Liberty has been picked to finish third in Conference USA in the 2026-27 men’s basketball preseason poll, as released by the conference late last week.
The Flames received two of the 10 available first-place votes and 79 points in the poll, which was voted on by the league’s head coaches. Western Kentucky was picked as the preseason favorite with five first-place votes and 94 points, while Kennesaw State received three first-place votes and 90 points to land in second place. Sam Houston and Middle Tennessee rounded out the top five.
Despite not being picked as the preseason favorite, Liberty enters the season as the two-time defending CUSA regular-season champion. The Flames have finished first in their conference or division in seven of the past eight seasons, continuing a run of regular-season success under head coach Ritchie McKay.
Liberty is coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which it captured its second consecutive outright CUSA regular-season championship. The Flames will look to extend that streak in a reconfigured 10-team league that no longer includes Louisiana Tech or UTEP.
Unlike last season, when Liberty led the conference with three preseason All-Conference selections, the Flames did not have a player named to this year’s 10-member team. Western Kentucky, Kennesaw State and Sam Houston each placed two players on the preseason squad.
Western Kentucky guard Teagan Moore was named the CUSA Preseason Player of the Year after finishing second in the conference in scoring last season with 18.7 points per game. Moore headlines a preseason All-Conference team that features players from seven different schools.
Liberty will open its 2026-27 campaign on Nov. 2 against High Point at the Field of 68 Showcase in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The matchup is scheduled to tip off at midnight, making it the first college basketball game of the season in the United States.
The full preseason CUSA poll and All-Conference team are listed below.
2026-27 CUSA Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
1) Western Kentucky (5 first-place votes) – 94
2) Kennesaw State (3) – 90
3) Liberty (2) – 79
4) Sam Houston – 64
5) Middle Tennessee – 57
6) New Mexico State – 56
7) Jacksonville State – 36
8) Missouri State – 28
9) FIU – 25
10) Delaware – 21
CUSA Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Teagan Moore, G, Western Kentucky
CUSA Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Tijan Saine Jr., G, FIU
Trey Simpson, F, Kennesaw State
Amir Taylor, F, Kennesaw State
Jahvin Carter, G, Middle Tennessee
Trey Williams Jr., G, Missouri State
DJ Dudley, G, New Mexico State
Justin Begg, G, Sam Houston
Jacobe Coleman, G, Sam Houston
Armelo Boone, G, Western Kentucky
Teagan Moore, G, Western Kentucky
