In his senior year at Liberty University, defenseman Connor Diem finally hit the ice as a member of the Flames Men’s Division I Hockey team. The journey to playing DI, however, was not always smooth skating.
At the age of four, Diem’s parents put him on the ice for the first time.
“I kept falling the first time, and because I was not good at it right away, I told my dad I wanted to quit. And he was like, you’re not quitting,” Diem said.
Diem continued to take the ice, sometimes making piles of snow rather than playing the game. His father encouraged him to persevere, and eventually, the future defenseman began to enjoy the sport.
Diem played for multiple youth teams in his hometown of Fairport, New York. He then played simultaneously for the varsity hockey team at Fairport High School as well as the Rochester Monarchs 18U AAA team.
After graduating high school in 2020, Diem went on to play for the Philadelphia Hockey Club for one season. The New York native racked up seven goals and four assists, as well as the most penalty minutes in his career at 36.
Once the season ended, he went to the Eastern Hockey League to play for the East Coast Wizards, where he played in 37 games.
“It was then, towards the end of that season, when I heard of Liberty,” Diem said. “I reached out and emailed all the coaches and just said I wanted to come play here.”
Former Men’s DIII Head Coach Josh Graham informed Diem that he would be able to make the DII team coming in his freshman year.
“I was kind of a bottom guy. I was in and out of the lineup (and) was not playing all that consistently,” Diem said.
His freshman season on DII ended with one goal and three assists over 24 games. Returning in his sophomore year, Diem was pulled down to the DIII team. After feeling the frustrations of being cut to a lower team, he reevaluated the position that God had placed him in.
“All these other times, like when I was younger, saying I wanted to quit, that’s stupid. My parents didn’t raise a quitter,” Diem said. “So, I am going to keep playing and make the most of it and see if there is some reason God has me on DIII.”
Over time, God’s plan became clearer to the defenseman. He earned the title of assistant captain while racking up playing minutes and rebuilding his confidence.
The next year, he reclaimed his spot on the DII squad, playing more than he did his first year. During his junior season, DI Head Coach Kirk Handy allowed Diem to prove himself further by playing a few road games with the DI team.
Diem’s efforts paid off as he began his senior season with a spot in the 2025-2026 DI lineup.
“I did not anticipate coming up to Division I this year, because it’s my senior year and I already knew all the guys on DII,” Diem said. “There were some things, like scheduling conflicts … that God ended up removing to give me the option to say yes to the offer.”
As Diem moves up, former DII Head Coach Ben Hughes also joins the DI crew as an assistant coach.
“I’m actually glad that (Hughes) is up this year on DI as well and that I still get to be under him,” Diem said. “He just knows me. He knows how I play, and he knows how I operate. … He is someone who has gotten to watch me grow.”
Over his years with Liberty Hockey, Diem has managed to hold on to his number 15 jersey across all three divisions.
“It was my dad’s number when he played sports, and it is a number that my sisters and I have always tried to wear,” Diem said. “The same jersey I have now, I had on DIII. That jersey has been on all three levels. They removed the A when I went up to DII, but on the white jersey, there is still a faded A that adds some character to it.”
Diem credits the Liberty Hockey program with strengthening his faith, as the program strives to build up their athletes as Champions for Christ and show the love of God to their competitors.
“There are a lot of guys that love the Lord, and they want to show that to the teams we play, and they truly want to live that out,” Diem said. “It’s just encouraging to me too, and I feel like I can grow with a lot of the guys on the team … because God used hockey to bring me to himself.”
Schlösser is the assistant sports editor for the Liberty Champion.