Dash Connell, Women’s Tennis
Following a highly successful head coaching career at Tyler Junior College, which included 11 national championships (six women’s and five men’s), Dash Connell became Liberty’s new head women’s tennis coach for the 2024-25 season.
Connell was recently named the 2024 Wilson ITA Men’s National Coach of the Year after leading Tyler to its 18th JUCO national championship and a No. 1 ITA ranking. Its women’s tennis team completed the 2023-24 season ranked No. 3 in the final ITA national rankings after finishing in third place at the spring national championships.
Connell served as the NJCAA Women’s Tennis Coaches’ Association President from 2015-17 and is still the NJCAA Men’s Tennis Coaches’ Association President, a position he has held since 2018.
Liberty Women’s Tennis Head Coach Dash Connell
Connell coached former Lady Flames standout Kalani Soli (’22) who transferred to Liberty following two seasons at Tyler Junior College and finished her NCAA Division I career with a 45-15 singles record and a 35-20 doubles mark for the Lady Flames.
Connell received the Donnelly Award from Billie Jean King in 2003 and later the ITA Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award for the junior college level. A native of Katy, Texas, he and his wife, Shae, have three sons: Mason, Emerson, and Elijah.
“My family and I are absolutely thrilled to join the Liberty University family (and have) the opportunity to contribute to the already outstanding culture and environment,” Connell said. “I am eager to elevate the women’s tennis program to new heights.”
Liberty has an exciting spring schedule on tap, capped by hosting the CUSA Women’s Tennis Championships from April 16-19 at the Liberty Tennis Complex. Nonconference home matches include JMU (Feb. 14) and Michigan State (Feb. 16) before the CUSA slate features visits from Middle Tennessee (March 21), University of Texas El Paso (March 23), and Western Kentucky (April 5).
Bradley LeCroy, Baseball
A new face is in the dugout this spring as Bradley LeCroy joins the Flames as the eighth head coach in program history. He brings an impressive résumé to the mountain, having guided Virginia Commonwealth University to the Atlantic 10 Championship in his second season at the helm last spring, with wins over No. 13 North Carolina State to start the season and No. 22 Wake Forest, 1-0, in the NCAA Greenville (S.C.) Regional.
Previously, LeCroy spent more than two decades as an assistant coach, including 15 seasons at his alma mater, Clemson (’01, B.Ed.), helping it to nine consecutive NCAA Regional appearances from 2011-19. He played for the Tigers from 1997-2000 and was the starting shortstop on the 1999 team that nearly advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., in 2000.
LeCroy also had coaching stints at Tennessee, Western Carolina, and Anderson. He was ranked the No. 9 assistant coach in the nation by Baseball America prior to the 2013 season. D1Baseball named him the No. 10 recruiter in the country in 2017. He and his wife, Meredith, have two sons, Crew and Cooper.
Liberty Baseball Head Coach Bradley LeCroy
“My family is my No. 1 priority, and I thought it was a great opportunity for us from a university standpoint, a community standpoint, then the resources and facilities we have here at Liberty, to be able to compete on a high level,” LeCroy told Athletics Audio Coordinator Nick Pierce after he was hired in July. “I am excited about playing in Conference USA and to continue to play a tremendously tough nonconference schedule because our ultimate goal is to win championships, play in the postseason, and hopefully one day get to Omaha.”
Liberty opens its 2025 season with a home series against St. John’s Feb. 14-16, the first three of 31 home games at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium. The Flames are set to host the Conference USA Championships, featuring the top eight of 10 CUSA teams, May 21-25.
The Flames will play 21 games against teams that participated in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The challenging regular-season schedule includes midweek home dates against ACC opponents Wake Forest (March 18), Virginia (March 25), Virginia Tech (May 7), and Duke (May 13) with additional road games at North Carolina State (Feb. 18), Duke (Feb. 26), Clemson (March 11-12), Wake Forest (April 22), and Virginia Tech (April 29).
Jeremy White, Women’s Volleyball
Jeremy White was welcomed to Liberty Mountain in early December, becoming the Lady Flames’ 11th head coach in program history.
White has spent the last six seasons leading Southeastern Louisiana University to unprecedented success, including back-to-back Southland Conference titles in 2022 and 2023 and appearances in the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championships. Over the last three seasons, SLU has posted a 79-18 overall record and a 46-6 mark in conference play.
The Lady Lions boasted the nation’s longest win streak with 24 consecutive victories in the 2024 season, when it posted a perfect 16-0 record in conference play.
White was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year in 2020, 2023, and 2024 and the LSWA Louisiana Coach of the Year in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Liberty Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Jeremy White
White earned a B.S. in Health and Human Performance in 2008 and an M.S. in Exercise Physiology in 2016 from McNeese State University. He and his wife, Sarah, have two children, son Karter James and daughter Maggie Cate.
“I know God has great plans for us as new members of the Flames family,” White said, “and I can’t wait to share His plan for us with our student-athletes, administration, and the community of Lynchburg. We are so ready to take Liberty Volleyball to newer and newer heights both on and off the court through excellence in the classroom, the community, and competition, as well as our ever-developing relationships with Christ.”
In January, White named Ryan Wills, who spent nine seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division I Tulsa University, as his assistant.
