We are now two weeks into the spring signing period for men’s basketball, and, with Jorge Pacheco-Ortiz the only signee and no pending offers to high school seniors, the men’s 2016-17 roster is coming into focus.
The Flames will have 7 returning players who account for 118 total starts from 2015-16. This is certainly a huge upgrade from a season ago when Liberty had a combined total of just 20 starts returning. Coach McKay’s squad returns its leading scorer (John Dawson, 13.4 ppg), its leader in starts and minutes played (Lovell Cabbil), and its 2 leaders in 3-point field goals made (A.C. Reid & Ryan Kemrite). Other returners include Caleb Homesley, whom Coach McKay called a potential all-conference player, Ezra Talbert, and walk-on Ryan Hiepler. According to the online roster, walk-ons Calvin Hoffman and Sam Worman will not return next year.
The 2016-17 roster will also feature at least 8 newcomers led by Myo Baxter-Bell who redshirted this past season after being academically ineligible. Other newcomers include freshman signees Xzavier Barmore, Brock Gardner, Brody Hicks, Hayden Koval, Pacheco-Ortiz, and Josiah Talbert. The 8th newcomer is Bradley transfer Scottie James who will have to sit out the 2016-17 season. Hicks and Koval will begin their Liberty careers as walk-ons, bringing the Flames’ to a total of 12 scholarship commitments at this point for next season, 1 below the scholarship limit of 13.
Liberty has one pending offer to Samford transfer Matt Rose who has visited Lynchburg. Rose could be the 13th and final scholarship for next season, it could go to a last minute high school senior or transfer, or McKay and staff could award it to one of the walk-ons.
While next season’s roster is coming into focus, the 2017-18 roster is becoming increasingly murky. Yes, there’s over a year until McKay will need to finalize that roster, but it’s still fun to look ahead. Since the Flames will not have any seniors in 2016-17 and the coaching staff has already picked up 3 commitments (Elijah Cuffee, Keegan McDowell, and Jay Barber), Liberty already has 14 scholarship commitments for the 2017-18 season, 1 over the NCAA limit of 13. This is even without Barber’s scholarship counting against the limit due to him being the son of athletic director Jeff Barber. Coach McKay is also targeting two other prospects in next year’s class in Jarrod West and Brendan Newton. So, the scholarship commitment could increase to 16.
While we may be uncertain who will hold on to their scholarship for 2017-18, we are certain that the competition for those 13 spots will be very intense over the next year.
