Liberty has been picked as the preseason favorite in the ASUN in both the coaches and media preseason polls, as released by the conference Wednesday. Darius McGhee was unanimously selected as the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year and Kyle Rode was named to the all-conference team.
The Flames are coming off a season that saw the program win 20 or more games for a sixth consecutive year. Liberty finished the season at 22-11 overall and 12-4 in ASUN play, finishing first in the ASUN’s East Division. Liberty saw its three straight ASUN championships come to an end when the Flames lost to Bellarmine, 53-50, on March 5 in the ASUN Tournament semifinals.
The two-time reigning ASUN Player of the Year, McGhee will be looking to replicate that feat for a third consecutive year. The 5’9″ guard from Roxboro, North Carolina became the first Liberty player to ever be named conference player of the year for a second time last year. He averaged 24.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while maintaining a field goal percentage of 45.6%.
The Flames are the heavy favorite to repeat for what would be a fourth ASUN title in five years. After adding three teams to the conference last season in Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, and Central Arkansas, the ASUN grows with the additions of Austin Peay and Central Arkansas this year. Liberty returns four starters in McGhee, Kyle Rode, Shiloh Robinson, and Joseph Venzant.
Rode, a 6’7″ senior forward, was named ASUN Second-Team All-Conference following last season where he started in 32 of the team’s 33 games. Rode averaged 9.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists during the season. He led the team in assists and ranked No. 35 in the country in assist/turnover ratio.
Bellarmine’s Juston Betz was named the ASUN’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Jacksonville’s Kevion Nolan and Lipscomb’s Ahsan Asadullah join McGhee as the only unanimous selections to the all-conference team. In addition to Rode, the other preseason all-conference selections were Central Arkansas’ Camren Hunter, Eastern Kentucky’s Michael Moreno, FGCU’s Chase Johnston, Kennesaw State’s Chris Youngblood, and North Florida’s Carter Hendricksen and Jose Placer.
Liberty will open the season on Nov. 7 at home against Regent and play at Alabama on Nov. 11. The full preseason coaches and media ASUN polls are listed below.
Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
(1st place votes) Total Points
- Liberty (10) 192
- Jacksonville (3) 171
- Jacksonville State 148
- FGCU 136
- North Florida (1) 127
- Lipscomb 116
- Bellarmine 116
- Kennesaw State 108
- Austin Peay 88
- Eastern Kentucky 87
- Central Arkansas 52
- Stetson 50
- Queens 42
- North Alabama 37
Preseason Men’s Basketball Media Poll
(1st place votes) Total Points
- Liberty (20) 402
- Jacksonville (8) 365
- Jacksonville State 335
- FGCU 331
- Bellarmine 270
- Kennesaw State 244
- North Florida 207
- Lipscomb (1) 202
- Austin Peay (1) 189
- Eastern Kentucky 186
- Central Arkansas 159
- North Alabama 101
- Stetson 89
- Queens 70
