Liberty Selected 1st in CUSA Preseason Poll, Rode Tabbed All-Conference
10/12/2023 2:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty Flames have been selected to finish first in the 2023-24 Conference USA (CUSA) Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.
Liberty (71 points) shares the top spot with Middle Tennessee (71 points), but the Flames received five first-place votes compared to only one for the Blue Raiders.
Flames redshirt senior forward Kyle Rode has been tabbed to the 2023-24 CUSA Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference team.
This is the third straight year Liberty has been picked to finish first in its league's preseason polls.
Liberty enters its first year in Conference USA after spending the previous five seasons in the Atlantic Sun (ASUN) Conference. The Flames won three ASUN titles in those five seasons (2019, 2020, 2021), four regular-season crowns and one division title. Liberty finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 27-9 record and captured a share of the ASUN regular-season title while finishing as the runner-up in the conference tournament. The Flames had a No. 46 NET ranking, their best mark at season's end in program history.
The Flames and two-time CUSA champion MTSU Blue Raiders are followed in the poll by Western Kentucky, who sits at third with 63 points and two first-place votes. Louisiana Tech (fourth, one first-place vote, 48 points) and UTEP (fifth, 41 points) round out the top five. Sam Houston (sixth, 38 points), FIU (seventh, 31 points), New Mexico State (eighth, 30 points) and Jacksonville State (ninth, 12 points) comprise the rest of the poll, which is voted on by the league's head coaches.
Rode, who was named to last year's ASUN Preseason All-Conference team, is a two-time ASUN All-Conference second team honoree and earned NABC District 3 second team honors last season. The 6-7 forward from Lexington, Ky. is Liberty's top returning scorer at 10.9 ppg.
Rode, last year's ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year, also averaged 3.5 rpg and 3.5 apg while finishing second on the squad with 71 three-pointers. He became the 31st 1,000-point scorer in program history (currently at 1,044 points) and ranks seventh in school history in career assists (388) and 24th in career rebounds (470).
Liberty's 2023-24 season tips off on Nov. 6 against Mid-Atlantic Christian at Liberty Arena. The Flames' inaugural CUSA game will be on the road at Western Kentucky, Jan. 6.
Head Coach Ritchie McKay and Rode will represent the Flames at the 2023 CUSA Basketball Tipoff & Media Day presented by Trilogy NextGen, Monday at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The day's events will feature a live ESPN+ show, hosted by John Schriffen and beginning at noon Eastern. McKay and Rode will join the ESPN+ show at 1:35 p.m. Eastern.
Huntsville is also the host city for the 2024 Conference USA Men's & Women's Basketball Championships, which will be held at Propst Arena March 12-16.
Ticket Sale/Flames Club Information
Season tickets for the 2023-24 men's basketball season are sold out for the second consecutive year. Single-game tickets will go on sale for non-conference games to the public on Oct. 24 and conference games on Dec. 8.
Exclusive access to purchase single-game tickets will be available to Flames Club members a week early, so join today for advanced access. Membership starts at just $75. Join online at LibertyFlamesClub.org or by calling/texting 434-582-CLUB (2528).
Flames fans have helped cheer the home team to a 44-4 home record in three seasons of competition at Liberty Arena. Liberty posted a 19-1 home record during the 2022-23 season and will carry a 17-game home winning streak into the 2023-24 campaign.
2023-24 CUSA Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
CUSA Men's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Isaiah Crawford, LA Tech
CUSA Men's Baasketball Preseason All-Conference Honorees
* - 2022-23 All-Conference USA selection
Liberty (71 points) shares the top spot with Middle Tennessee (71 points), but the Flames received five first-place votes compared to only one for the Blue Raiders.
Flames redshirt senior forward Kyle Rode has been tabbed to the 2023-24 CUSA Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference team.
This is the third straight year Liberty has been picked to finish first in its league's preseason polls.
