The 2024-25 athletic season for the Liberty Flames’ teams has come to an end while a few track and field athletes continue to compete individually. It was an up and down season for the Flames, with some remarkable moments and some let downs. With the athletic season coming to end this week, we have put together a ranking of the team’s with the best season on campus.

There’s no perfect way to determine who had the best season, but the primary factors used were winning a conference championship, national ranking or finish, and notable wins. This is not a ranking of the best program over a period of years, but instead of ranking of who had the best individual season during 2024-25.

1. Softball

The Lady Flames had one of the best seasons in Liberty Athletics history regardless of sport. Liberty was ranked in the Top 25 in the preseason polls and spent much of the year ranked nationally. Under head coach Dot Richardson, Liberty won a program-best 50 games, coasted to a 23-3 CUSA regular season title before winning the conference tournament title with a win over Jacksonville State. The Lady Flames weren’t done there, becoming just the second program across campus to defeat the #1 ranked team (joining field hockey) doing so twice over Texas A&M to advance to the program’s first ever Super Regional. The Lady Flames fell there to No. 16 Oregon in two games.

2. Women’s Basketball

The Lady Flames finally got back to the promised land of the NCAA Tournament following a 26-7 season. Carey Green and the Flames were 16-2 in the CUSA, winning a share of the regular season title. Liberty then defeated Middle Tennessee in the conference tournament championship game and would earn a 13-seed in the Big Dance. The Lady Flames nearly pulled off a late comeback before falling to 4-seed Kentucky, 79-78, in the first round.

3. Men’s Basketball

Like the women, the men’s hoops squad had quite the season. It made for a memorable week in Huntsville, Alabama when both teams ended up cutting down the nets. Ritchie McKay and the Flames had a final season record of 28-7, winning the CUSA regular season at 13-5 and then defeated Jacksonville State to take home the crown. The Flames got a 12-seed and were defeated by 5-seed Oregon, 81-52, in the NCAA Tournament.

4. Women’s Cross Country

For the first time in CUSA, the women’s cross country team won the conference championship and then finished 5th at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships.

5. Men’s Cross Country

Just like the women, the men’s cross country team won the CUSA championship for the first time and went on to finish 8th at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships.

6. Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field

You can’t mention the best programs on the Mountain without talking about the track & field teams. Liberty did what they do, winning CUSA conference championships in both indoor and outdoor for the women.

7. Swimming & Diving

Liberty’s swimming & diving program won another conference championship, picking up the win in the ASUN. The program now makes the move to the AAC.

8. Lacrosse

Bouncing back from a disappointing season the year prior, the Lady Flames got over the hump and won the ASUN Championship after a 5-1 record in conference play during the regular season. Liberty finished 12-8 overall, falling to No. 8 Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

9. Women’s Soccer

Perhaps quietly, the Lady Flames’ soccer team has strung together a few solid seasons of play, including this past fall. Liberty posted a final record of 15-2-4 and 6-1-2 in CUSA play. The Flames fell in the CUSA final, 1-0, to No. 1 seed FIU.

10. Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field

The men’s indoor and outdoor track & field teams came up just short in both CUSA events, finishing second, ending a long streak of conference championships dating across three different leagues.

11. Golf

After dominating the stroke play portion of the CUSA Men’s Golf Championship, Liberty saw its run at back-to-back titles come to an end in the semifinal match play round with a 3-2 loss to UTEP.

12. Football

Coming off a 13-1 CUSA Championship and Fiesta Bowl season, it was a bit of a letdown for the Flames’ football team. Liberty finished 8-4 and in fourth place in CUSA, falling to Buffalo in the Bahamas Bowl.

13. Field Hockey

For the first time in several years, the field hockey team isn’t listed in the upper echelon of this list. The Lady Flames finished the season with a 10-8 record and 4-3 mark in the Big East, losing to 1-seed UConn in the Big East Tournament Semifinals.

14. Men’s Tennis

The men’s tennis team posted a final record of 11-13 but advanced to the championship of the CUSA Tournament, falling to 1-seed Middle Tennessee.

15. Women’s Tennis

The women’s tennis team was 12-13 on the season and 5-2 in conference play. The Lady Flames lost to 1-seed FIU in the CUSA semifinals.

16. Baseball

It was an up and down year for the baseball team under first year head coach Bradley LeCroy. The Flames were really good in the midweek and against ACC foes all season, but struggled in conference play. It led to a 30-27 overall record, 10-17 and 8th place finish in CUSA before dropping both games in the CUSA Tournament.

17. Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team was 7-7-3 overall, 5-3-2 in OVC play, and lost to 5-seed Incarnate Word in the first game of the conference tournament.

18. Volleyball

Under interim coach Nolan Albrecht, Liberty volleyball was 13-18 overall and 7-11 in Conference USA. The Lady Flames lost in three sets to 2-seed UTEP in the CUSA Quarterfinals.