practice1Defense beats Offense in Spring Game
The defense defeated the offense, 71-67, in Liberty’s annual spring game last Saturday afternoon. Several key contributors were held out of the game including running backs D.J. Abnar and Todd Macon. Des Rice saw his first action since injuring his knee during 2014 spring practice, and he took a screen pass from Stephon Masha 49 yards for a touchdown. Josh Woodrum finished the day 10-of-17 passing while Stephon Masha was 5-of-11. Austin Kaigler and Carrington Mosley led the way with 10 carries each while Rice had 7. Darrin Peterson and Zac Parker combined for 9 receptions. Punter Trey Turner also looks to be the favorite to replace Javan Shashaty as holder.

The Flames also announced three award winners. Stephon Masha won the Samkon Gado Award for most improved player on offense while Gerald Holt got the defensive honor. Javan Shashaty was named the Luke 2:52 Award winner which is given to the graduating senior who best exemplifies the program’s whole-person development mission.

Full Cost of Attendance
News broke this week, first by FootballScoop and then confirmed by Liberty, that the Flames will be the first FCS team to offer the Full Cost of Attendance to all of its student-athletes beginning with the 2015-16 school year. Dan Woken of the USA Today projects the annual cost to be near $786,000 for all 237.5 athletic scholarships Liberty awards each year. Liberty Athletic Director Jeff Barber told Wolken, “We started considering it and talking about it back in January when it was voted through. Our conference has made a commitment to do that for men’s and women’s basketball, so we were going to be doing that anyway, but the decision was made because our goal is to be a major FBS program one day and this was a necessary step to take to not only show our commitment but show our desire to do that.”

Baseball update
After a big weekend that saw a record crowd on Friday night, the Flames took 2 of 3 from Big South rival Campbell to move to 9-3 in conference play. Following his 8 shutout innings on Saturday, Victor Cole was named the Big South pitcher of the week. The Flames were scheduled to play both Maryland and the Citadel this week, but some midweek weather problems saw the Citadel game get cancelled. Liberty was set up for a big home win over top 20 Maryland as they led 4-0 after 3 innings. The Flame Train also led 4-3 in the 9th inning and Maryland was down to their final out, before Liberty gave up 3 unearned runs to lose 6-4. It was a huge opportunity for the Flames to make a case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament should they not win the Big South Tournament, but they let it slip away.

gielo1Sources!
ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported Wednesday night that Tomasz Gielo is graduating and leaving Liberty according to a source.

Yes, Gielo has his release which gives him permission to speak with other schools, and he is doing so, but it is not 100% that he is leaving Liberty. A source tells us that he is “strongly considering returning” and Liberty still has a “great shot to keep him.”

Tomasz is on plan to graduate next month, and would be eligible immediately with one season of eligibility remaining, should he decide to transfer. We’re hearing that he has numerous schools that have reached out including “multiple high-major, postseason playing teams.”

Basketball signing period begins
Basketball signing period began on Wednesday and runs through May 20th. At this point, it’s unclear how many signees new head coach Ritchie McKay will bring in. The Flames’ coaching staff have targeted guard Anthony Eaves, and have offered two others in Hansel Atencia and Lovell Cabbil. Cabbil is in Lynchburg for a visit this weekend. It originally sounded like Eaves would be visiting this weekend as well, but that visit date has been pushed back. Liberty is currently 1 over the NCAA scholarship limit of 13 for 2015-16, and with a coaching change there is always some attrition. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and let you know of any roster changes over the coming weeks.

Also, based on this tweet from signee Caleb Homesley, he still plans on coming to Liberty even after the coaching change. I’m not sure the same can be said for the other 2 signees, Robin Jorch and Jakub Karwowski.

Flames to play Richmond
The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran an article on Thursday on the Richmond Spiders’ basketball schedule. This article states that Liberty will play at Richmond as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. This tournament is much like some of the tournaments the Flames have been a part of in recent seasons where they face 2 teams from the top conferences and will also travel to Las Vegas to play part of a 4-team tournament. Other teams that have officially joined the 2015 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational include California, San Diego State, West Virginia, and Bethune-Cookman. It makes sense Liberty will also travel to West Virginia as part of this Invitational.

Other sports

  • The softball team went 3-2 this week with 2 wins over Charleston Southern and splitting a doubleheader against Virginia Tech on Thursday. The Lady Flames host Coastal Carolina for a 3 game series this weekend.
  • The women’s tennis team is the 4th seed in the Big South Tournament, and they knocked off #5 Campbell on Wednesday. The Lady Flames advance to the semifinals on Saturday.
  • The men’s tennis team won 6 conference matches this season which sets a program record for most conference wins in a single season. The Flames return to action on Saturday in the Big South Championships in Asheville.
  • The women’s lacrosse team beat Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian last week to improve to 4-0 in Big South play on the season. The 4 conference wins match the 6-year program’s best ever in a single season with 3 conference games remaining.
  • The men’s golf team finished 3rd out of 18 teams at the Liberty Spring Invitational last weekend. The Flames now turn their attention to the Big South Men’s Golf Championship beginning April 19th in South Carolina. Liberty has won the Big South Championship 3 out of the last 4 years.

FlameFans thread of the week
What else would our thread of the week be other than Full Cost of Attendance? Once the news broke Monday night, FlameFans members rushed to the Forums to discuss how it will impact Liberty both in the short and long term.