Liberty University senior forward Zach Cleveland has been invited to participate in the 2026 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, according to an announcement on April 14. The tournament will take place from Wednesday through Saturday at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia.
The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament is now in its 72nd year and features 64 college basketball seniors. It provides players with the chance to showcase their skills before NBA personnel and international scouts ahead of the upcoming NBA Draft. Eight teams, each consisting of eight players, will compete in a total of twelve games over four days.
Cleveland becomes the third Liberty Flames player in four years to be selected for this event, following Darius McGhee’s participation in 2023 and Kyle Rode’s appearance in 2024. This year, Cleveland will join teammates from other universities including Michigan State’s Carson Cooper and Vanderbilt’s Duke Miles on a team named Portsmouth Partnership. Their coaches are Erik Johnson, Evan Kee, and Marwan Sarhan. The team is scheduled to play its first game on Thursday at 6 p.m.
During his final season with Liberty Flames men’s basketball during the 2025-26 campaign, Cleveland earned several honors including Conference USA Player of the Year and selection to both All-CUSA first team and NABC East District first team. He averaged 11.9 points per game (third highest on his team), led with 7.6 rebounds per game, topped assists with an average of 6.9 per game—which also led Conference USA—and was recognized for his defensive performance as well.
Cleveland completed his collegiate career ranked fourth all-time at Liberty for career assists (569), eighth for rebounds (749), twenty-fifth for points scored (1,220), and second for blocks (127). Over his career he was also a two-time Lou Henson Award finalist and made multiple appearances on academic honor rolls.
