Liberty Flames men’s basketball head coach Ritchie McKay will serve as a training camp court coach for the USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team, according to a May 14 announcement. The training camp is set to begin on May 21 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The final 12-member team will be announced before departing for the 2026 USA FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup, scheduled from June 1-7 in Leon, Mexico.
McKay will join three other court coaches—2026 NCAA champion Dusty May (Michigan), Dennis Gates (Missouri), and Greg Kampe (Oakland)—during the opening phase of training camp. The camp will be led by Anthony Grant (Dayton) as head coach, with assistant coaches Nate Oats (Alabama) and Matt Langel (Colgate).
This marks McKay’s return to USA Basketball since he won gold as an assistant coach at the 1997 World University Games in Sicily, Italy. A total of 35 athletes are expected to participate in the training camp, representing graduating classes of 2026 through 2028. Athletes were selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee.
FIBA has announced that USA Basketball will open Group A play against Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico during the AmeriCup tournament. The United States’ first game is scheduled against Argentina on June 1, followed by games with Mexico on June 2 and Brazil on June 4. Quarterfinals begin June 5 with semifinals on June 6 and medal games on June 7. In addition to the United States, teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela will compete; top four finishers earn a berth in the next FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup.
McKay recently signed a contract extension through the end of the 2031-32 season and holds Liberty’s record for most coaching victories with a total of 298 over his tenure. Under his leadership over eight seasons Liberty has claimed four conference tournament titles along with seven regular season or division crowns.
