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McKay, Metheny and Peter Receive VaSID Honors
6/26/2025 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty's Ritchie McKay, Kaden Metheny and Taelon Peter each earned Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) awards, it was announced by the organization on Thursday.
McKay has been named the VaSID Coach of the Year. Metheny and Peter were both voted to the VaSID All-State second team and are two of only 10 players in the Commonwealth to make an all-state squad.
McKay and George Mason's Tony Skinn both earned coach of the year honors. McKay led the Flames to a 28-7 overall mark and 13-5 CUSA record during the 2024-25 season. Liberty captured the CUSA regular season and tournament titles in only its second year in the league to make its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven years and first since 2021. McKay and the Flames finished the year listed 60th out of 364 teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings and 64th in the KenPom rankings.
McKay became the winningest coach in program history with victory No. 260 at FIU on Jan. 25 and is now up to 272 wins in his 12 years with the Flames. McKay and the Flames earned a No. 12 seed for the NCAA Tournament and faced No. 5 seed Oregon in the Round of 64. Liberty earned its eighth 20-win season in the last nine years under McKay's direction. Early in the year, McKay led the Flames to the Paradise Jam title, which included wins over Kansas State (semifinals), 2025 NCAA Tournament team McNeese (championship game) and Louisiana (quarterfinals). Liberty's 28 wins during the 2024-25 season were tied for the third most in a season in school history.
Metheny, a fifth-year senior guard from Morgantown, W.Va., was an All-CUSA second team honoree and earned CUSA Championship MVP and All-Tournament team recognition. During the CUSA Championship, he averaged a team-best 20.3 ppg and made 16 triples in three games to lead the Flames to their first CUSA crown. Metheny was also tabbed to the 2024 Paradise Jam All-Tournament team.
On the year, he was the team's second leading scorer at 13.3 ppg and paced the squad with 102 triples, which ranked 25th most nationally and tied for fourth most in a single season in program history. Metheny also ranked No. 34 in the country in threes per game (3.00).
Metheny scored 20 or more points six times on the year, highlighted by his team-high 24 points and seven three-pointers in an 81-79 win over Kennesaw State in the CUSA Championship semifinals. The guard also had 21 points and five threes in the win over Jax State in the CUSA title game. Metheny scored a season-high 26 points in a home win over Sam Houston, his most in a Liberty uniform.
Peter, a redshirt senior guard, enjoyed a strong 2024-25 season with the Liberty Flames, as he was named the CUSA Sixth Player of the Year, tabbed to the All-CUSA third team and honored on the CUSA Championship All-Tournament team. He was the team's leading scorer (13.7 ppg) on the year despite starting only two times. The guard shot 57.8 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from three. Peter's three-point percentage during the 2024-25 season established a new school single-season record. Peter earned CUSA Player of the Week honors on March 9.
Peter had three games of 30 or more points, including a pair of 33-point games in league play on the road at Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee. He averaged 16.5 ppg in 18 league regular season games while shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three. The Russellville, Ark. native averaged 15.0 ppg on 76.2 percent shooting in three CUSA championship games.
Peter scored 20 or more points nine times. He scored 20 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting (3-of-3 from three) in the CUSA title game triumph over Jacksonville State. He notched his first double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds) as a Flame in a win at UTEP.
This is the first time in two years VaSID has named a university division all-state men's basketball team. Two years ago, Darius McGhee was named back-to-back VaSID Player of the Year and earned a nod on the VaSID All-State first team.
2024-25 VaSID All-State University Men's Basketball Awards
VaSID Player of the Year
Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State
VaSID Defensive Player of the Year
Jared Billups, George Mason
VaSID Rookie of the Year
Bryce Lindsay, James Madison
VaSID Coach of the Year
Ritchie McKay, Liberty & Tony Skinn, George Mason
VaSID All-State First Team
Max Shulga, VCU
Jalen Haynes, George Mason
Isaac McKneely, Virginia
Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State
Jared Billups, George Mason
VaSID All-State Second Team
Mark Freeman, James Madison
Taelon Peter, Liberty
Kaden Metheny, Liberty
Darius Maddox, George Mason
Bryce Lindsay, James Madison
McKay has been named the VaSID Coach of the Year. Metheny and Peter were both voted to the VaSID All-State second team and are two of only 10 players in the Commonwealth to make an all-state squad.
