Atlantic Sun Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jul 8, 2020

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 22: Sherwood Brown #25 of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles celebrates with fans against the Georgetown Hoyas during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Center on March 22, 2013 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Head coach Ritchie McKay of the Liberty Flames (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

4. Ritchie McKay – Liberty (2018-2020)

It’s hard not to be impressed with the work McKay has done with Liberty, now in his second head coaching stint with the school. McKay has bounced around in his career, spending time as head coach at Portland State, Colorado State, Oregon State, and New Mexico. He was also part of Tony Bennett’s staff at Virginia, helping him load the Cavaliers with talent before returning to the Flames in 2015.

After some success in the Big South, Liberty moved to the Atlantic Sun in 2018 and McKay has caused its impact to be immediate. In his two seasons, the Flames have won both conference tournaments, and tied for first place both seasons. His Flames upset 5-seed Mississippi State last season and could have been primed for similar success had the 2020 Tournament not been canceled. His 59-11 mark is obviously phenomenal.

In just two seasons, Liberty has clearly become the team to beat in the Atlantic Sun. The program was already in fantastic shape in the years prior, and McKay has done incredible work with this team. Considering his past, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him stick with Liberty and take them to even higher heights, and any coach who can win that many games is clearly doing something right.

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