NFL DRAFT THIS WEEKEND
As you probably already know, the 2016 NFL Draft began Thursday night and continues this weekend. Former Liberty standouts Josh Woodrum and John Lunsford hope to hear their name called. You can watch the 2nd and 3rd rounds Friday night beginning at 7pm on ESPN and NFL Network. Rounds 4-7 are on Saturday beginning at noon on ESPN and NFL Network. If they don’t get drafted, we should know fairly quickly which team has signed them as a free agent. Chima Uzowihe, Darrin Peterson, D.J. Abnar, and Jonathan Burgess are also free agent hopefuls.
BASKETBALL RECRUITING UPDATE
It sounds like the Flames have turned their attention fully to the Class of 2017 as Coach McKay picked up a commitment this week from 6’5” 2017 prospect Keegan McDowell. McDowell is from Cincinnati, Ohio where he attends Moeller High. He’s the younger brother of Quinn McDowell who is one of William & Mary’s all-time greats. Quinn finished his career 6th on the Tribe’s all-time scoring list, scoring over 1,600 career points. The older McDowell was also the first CAA men’s basketball player to be named a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award, was a 2-time All-CAA performer, and finished 3rd all-time at William & Mary shooting 40.2% from 3 in his career. McKay was also in attendance last weekend as 2017 commit Elijah Cuffee scored 22.5 points per game at the Big Shots Carolina tournament. His Big Shots teammate, Jarrod West, also has a Liberty offer and played well in front of McKay. West was named the top point guard and on ball defender in the event.
Elijah Cuffee
6'4" Guard
MAXWELL ADDS CINCINNATI TO VISIT LIST
According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, Evan Maxwell will visit Baylor, Virginia Tech, and Cincinnati. Previously, Goodman reported that Baylor, Virginia Tech and Boston College were his top 3. The 6’10” rising junior averaged 10 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this past season.
FLAMES' STRUGGLES CONTINUE
Liberty baseball continues to struggle, losing 2 of 3 at Presbyterian and falling to Virginia Tech this past week. The Flames did rebound with a 10-7 win at William & Mary on Wednesday. With a current Big South record of 7-8 and overall mark of 22-22 entering the final few weeks of the season, Liberty is in jeopardy of finishing below .500 in conference and overall for the first time since 2004. The Flames are off this weekend before playing host to defending national champion Virginia Tuesday night.
SOFTBALL SURPASSES 2015 WIN TOTAL
With wins this week over Charleston Southern (2) and Radford, the Lady Flames surpassed its 2015 win total with 27 total wins this season. With 13 conference wins, Liberty has its most Big South wins since 2010 (13). Liberty has never won more than 13 Big South games in a single season. The Lady Flames conclude the regular season with a 3-game home stand against Gardner-Webb this weekend. Dot Richardson’s squad has already clinched a winning Big South record for the first time since 2011 and could finish with an overall winning record for the first time since 2010.
FEENSTRA TO BE INDUCTED INTO BIG SOUTH HALL OF FAME
Former Liberty women’s basketball star Katie Feenstra is 1 of 4 athletes which has been elected for enshrinement in the Big South Hall of Fame. Feenstra was the catalyst behind the Lady Flames’ run to the Sweet 16 in 2005 while also helping lead Liberty to 4 straight Big South titles while becoming the first player in Big South history to earn 3 consecutive Player of the Year honors from 2003-2005. Feenstra was selected 8th overall in the 2005 WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun and finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting. She spent 5 total seasons in the league including a WNBA Finals appearance in 2007 with the Detroit Shock.