Liberty enters its first year in Conference USA after spending the previous five seasons in the Atlantic Sun (ASUN) Conference. The Flames won three ASUN titles in those five seasons (2019, 2020, 2021), four regular-season crowns and one division title. Liberty finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 27-9 record and captured a share of the ASUN regular-season title while finishing as the runner-up in the conference tournament. The Flames had a No. 46 NET ranking, their best mark at season's end in program history.
The Flames and two-time CUSA champion MTSU Blue Raiders are followed in the poll by Western Kentucky, who sits at third with 63 points and two first-place votes. Louisiana Tech (fourth, one first-place vote, 48 points) and UTEP (fifth, 41 points) round out the top five. Sam Houston (sixth, 38 points), FIU (seventh, 31 points), New Mexico State (eighth, 30 points) and Jacksonville State (ninth, 12 points) comprise the rest of the poll, which is voted on by the league's head coaches.
Rode, who was named to last year's ASUN Preseason All-Conference team, is a two-time ASUN All-Conference second team honoree and earned NABC District 3 second team honors last season. The 6-7 forward from Lexington, Ky. is Liberty's top returning scorer at 10.9 ppg.
Rode, last year's ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year, also averaged 3.5 rpg and 3.5 apg while finishing second on the squad with 71 three-pointers. He became the 31st 1,000-point scorer in program history (currently at 1,044 points) and ranks seventh in school history in career assists (388) and 24th in career rebounds (470).
Liberty's 2023-24 season tips off on Nov. 6 against Mid-Atlantic Christian at Liberty Arena. The Flames' inaugural CUSA game will be on the road at Western Kentucky, Jan. 6.
Head Coach Ritchie McKay and Rode will represent the Flames at the 2023 CUSA Basketball Tipoff & Media Day presented by Trilogy NextGen, Monday at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The day's events will feature a live ESPN+ show, hosted by John Schriffen and beginning at noon Eastern. McKay and Rode will join the ESPN+ show at 1:35 p.m. Eastern.
Huntsville is also the host city for the 2024 Conference USA Men's & Women's Basketball Championships, which will be held at Propst Arena March 12-16.
Ticket Sale/Flames Club Information
Season tickets for the 2023-24 men's basketball season are sold out for the second consecutive year. Single-game tickets will go on sale for non-conference games to the public on Oct. 24 and conference games on Dec. 8.
Exclusive access to purchase single-game tickets will be available to Flames Club members a week early, so join today for advanced access. Membership starts at just $75. Join online at LibertyFlamesClub.org or by calling/texting 434-582-CLUB (2528).
Flames fans have helped cheer the home team to a 44-4 home record in three seasons of competition at Liberty Arena. Liberty posted a 19-1 home record during the 2022-23 season and will carry a 17-game home winning streak into the 2023-24 campaign.
2023-24 CUSA Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| Rank | School (first-place votes) | Total |
| T-1. | Liberty (5) | 71 |
| T-1. | Middle Tennessee (1) | 71 |
| 3. | Western Kentucky (2) | 63 |
| 4. | Louisiana Tech (1) | 48 |
| 5. | UTEP | 41 |
| 6. | Sam Houston | 38 |
| 7. | FIU | 31 |
| 8. | New Mexico State | 30 |
| 9. | Jacksonville State | 12 |
CUSA Men's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Isaiah Crawford, LA Tech
CUSA Men's Baasketball Preseason All-Conference Honorees
| Name |
| Arturo Dean, FIU |
| Isaiah Crawford, Louisiana Tech* |
| Kyle Rode, Liberty |
| Elias King, Middle Tennesee |
| Camryn Weston, Middle Tennessee |
| Cameron Huefner, Sam Houston |
| Tae Hardy, UTEP |
| Calvin Solomon, UTEP |
| Dontaie Allen, Western Kentucky |
| Brandon Newman, Western Kentucky |
* - 2022-23 All-Conference USA selection
Sitting atop the @ConferenceUSA preseason poll ?? pic.twitter.com/orH8Lzr4Km
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) October 12, 2023
KR22 with the @ConferenceUSA Preseason All-Conference nod ?? pic.twitter.com/wK2ulDTSYh
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) October 12, 2023
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