Liberty guard Jonathan Jackson has withdrawn his name from the transfer portal and will return to the Flames for the 2022-23 season, sources say. Jackson originally entered the portal in late March following the conclusion of Liberty’s 2021-22 season.
Jackson is a 6’4″ guard originally from Dallas, Texas where he attended Blue Valley High School. The younger brother of current NBA player Justin Jackson, Jonathan played in 16 games as a freshman in 2020-21, averaging 3.1 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game. This past season as a COVID-freshman, he played in 21 games, averaging 3.5 minutes, 1.2 points, and 0.3 rebounds per game while shooting 30.0% from the field and making 8 of his 27 three-point attempts for 29.6%. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining if he were to utilize his COVID-shirt.
With Jackson and Darius McGhee back in the fold, the Flames have their full allotment of 13 scholarship players for the 2022-23 season. The Flames return 10 scholarship players from this past season in Jackson, McGhee, DJ Moore, Brody Peebles, Blake Preston, Shiloh Robinson, Kyle Rode, Bryson Spell, Joseph Venzant, and Isiah Warfield.
The only scholarship players not slated to return are Micaiah Abii and Keegan McDowell. Liberty will also welcome three incoming freshmen in Zach Cleveland, Colin Porter, and Ben Southerland.
Liberty is coming off a season that saw the program win 20 or more games for a sixth consecutive year. The Flames finished the season at 22-11 overall and 12-4 in ASUN play, finishing first in the ASUN’s East Division. Liberty saw its streak of three straight ASUN championships come to an end when the Flames lost to Bellarmine, 53-50, on March 5 in the ASUN Tournament semifinals.
