McKay is the choice
By now you have all heard that Ritchie McKay has been brought back as head coach of the men’s basketball team. He was the Flames’ head coach from 2007-2009 where he compiled an overall record of 39-28 in 2 seasons. For the past 6 years, he has been the right hand man of Virginia head coach Tony Bennett who was named the national coach of the year last month.
Much of Flames Nation does not seem to be incredibly excited about the hire seeing as McKay quickly left Lynchburg to go to Charlottesville as an assistant just 6 years ago. If you look strictly at his resume though, he is a very qualified candidate. He has been a head coach for 13 seasons in conferences such as the WAC, the Mountain West, and the Pac-10. Additionally, for the past 6 seasons, he has served as the top assistant on one of the most successful programs in the country.
Coaching staff
We have been able to confirm much of McKay’s staff. Omar Mance and Matt Olinger will remain on staff under McKay. Mance joined Liberty’s coaching staff prior to the 2013-14 season under former head coach Dale Layer. Olinger has been with the men’s basketball program for the past 9 seasons.
Brad Soucie is also likely to join McKay’s staff. Soucie is currently the Director of Player Development at Virginia. He has been at UVA for the past 6 seasons. Soucie has 17 years of coaching experience and all but 1 season came as an assistant to McKay including stints at Portland State, Colorado State, Oregon State, New Mexico, and Liberty.
Another name we are hearing is likely to join the staff is Kyle Getter. Getter is currently on staff at Radford where he has been for the past 4 seasons. Getter is no stranger to Liberty as he spent the 2008-09 season on staff when the Flames finished with a 23-12 record. He also spent 2 seasons on Shaka Smart’s staff at VCU.
Basketball roster
Many of you have asked us about the makeup of the 2015-16 basketball roster. Well, until a head coach was named it was pointless to look at. Now that McKay has been named coach, we will turn our attention to the roster. Liberty is currently over the NCAA scholarship limit of 13 scholarship players with commitments to 14 – Tomasz Gielo, Joe Retic, David Andoh, Theo Johnson, John Dawson, Ryan Kemrite, Evan Maxwell, Peter Moller, A.C. Reid, Jordan Dembley, Ezra Talbert, and the 3 freshman signees (Caleb Homesley, Robin Jorch, Jakub Karwowski). It is inevitable that one or two, at the minimum, of these names do not return.
WR coach Juan Taylor has been relieved of his duties
Turner Gill announced on Thursday that wide receivers coach Juan Taylor has been relieved of his coaching responsibilities. From Turner Gill via the official school release: “Juan Taylor has been relieved of all his football duties as wide receivers coach, effective immediately. On behalf of our staff and players, we would like to thank him for his contributions to liberty University and the football program over the last three years. We hope the best for him in all of his future endeavors.”
LU vs Wake Forest in 2018
Wake Forest announced a number of future nonconference games they have scheduled, one date included Liberty. The Flames and Deacons will meet on the gridiron in 2018 in Winston Salem. Liberty is 0-2 all-time against Wake Forest with their most recent loss coming in Coach Turner Gill’s first game at Liberty in 2012. The Flames fell 20-17. To see a full list of future games, see our future schedules page.
Baseball update
The Flames have won 5 straight after sweeping Presbyterian last weekend and knocking off Old Dominion 9-7 on Tuesday. Liberty is in Charleston for a 3-game set with Charleston Southern that began on Thursday. The Flames defeated the Buccaneers 3-1 to open the series. Liberty is now 19-10 overall and 5-2 in conference play with an RPI of 46.
Other sports
- The softball team has lost 4 straight after being swept by Longwood earlier this week. The Lady Flames are now 15-19 overall and 4-5 in Big South play. Liberty hosts Presbyterian at home this weekend for a 3-game series.
- The women’s tennis team improved to 6-1 in Big South play and 16-3 overall this week with wins over Presbyterian and Radford.
- The men’s tennis team knocked off defending Big South Champion Winthrop on Thursday. The Flames are now 12-8 on the season and own a 5-2 mark in Big South play. It was Winthrop’s first Big South loss this season.
FlameFans thread of the week
Nearly 300 posts already in the New Men’s Head Coach: Ritchie McKay, this week’s FlameFans thread of the week.
