It’s opening week for Liberty baseball as the Flames get things started this weekend with a three-game homestand against St. John’s Feb. 14-16. Under first year head coach Bradley LeCroy, Liberty may have more questions than answers before the season gets started.
On a roster of 39, only 12 players return from last year’s squad that saw the Flames go 24-34 overall and 11-13 in the team’s first year in Conference USA. Following the end of the season, head coach Scott Jackson returned to North Carolina and, shortly thereafter, the Flames brought in LeCroy.
LeCroy, a Clemson alum, comes to Liberty from VCU where he was the head coach of the Rams. Over the prior two seasons, LeCroy guided VCU to a 63-53 overall record, improving from 25-30 in his inaugural season as a head coach to a 38-23 last year while helping lead the Rams to an NCAA Regional. VCU finished second in the Atlantic 10 this past season before winning the 2024 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament. They played in the Greenville Regional as the No. 3 seed where East Carolina was the No. 1 seed and regional host. The Rams defeated No. 2 seed Wake Forest, 1-0, in the opening game of the regional. The Rams would fall to Evansville and East Carolina in its next two games, being eliminated from the regional.
Liberty’s new skipper will be able to rely on a few key pieces from last year’s team. Tanner Marsh returns at shortstop after a true freshman season where he started all 58 games. Marsh was named to the CUSA All-Freshman Team after hitting .272 with 20 RBI and 40 runs. He will be an anchor on the middle of the infield and is likely to bat near the top of the lineup.
There’s a bit of a reunion with LeCroy and Liberty’s right fielder Camden Troyer who was recruited by and attended Clemson in 2022 while LeCroy served as an assistant for the Tigers. Now, Troyer is poised to be a team leader and all-conference player for the Flames in the middle of the lineup. A two-year starter, Troyer was named to the 2024 CUSA All-Tournament Team and finished the season with a .243 batting average with 39 RBI, 38 runs, and seven home runs.
Florida transfer Michael Robertson is expected to take over in center field and could be the team’s leadoff hitter. He played in 123 career games for the Gators, hitting .243 with 45 RBI, 68 runs, and 16 steals while finishing his career at Florida with a .996 fielding percentage. He also helped UF get to the 2024 College World Series while making 48 starts for the Gators last year.
JUCO transfer Easton Swofford is expected to handle the second base duties. He was a NJCAA All-American last season as he hit .317 with 57 RBI and 91 runs scored in 64 games.
Anderson Fulk followed LeCroy from VCU where he played in 20 games with 18 starts in the outfield. He hit .286 with four home runs, 16 RBI, and 15 runs for the Rams last season and could man the left field duties for the Flames.
One of the few returners on this year’s team, John Simmons has been a two-year starter for the Flames. He could play at first base, third base, or even designated hitter at times. Last year, Simmons played in 41 games with 27 starts while batting .294 with 22 RBI and 20 runs.
Maryland transfer Riley DeCandido will be in the mix for the Flames. He could play one of the corner positions in the infield and his bat could be in the leadoff position. A sophomore originally from Virginia Beach, DeCandido played in nine games for the Terrapins last year.
Jaxon Sorenson is another JUCO transfer that is expected to make the lineup card for the Flames at either first or third base and could hit in the middle of the lineup. Last year at Iowa Western, Sorenson hit .392 with 73 RBI and 61 runs.
Tucker Moore and Seth Christmas figure to factor in at catcher and/or DH. Moore is a transfer from Missouri where he played in 30 games with 24 starts in 2024 for the Tigers. Christmas is a JUCO transfer that hit .361 with 93 RBI and 59 runs scored in 91 games over the past two seasons while being named a 2024 NJCAA All-American.
Nick Barone is another name to watch. A West Virginia transfer, Barone was originally committed to LeCroy and VCU but followed him to Liberty after the coaching change.
There are more questions with the pitching staff. Ben Blair was the only Flame on the CUSA preseason all-conference team. He is expected to man one of the weekend starting positions. Last year as a freshman, Blair made 23 appearances, the most by a Liberty pitcher, but only made two starts. He was selected to the CUSA All-Freshman team after posting a 2-2 record with three saves and a 3.51 ERA over 48.2 innings. He struck out 42 and walked 23.
After Blair there are a lot of questions that won’t be answered until the season starts. Josh Swink could be part of that weekend rotation. As a true freshman at Liberty last season, Swink made 15 appearances with two starts while posting an 0-2 mark with a 7.06 ERA over 21.2 innings.
Freshman Jack Frankel is a name to watch. We could also see Camden Troyer on the mound at times throughout the season.
With Kennesaw State joining the conference this season, the 10-team league will play a 27-game regular season schedule with the top eight teams in the standings advancing to the CUSA Baseball Championship, hosted at Liberty Baseball Stadium. The tournament begins May 21 and features a double-elimination bracket with a winner-takes-all championship game.
Liberty’s schedule includes 21 games against teams that participated in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Flames are scheduled to face 2024 College World Series participants Virginia (twice) and NC State and Super Regional participant Clemson (twice). In addition, Liberty will square off with NCAA Tournament teams Dallas Baptist (three), St. John’s (three), Duke (twice), UNC Wilmington (three), Louisiana Tech (three), and Wake Forest (twice).
The Flames open conference play with a three-game series at home against the New Mexico State Aggies, March 21-23.
