The 2026-27 men’s basketball season will be one of a big adjustment for Liberty as the Flames see 8 seniors – including 5 of the team’s top 6 rotation pieces – depart. With that, there will be several new faces on next season’s Liberty’s team, including three incoming freshmen that signed with the program in the early signing period this past November in Eli Sancomb, Eli Herbert, and Reece Davidson.
Eli Sancomb
The 6’5″, 190-pound athlete from the Class of 2026 is from Wheeling, West Virginia where he attends Central Catholic High School. He is rated as a four-star by 247Sports where he is ranked as the 102nd best prospect in the country and the top player in the state of West Virginia. He is rated as a 0.9578 in the 247Sports Composite, easily the highest rated recruit in school history. He is also a four-star rated prospect on ESPN, where he is the top player in West Virginia and the 30th best at his position in the Class of 2026. On3 rates Sancomb as a three-star prospect.
The lefty guard took an official visit to Liberty during the weekend of August 30 when the football team opened the season against Maine. Earlier during his recruitment, Sancomb set a top five of Liberty, Iowa, Colorado State, Saint Louis, and Loyola. In addition to that top five, Sancomb also touted offers from a long list of schools including Belmont, Charleston, Dayton, Drexel, George Washington, Marshall, Miami Ohio, Murray State, Northern Iowa, Richmond, Toledo, and Youngstown State.
During his junior season last year, Sancomb was named the 2025 West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year and led the Maroon Knights to their 13th State Championship. In three state tournament victories, he totaled 72 points, 41 rebounds, 15 assists, eight steals, and six blocked shots. He made 22 of 40 field goals, including 7 of 12 from three, and 21 of 23 at the free throw line. For his junior season, Sancomb averaged 25.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.6 steals while shooting better than 54% from the field, 36% on threes, and nearly 85% from the free throw line.
Hailed as one of the best passing guards in the country, his strong play from the school season carried over into the summer as a breakout player for the WV Gold on the Pro16 Circuit where he averaged 15.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 38.2% from three. His father, Danny Sancomb, is a longtime Division II men’s basketball coach as head coach at California (PA). Prior to that, he was head coach for 11 seasons at Wheeling University, where he is one of the most accomplished players in program history having led the country in scoring at 26.9 points in 1997-98.
His sophomore year of high school, Sancomb averaged 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 53.6% from the field, 39.1% from three, and 79.4% from the foul line. He was a WVSSAC all-state second team selection and tabbed to the WVSSAC All-Tournament Team.
This year, Sancomb helped lead Wheeling Central to an unblemished record at 24-0 and a second straight state championship. Sancomb averaged 31.2 points, 12.1 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 3.0 steals per game this year.
Eli Herbert
Herbert is a 6’4″, 160 pound prospect from Grain Valley High School and Grain Valley, Missouri where he plays for his dad who is his head coach. He’s rated by 247Sports as a three-star prospect. Herbert played for KC Run, averaging 13.6 points per game while shooting 42% from three while attempting more than six triples per contest. During his junior season of high school, Herbert averaged 24.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 88% from the free throw line and making 73 threes. He was a Missouri Class 6 all-state selection and also the Missouri Class 6 District 7 Player of the Year.
This past season, Herbert averaged 20.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 45.6% from the field, 36.2% from three and 85.4% from the three throw line. When he signed back in November, Coach McKay said Eli has the chance to be one of the best shooters the Flames have ever had. Herbert helped lift Grain Valley to a Class 6 District 7 Tournament quarterfinals win with the game-winning shot in overtime. Grain Valley would fall in the semifinal round, 63-57, to Columbia Battle.
Reece Davidson
Davidson is rated as a three-star prospect from North Laurel High School in London, Kentucky. The 2026 prospect is 6’8″ and 220 pounds who had offers from Western Kentucky, Toledo, Miami Ohio, Central Arkansas, Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, and Youngstown State. He is rated as the 4th best prospect in his class in the state of Kentucky according to 247Sports.
Davidson burst onto the scene last season after turning in a stellar junior campaign, exploding with one of the best postseasons by any Laurel County basketball player in recent memory. He led North Laurel to its first Sweet 16 win, and an appearance in the Elite Eight. Against Montgomery County, Davidson scored 41 points while also recording 10 rebounds, four blocks, four steals, and one assist. Throughout the tournament, Davidson tallied a total of 77 points and 19 rebounds, averaging 38.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and three blocks per game. As a junior, Davidson was a first team all-state, all-region, and all-district selection for North Laurel and earned 13th Region Tournament MVP honors. He averaged 21.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for the season while leading his team to the 49th District title, 13th Region crown, and Elite 8 appearance at the KHSAA state tournament.
Davidson attends the same high school that produced Reed Sheppard, a 2023 McDonald’s All-American and Kentucky Mr. Basketball. Sheppard attended the University of Kentucky and was the No. 3 overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft. Sheppard is also Davidson’s cousin.
This year there has been more success for Davidson and North Laurel. They won the 49th District Championship for a second consecutive year as Davidson had a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds in the district championship game win. North Laurel is 28-7 on the season and Davidson leads the team in both scoring (19.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.8 rebounds per game). He’s also shooting 55% from the field, 42% from three, and 72% from the free throw line.
Davidson and North Laurel have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Kentucky State Tournament for a fourth time in the last five seasons where they picked up a win behind Reece’s 20 points. He scored 15 points in the quarterfinals and a loss as the season came to an end. Davidson also has his eyes set on winning the Kentucky Mr. Basketball award, which will be announced on March 22nd.
