Recruiting is never an exact science, but it is important for coaches to hit on a good percentage of their signees in order to have a successful program. Liberty has certainly seen plenty of success over the past several years under head coach Ritchie McKay. Of course, these rankings only include the recruiting class of high school prospects and does not include the transfer additions.

How have each of his freshmen recruiting classes finished? How do they rank among the other classes? We rank these classes:

9. 2023

Curtis Blair
Jaylen Davis
Kai Yu

All three of this recruiting class has now entered the transfer portal after limited production with the Flames.

8. 2020

Micaiah Abii
Drake Dobbs
Jonathan Jackson
Isiah Warfield

When first arriving on campus and even during their first year or two, it looked like this would be a very good class. Now, none of the four finished their career at Liberty. Drake Dobbs had the opportunity to be the team’s starting point guard, but that never materialized. Micaiah Abii was a starter and looked like he could be a program changer his first few games. Jonathan Jackson was never able to break into the rotation, and Isiah Warfield ended up being the biggest contributor of this group. Warfield didn’t see much playing time his first season, but he became a valuable member off the bench the last two seasons before entering the portal.

7. 2016

Xzavier Barmore
Brock Gardner
Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz
Josiah Talbert

Only one of these four made a meaningful impact on the team, but it was certainly a big one. Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz is one of the best point guards to ever play at Liberty, being a starter for all four years of his career, being a part of some of the best teams in school history, and helping lead the team to two straight conference championships. Brock Gardner had a lot of potential and a strong first year before he opted to transfer. Xzavier Barmore and Josiah Talbert never really made a big impact and transferred early in their careers.

6. 2021

DJ Moore
Brody Peebles
Bryson Spell
Joseph Venzant

DJ Moore transferred after only one year. Joseph Venzant was a starter for three years and Brody Peebles was a part of the rotation his first three years. Both Venzant and Peebles transferred after three years in the program. Spell stayed for four years, never really becoming a key part of the rotation, and now he will spend his COVID year of eligibility elsewhere as he has entered the transfer portal.

5. 2017

Elijah Cuffee
Keegan McDowell
Brendan Newton

Elijah Cuffee and Keegan McDowell were both big parts of Liberty’s team for their four plus years in the program while Brendan Newton never quite reached his potential. Still, hitting on two out of three that were multi-year contributors is not a bad hit rate for this class.

4. 2019

Marten Maide
Shiloh Robinson
Kyle Rode

Similar to the 2017 class, the 2019 group hit on two out of three. Marten Maide didn’t make an impact on the court before transferring, but Shiloh Robinson and Kyle Rode were both big contributors and multi-year starters in their five years at Liberty as well as part of two conference tournament championship teams.

3. 2022

Zach Cleveland
Colin Porter
Ben Southerland

This group still has at least one more year left to carve out their final resume and legacy here at Liberty. After three years, it looks to be a very good class. Porter has been a three year starter at point guard while Cleveland is an all-conference level performer. They are two key pieces that helped the Flames win the 2025 CUSA regular season and tournament titles. Southerland transferred after two years in the program.

2. 2018

Darius McGhee
Blake Preston
Josh Price

Any class that has Darius McGhee on it is going to be ranked high. Add in Blake Preston, a multi-year starter before entering the portal for his final year, and it’s just icing on the cake even though Josh Price was unable to carve a role for himself.

1. 2015

Hansel Atencia
Lovell Cabbil
Caleb Homesley (signed under previous head coach Dale Layer)
Myo Baxter-Bell (gray-shirt)

This class is made up of three of the greatest players to ever play at Liberty. Caleb Homesley signed with the Flames prior to Coach McKay being named head coach and Myo Baxter-Bell entered the program as a gray-shirt his first year before becoming a big part of the team. Lovell Cabbil was the first commit after Coach McKay returned to Liberty. Hansel Atencia was the only miss in this class.

The most recent classes are still to be determined:

2024

Brett Decker
Will Gibson

Gibson has entered the portal after one year in the program while Decker looks like he has the potential to be key rotation piece the rest of his career.

2025

Zander Carter
TJ Drain
Andrew Grimes

How will this year’s incoming freshman class rank?