McKay Included as Finalist for 2025-26 Jim Phelan Award
3/6/2026 11:55:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty Men's Basketball Head Coach Ritchie McKay has been included as a finalist for the 2025-26 Jim Phelan Award.
The award is presented annually to the top head coach in Division I college basketball. McKay is one of only 20 Division I head coaches on the listing of the top coaches in the nation. He is a past winner of this prestigious award, having been named the 2019 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.
The recipient of the award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com. The 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, Ind., site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four.
This is the third different major coaching award McKay has been a finalist for this week. He was also named a finalist for the 2025-26 Hugh Durham Award (top mid-mid major head coach) and 2025-26 Ben Jobe Award (top minority head coach).
McKay and the Flames are in the middle of a strong 2025-26 season with a 24-6 overall record and 16-3 Conference USA mark. Liberty claimed the CUSA outright regular season title for a second straight year with an 81-78 road victory at Jacksonville State, last Saturday. McKay and Liberty won a school-record 17 straight games from Dec. 16-Feb. 19, started 15-0 in CUSA play and went 73 days between losses.
The Jim Phelan Award is named in honor of a legendary bow-tied head coach who spent his entire head coaching career at Mount St. Mary's. Phelan graduated from La Salle in 1951 and played one season in the NBA with the Philadelphia Warriors. After a brief professional career, Phelan went to Mount St. Mary's as an assistant in 1953. One year later, he began his historical career as a head coach.
He led the Mountaineers to 16 Division II NCAA Tournaments. Phelan and Mount St. Mary's advanced to the Final Four five times, winning the Division II national title in 1962. When he retired in 2002 after coaching for 49 years, he had amassed 830 wins. In 2008, he was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Phelan passed away in 2021 at the age of 92.
McKay and the Flames (24-6, 16-3 CUSA) are back in action on Saturday afternoon for their regular season finale against Sam Houston (21-9, 13-6 CUSA). Tipoff is at 2 p.m., with a special Senior Day ceremony set to take place before the contest.
2025-26 Jim Phelan Award Finalists
Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Todd Golden, Florida
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
Chris Holtmann, DePaul
Dan Hurley, UConn
Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Jai Lucas, Miami (Fla.)
Mike Magpayo, Fordham
Dusty May, Michigan
Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Ryan Odom, Virginia
Jon Perry, Navy
Rick Pitino, St. John's
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Josh Schertz, Saint Louis
Jon Scheyer, Duke
Travis Steele, Miami (Ohio)
The award is presented annually to the top head coach in Division I college basketball. McKay is one of only 20 Division I head coaches on the listing of the top coaches in the nation. He is a past winner of this prestigious award, having been named the 2019 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.
The recipient of the award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com. The 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, Ind., site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four.
This is the third different major coaching award McKay has been a finalist for this week. He was also named a finalist for the 2025-26 Hugh Durham Award (top mid-mid major head coach) and 2025-26 Ben Jobe Award (top minority head coach).
McKay and the Flames are in the middle of a strong 2025-26 season with a 24-6 overall record and 16-3 Conference USA mark. Liberty claimed the CUSA outright regular season title for a second straight year with an 81-78 road victory at Jacksonville State, last Saturday. McKay and Liberty won a school-record 17 straight games from Dec. 16-Feb. 19, started 15-0 in CUSA play and went 73 days between losses.
The Jim Phelan Award is named in honor of a legendary bow-tied head coach who spent his entire head coaching career at Mount St. Mary's. Phelan graduated from La Salle in 1951 and played one season in the NBA with the Philadelphia Warriors. After a brief professional career, Phelan went to Mount St. Mary's as an assistant in 1953. One year later, he began his historical career as a head coach.
He led the Mountaineers to 16 Division II NCAA Tournaments. Phelan and Mount St. Mary's advanced to the Final Four five times, winning the Division II national title in 1962. When he retired in 2002 after coaching for 49 years, he had amassed 830 wins. In 2008, he was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Phelan passed away in 2021 at the age of 92.
McKay and the Flames (24-6, 16-3 CUSA) are back in action on Saturday afternoon for their regular season finale against Sam Houston (21-9, 13-6 CUSA). Tipoff is at 2 p.m., with a special Senior Day ceremony set to take place before the contest.
2025-26 Jim Phelan Award Finalists
Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Todd Golden, Florida
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
Chris Holtmann, DePaul
Dan Hurley, UConn
Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Jai Lucas, Miami (Fla.)
Mike Magpayo, Fordham
Dusty May, Michigan
Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Ryan Odom, Virginia
Jon Perry, Navy
Rick Pitino, St. John's
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Josh Schertz, Saint Louis
Jon Scheyer, Duke
Travis Steele, Miami (Ohio)
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