Liberty Basketball 2025-26 Season Preview! Can The Flames Repeat In CUSA?

Nick Kirby and Jon Manson are joined by former Liberty player Joel Vander Pol to preview the 2025-26 season for the Liberty Flames. This episode is sponsored by Jason Porter Realty. Be sure to subscribe, give us a 5-star rating, and share with your friends no matter where you listen to Podcasts: SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify. We're also on YouTube this season, as well, and you can watch there. The Podcast will stream live on our YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook channels throughout the year. Liberty Flames: Reloaded and Ready for Another CUSA Run in 2025-26As the calendar flips to November 2025, the Liberty University men's basketball Flames are poised to defend their Conference USA crown and chase deeper into March Madness. Last season's 28-7 dream run—capped by a regular-season sweep, tournament title, and first-round NCAA berth—set a high bar under coach Ritchie McKay. Despite losing key transfers like Taelon Peter and Jayvon Maughmer, Liberty returns a battle-tested core, bolsters it with savvy portal grabs, and infuses youth with a towering freshman class. The result? A squad blending experience, length, and upside that could make Lynchburg hum all winter. McKay, entering his seventh year, enters with quiet confidence. "We're not scrambling like so many mid-majors," he told reporters in September, emphasizing the Flames' retention of talent. His portal strategy targeted size and versatility, yielding transfers like R-Senior guard JJ Harper from D-II powerhouse West Liberty (15.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG last year) and R-Senior forward Josh Smith from Stetson, a 6-9 stretch-four who sat out 2024-25 with a knee injury but flashed 8.4 PPG prior. R-Freshman forward Ryan Jones Jr. adds ACC polish from Virginia Tech. These vets join a spine of returners: Graduate guard Kaden Metheny (13.3 PPG, CUSA Championship MVP, 102 threes), senior forward Zach Cleveland (11.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, third-team all-CUSA), and senior point guard Colin Porter (9.1 PPG, 4.3 APG, honorable mention all-CUSA). Sophomore guard Brett Decker (44.2% from deep as a frosh) and R-Senior forward Zander Yates provide bench spark, while injured duo Isaiah Ihnen (10.4 PPG pre-injury) and Smith return to fortify the frontcourt. The freshmen haul screams potential: All 6-6 or taller, led by 6-8 forwards TJ Drain and Brady Kester, 6-9 Drew Grimes, 6-7 Torr Sorensen, and 6-6 guard Zander Carter.  Position breakdowns? Guards brim with shooters (Metheny, Porter) and creators (Cleveland at forward). Forwards hinge on health—Smith and Ihnen's knees could unlock elite spacing.