | 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 (1–1) | 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 (2–1) | 17 – Porter | 12 – Aquino | 5 – Porter | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (924) Huntsville, TX |
| January 11, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Louisiana Tech | L 74–79 | 14–3 (2–2) | 33 – Peter | 6 – Maughmer | 4 – Cleveland | Thomas Assembly Center (2,373) Ruston, LA |
| January 16, 2025 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | UTEP | L 70–72 | 14–4 (2–3) | 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 (3–3) | 14 – Porter | 7 – Peter | 3 – Tied | Liberty Arena (3,776) Lynchburg, VA |
| January 25, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | W 82–59 | 16–4 (4–3) | 21 – Peter | 4 – Tied | 5 – Porter | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,176) Miami, FL |
| January 30, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Kennesaw State | W 76–68 | 17–4 (5–3) | 17 – Metheney | 5 – Metheney | 6 – Cleveland | Convocation Center (3,151) Kennesaw, GA |
| February 1, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | L 61–72 | 17–5 (5–4) | 19 – Peter | 9 – Peter | 7 – Cleveland | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,967) Jacksonville, AL |
| February 6, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Louisiana Tech | W 77–53 | 18–5 (6–4) | 16 – Peter | 7 – Cleveland | 5 – Cleveland | Liberty Arena (3,152) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 8, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPNews | | Sam Houston | W 64–61 | 19–5 (7–4) | 26 – Metheny | 7 – Metheny | 3 – Tied | Liberty Arena (3,355) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 13, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State | W 64–54 | 20–5 (8–4) | 20 – Peter | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Pan American Center (4,509) Las Cruces, NM |
| February 15, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP | W 76–69 | 21–5 (9–4) | 23 – Peter | 10 – Tied | 7 – Cleveland | Don Haskins Center (5,687) El Paso, TX |
| February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 58–45 | 22–5 (10–4) | 14 – Peter | 6 – Peter | 6 – Cleveland | Liberty Arena (4,000) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 59–55 | 23–5 (11–4) | 13 – Metheny | 9 – Cleveland | 5 – Porter | Liberty Arena (3,716) Lynchburg, VA |
| March 2, 2025 1:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Kennesaw State | L 80–85 | 23–6 (11–5) | 16 – Tied | 9 – Cleveland | 8 – Cleveland | Liberty Arena (3,184) Lynchburg, VA |
| March 6, 2025 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at Middle Tennessee | W 86–81 | 24–6 (12–5) | 33 – Peter | 7 – Aquino | 6 – Tied | Murphy Center (4,858) Murfreesboro, TN |
| March 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Kentucky | W 90–61 | 25–6 (13–5) | 21 – Tied | 15 – Maughmer | 8 – Cleveland | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,247) Bowling Green, KY |
| Conference USA Tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (8) UTEP Quarterfinals | W 81–60 | 26–6 | 19 – Cleveland | 6 – Maughmer | 6 – Tied | Von Braun Center Huntsville, AL |
| March 14, 2025 12:30 p.m., CBSSN | (1) | vs. (4) Kennesaw State Semifinals | W 81–79 | 27–6 | 24 – Metheny | 6 – Tied | 6 – Cleveland | Von Braun Center (2,434) Huntsville, AL |
| March 15, 2025 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | (1) | vs. (2) Jacksonville State Championship | W 59–55 | 28–6 | 13 – Metheny | 9 – Cleveland | 5 – Porter | Von Braun Center (2,146) Huntsville, AL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 21, 2025* 10:10 p.m., TruTV | (12 E) | vs. (5 E) No. 25 Oregon First round | | | | | | Climate Pledge Arena Seattle, WA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Sources