Isaiah Ihnen still fighting back from injury

Liberty forward Isaiah Ihnen is fighting back from a knee injury he suffered in December 2024. Coach McKay says he expects Ihnen to be fully cleared and able to return to the floor by the beginning of the season but perhaps on a minutes restriction.

“Early projections are he will be back by the beginning of the season, but he might be on a minutes restriction when he first comes back,” said McKay.

Knee injuries have plagued the 6’9″ former four-star forward’s career. Beginning his career at Minnesota, Ihnen missed the entire 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons due to back-to-back knee injuries. He returned to the floor for the Gophers in 2023-24, averaging 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game before entering the portal. Prior to Ihnen’s injury last season, he was emerging as perhaps the team’s most important player with his length, athleticism, and ability to stretch the floor. Playing in the team’s first 11 games while making four starts, Ihnen averaged 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.7% from the field and 38.9% from three in 18 minutes per game.

Liberty frontcourt a work in progress entering season

As Ihnen works back from injury and the Flames are looking to replace Owen Aquino who transferred following last season, the team’s frontcourt is a bit of an unknown prior to the start of the 2025-26 season. Zach Cleveland returns to anchor the frontcourt rotation while Zander Yates also returns to provide a veteran presence. After Ihnen went down to injury last year, it was Yates who stepped into a more prominent role down the stretch last season, playing in 32 games while averaging 8.2 minutes per game. Replacing Aquino won’t be easy. He started all 35 games for the Flames last season, averaging 24.6 minutes, 8.6 points, and 5.5 rebounds per game while leading the team with 39 blocks.

“It’s certainly not as definitive as it was (last year) because of the symmetry that Owen and Zach had on the floor,” McKay said of his frontcourt rotation. “At the same time, that being said, I think Owen only played 24 minutes a game, but Owen is a major loss from a standpoint of I could kind of tell you what we were going to get every night. I can’t do that yet, but we haven’t played any games.”

Being unknown doesn’t mean it will be a weakness for the team. There certainly appears to be more options and the opportunity for more depth than the team had up front last season. Ihnen certainly provides high upside but also the high injury risk. Josh Smith is also healthy after sitting out last year as he recovered from an injury suffered at the end of the prior season when he was at Stetson. He is a veteran, playing in 94 games while making 60 starts for the Hatters, helping them to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024 when he averaged 8.4 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 55.7% from the floor.

RJ Jones is a newcomer, a former four-star who transferred in from Virginia Tech after redshirting his true freshman season last year. Other options in the frontcourt include true freshmen TJ Drain and Drew Grimes.

“I think we will know a little bit more after scrimmages,” said McKay. “Unless something definitive happens here in (practice), I’d tell  you I think we will have to wait and see.”

Freshmen looking to carve out a role this season

Speaking of some of the freshmen that have joined the team for this season, Liberty expects to have at least one of them see the floor this season and the potential for a couple to carve out a role. In addition to Drain and Grimes, Torr Sorenson and Zander Carter also have joined the team.

“I love our freshmen group,” McKay said. “Torr Sorenson, who’s dad played here, he’s the first recruit that I think ever came here because of the legacy that was in his home. Andrew Grimes, from North Carolina, love him. He’s got an energy you guys are going to love. He’s going to be fun to follow. TJ Drain is highly coach-able. Thought for sure we were going to redshirt him, that’s off the table now. He’s a good player and has a chance to help us right away. Zander Carter, feels like he’s been in  our program for six years already. He’s got the ability to grasp the system. He knows what the team needs. He adds value to winning.”

“I think all of those dudes have a chance to play and help us, although you can only play so many. You only have 200 minutes to dish out, so somebody’s not going to be happy with me, but I’m kind of used to that.”

Flames expecting big role for Brett Decker in 25-26

Liberty will be looking to replace two starters from last year’s team in Jayvon Maughmer and Owen Aquino, as well as the CUSA 6th Man of the Year Taelon Peter. Coach McKay and the staff brought in a few new players to help solidify the roster and the team’s depth chart for this season, but it is one returner that many around the team are expecting to take a huge leap forward this season.

“Brett Decker has all the talent in the world, but the most special thing about Brett is just his commitment to his every day work,” said the reigning CUSA Tournament MVP Kaden Metheny. “He’s one of the hardest workers on the team. “It reflects on the court. I don’t want to give all our secrets away, just expect Brett Decker to have a pretty important role on this team. The hard work he puts in every day is just a testament to how he performs out on that court and who he is.”

As a true freshman last year, the 6’3″ guard played in 27 games while averaging 6.9 minutes per game. He averaged 4.3 points per game and shot 44.2% from three. Decker had a solid showing in the team’s first round NCAA Tournament loss to Oregon as he scored 8 points on 3 of 4 shooting from the field and 2 of 3 from three. Over the course of his freshman season, he had five double figure scoring games, showing his ability to be a scoring spark off the bench for the Flames.

Flames’ 2026 class could be best ever

Liberty picked up a commitment a few weeks ago from its highest rated recruit in program history when four-star guard Eli Sancomb gave his pledge to the Flames following a recent visit. 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. He chose Liberty over several schools including Iowa, Colorado State, Saint Louis, and Loyola.

During his junior season this past 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 with seven turnovers. 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.

In addition to Sancomb, Liberty also has commitments in the Class of 2026 from three-star guard Eli Herbert and three-star forward Reece Davidson. This trio has Liberty’s Class of 2026 currently ranked as the 22nd best class in the country according to 247Sports and the 52nd best class according to On3. If those rankings hold, it will go down as the highest ranked recruiting class in school history. Liberty hasn’t had a top 150 ranked recruiting class since the 2021 class which was rated as No. 141.

The Flames have seen a significant uptick in recruiting with this class according to the recruiting services. It is understandable as McKay has built Liberty into a prominent program among mid major programs. Liberty got back to the Big Dance last season after winning the CUSA regular season and tournament title, a league that was ranked as a top 10 league in the country. The Flames also saw Taelon Peter get taken in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft this past summer, the first draft pick Liberty has had in the modern era.

“No doubt when we’ve made calls in recruiting, they’ve been either answered or returned faster than any time in my tenure here thus far,” said McKay. “I do think it helps, and I think the evidence of that is guys that have shown an interest or commitment to our program already.”