Liberty basketball picked up a big piece for its 2026-27 roster on Tuesday when Division II transfer Osmar Garcia-Araujo committed. With him in the mix, the Flames’ roster is nearing completion with just one roster spot currently open. There are some needs that could be addressed with that final spot, but we can see how this roster has been built by Coach McKay and his staff.
CURRENT ROSTER
PG: Cooper Campbell
SG: Cobi Campbell, Eli Herbert
SG/SF: Zander Carter, Eli Sancomb
F: Sean Register, Jr., Dillon Claussen, Drew Grimes, Reece Davidson, Torr Sorensen
F/C: Osmar Garcia-Araujo, RJ Jones, TJ Drain, Brady Kester
ROSTER STRENGTHS
The Campbell brothers provide some veteran leadership for the Flames in the backcourt that looked like it would be a major concern moving forward with the losses of Colin Porter, Kaden Metheny, and Brett Decker. Cooper and Cobi have played at a similar level in the Sun Belt and have been starters on a conference championship team, Cooper doing so for two straight seasons. They will not be intimidated by CUSA and will be counted on to provide some leadership for this young and new look roster.
The additions of Sean Register, Jr., Dillon Claussen, and Osmar Garcia-Araujo provide McKay with some flexibility and depth in the frontcourt. These three all have the ability to shoot from distance and have been very efficient offensive players at their previous stops. We could see lineups that feature all three and some that have two of them on the court at one time. Couple them with the returning RJ Jones, rising sophomores Drew Grimes, TJ Drain, and Torr Sorensen, and incoming freshman Reece Davidson, and the Flames have a ton of depth, on paper, up front.
ROSTER CONCERNS
No roster at the mid-major level, or even at the high major level for the vast majority, is complete. Teams will have weaknesses that the coaches will have to make up for and game plan around that will be no different for Liberty in 2026-27. It is no secret that Liberty has had one of the smallest teams in the country the past couple of years. While that will certainly not be the case this coming season, the Flames continue to lack a true rim protector. There is no 6’10″+ center that can lock down the paint. Instead, the Flames have several players in the 6’7″-6’8″ range that will have to, collectively, step into that role unless the staff can find a hidden gem this late in the off-season.
What made Liberty excel this past season was the team’s efficiency on offense, led by several very good three point shooters. We don’t know if this year’s team will have that same strength. Yes, the Campbell brothers can be volume shooters and connect at a good rate. Incoming freshman Eli Herbert is expected to be a very good shooter but will he be able to make an immediate impact this season? Most of the rest of the roster is made up of guys who have the ability to step behind the three-point line and knock down shots, but they haven’t proven yet that they can be volume shooters at this level. Currently, this is a concern going into next season, but it could end up being addressed by the players already on the roster. Adding a three-and-D type player like an Elijah Cuffee, JJ Harper, or Jayvon Maughmer would certainly be a welcomed addition, if there is one that is still available that would fit culturally.
This team’s projected roster will be made up of all almost entirely new faces. How will they fit together? How will the culture develop? That always plays such a big part in college basketball, especially in McKay’s system. The potential for this team is very high and looks like they should be able to compete in Conference USA once again, but that is dependent on how they come together this summer.
