Liam Thomas McNeeley (born October 10, 2005) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of ...

. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class.

Early life and high school career

McNeeley grew up in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the Universit ...

and initially attended

J. J. Pearce High School J. J. Pearce High School is a high school located in Richardson, Texas, United States. Pearce serves students in grade 9-12, and is one of four high schools in the Richardson Independent School District (RISD). The school is named after Joseph ...

. He transferred to John Paul II High School in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "flat surface" /'plano/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the largest city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County, Texas, Denton Count ...

after his freshman year. McNeeley averaged 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks per game as a sophomore. After the season, McNeeley transferred a second time to

Montverde Academy Montverde Academy is a private college preparatory school in Montverde, Florida, United States, located in the Greater Orlando area. The school is widely known for its athletic programs, particularly soccer and basketball. History The school ...

Montverde, Florida Montverde is a town in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Montverde was the location of a Native Ame ...

. He averaged 13.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) competition in his first season at Montverde. McNeeley averaged 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game for his senior year. McNeeley was selected to play in the

2024 McDonald's All-American Boys Game The 2024 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an all-star basketball game played on April 2, 2024, at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school boys graduating in the class of 202 ...

during his senior year.

Recruiting

McNeeley was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class, according to major recruiting services. He committed to playing college basketball for

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

after considering offers from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. McNeeley signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

(NLI) to play for the Indiana Hoosiers on November 8, 2023, during the early signing period. However, he requested a release from his NLI on March 7, 2024, shortly after Indiana announced that they would retain head coach

Mike Woodson Michael Dean Woodson (born March 24, 1958) is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player who is the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). With coach ...

. McNeeley committed to

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

on April 26, 2024.

College career

McNeeley enrolled at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

in June 2024 in order to take part in the

Huskies Husky is a general term for a type of dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies ...

' summer practices. He made his college basketball debut on November 6, posting a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a win over

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

. Three days later, McNeeley recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds against

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, becoming the first freshman to log back-to-back double-doubles since

Corny Thompson Cornelius Allen "Corny" Thompson (born February 5, 1960) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6’8” (203 cm) 225 lb (102 kg) power forward who occasionally also played the center position. Thomson wa ...

in 1978. On November 17, McNeeley earned

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Freshman of the Week honors for his 15-point performance in a 90–49 victory over Le Moyne. After leading the Huskies to a 2–0 week, he was named Big East Freshman of the Week again on December 9, sharing the honor with teammate Alex Karaban. On December 14, McNeeley delivered a dominant performance against No. 8

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

, scoring 26 points along with eight rebounds and four assists. Following this performance, he earned another Big East Freshman of the Week honor. For the third consecutive week and fourth time overall, McNeeley was named Big East Freshman of the Week on December 23 after helping the team to another 2–0 week. On February 11, 2025, McNeely scored a game-high 38 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a win over Creighton, recording the most points by a UConn freshman in conference history. On February 17, he was again named Big East Freshman of the Week after averaging team-highs of 24.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. On February 24, McNeeley earned his sixth Big East Freshman of the Week honor after leading the team to a comeback win over Villanova with 20 points and 7 rebounds. After averaging 15.5 points, 3.5 assists, and three rebounds in a 2–0 week, McNeeley was named Big East Freshman of the Week again on March 3, marking his seventh time receiving the award. On March 11, the conference named McNeeley as the Big East Freshman of the Year. McNeeley concluded his college career having earned Third Team All-Big East and Big East All-Freshman Team honors. On April 1, he declared for the

2025 NBA draft The 2025 NBA draft was the 79th edition of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual draft. Like the 2024 draft, this draft took place over two nights. The draft consisted of 59 picks as opposed to the full 60 due to the New York Knick ...

, foregoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Charlotte Hornets (2025–present)

On June 25, 2025, McNeely was selected with the 29th pick by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in the

. However, on June 30, 2025, he would have his draft rights traded to the

, along with

Vasilije Micić Vasilije Micić ( sr-Cyrl, Василије Мицић, born 13 January 1994) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Serbian national team in internat ...

and a 2029 first-round pick in exchange for center Mark Williams and a 2029 second-round pick.

National team career

McNeeley played for the United States national under-16 team at the

2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Xalapa, Mexico, from 23 to 29 August 2021. The top four teams qualified for the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Spain. Qu ...

. He averaged 5.7 points and five rebounds per game as the United States won the gold medal.

Career statistics

College

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, 27 , , 26 , , 32.1 , , .381 , , .317 , , .866 , , 6.0 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , 14.5

Personal life

McNeeley's great-grandfather (Gordan Elsey), grandfather (Chuck Elsey), mother (Ashley Elsey), and two of his uncles (Chad Elsey and Josh Ihde) played college basketball.

References

External links

UConn Huskies bioMontverde Academy Eagles bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeeley, Liam 2005 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Texas McDonald's High School All-Americans Phoenix Suns draft picks Small forwards Sportspeople from Richardson, Texas UConn Huskies men's basketball players