McKay and George Mason's Tony Skinn both earned coach of the year honors. McKay led the Flames to a 28-7 overall mark and 13-5 CUSA record during the 2024-25 season. Liberty captured the CUSA regular season and tournament titles in only its second year in the league to make its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven years and first since 2021. McKay and the Flames finished the year listed 60th out of 364 teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings and 64th in the KenPom rankings.
McKay became the winningest coach in program history with victory No. 260 at FIU on Jan. 25 and is now up to 272 wins in his 12 years with the Flames. McKay and the Flames earned a No. 12 seed for the NCAA Tournament and faced No. 5 seed Oregon in the Round of 64. Liberty earned its eighth 20-win season in the last nine years under McKay's direction. Early in the year, McKay led the Flames to the Paradise Jam title, which included wins over Kansas State (semifinals), 2025 NCAA Tournament team McNeese (championship game) and Louisiana (quarterfinals). Liberty's 28 wins during the 2024-25 season were tied for the third most in a season in school history.
Metheny, a fifth-year senior guard from Morgantown, W.Va., was an All-CUSA second team honoree and earned CUSA Championship MVP and All-Tournament team recognition. During the CUSA Championship, he averaged a team-best 20.3 ppg and made 16 triples in three games to lead the Flames to their first CUSA crown. Metheny was also tabbed to the 2024 Paradise Jam All-Tournament team.
On the year, he was the team's second leading scorer at 13.3 ppg and paced the squad with 102 triples, which ranked 25th most nationally and tied for fourth most in a single season in program history. Metheny also ranked No. 34 in the country in threes per game (3.00).
Metheny scored 20 or more points six times on the year, highlighted by his team-high 24 points and seven three-pointers in an 81-79 win over Kennesaw State in the CUSA Championship semifinals. The guard also had 21 points and five threes in the win over Jax State in the CUSA title game. Metheny scored a season-high 26 points in a home win over Sam Houston, his most in a Liberty uniform.
Peter, a redshirt senior guard, enjoyed a strong 2024-25 season with the Liberty Flames, as he was named the CUSA Sixth Player of the Year, tabbed to the All-CUSA third team and honored on the CUSA Championship All-Tournament team. He was the team's leading scorer (13.7 ppg) on the year despite starting only two times. The guard shot 57.8 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from three. Peter's three-point percentage during the 2024-25 season established a new school single-season record. Peter earned CUSA Player of the Week honors on March 9.
Peter had three games of 30 or more points, including a pair of 33-point games in league play on the road at Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee. He averaged 16.5 ppg in 18 league regular season games while shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three. The Russellville, Ark. native averaged 15.0 ppg on 76.2 percent shooting in three CUSA championship games.
Peter scored 20 or more points nine times. He scored 20 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting (3-of-3 from three) in the CUSA title game triumph over Jacksonville State. He notched his first double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds) as a Flame in a win at UTEP.
This is the first time in two years VaSID has named a university division all-state men's basketball team. Two years ago, Darius McGhee was named back-to-back VaSID Player of the Year and earned a nod on the VaSID All-State first team.
2024-25 VaSID All-State University Men's Basketball Awards
VaSID Player of the Year
Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State
VaSID Defensive Player of the Year
Jared Billups, George Mason
VaSID Rookie of the Year
Bryce Lindsay, James Madison
VaSID Coach of the Year
Ritchie McKay, Liberty & Tony Skinn, George Mason
VaSID All-State First Team
Max Shulga, VCU
Jalen Haynes, George Mason
Isaac McKneely, Virginia
Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State
Jared Billups, George Mason
VaSID All-State Second Team
Mark Freeman, James Madison
Taelon Peter, Liberty
Kaden Metheny, Liberty
Darius Maddox, George Mason
Bryce Lindsay, James Madison
Players Mentioned
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