Liam McChesney’s basketball journey is the epitome of strength and resilience.
The seventh-year junior forward on the Creighton men’s basketball team hasn’t had an easy path to get to where he’s at now, suffering a season ending leg injury at Utah State in the 2020-2021 season then finding out that he needed open heart surgery while at High Point in the summer of 2023.
“High Point did this screening test for all the student athletes there, and they’re like, ‘You might want to go get this checked out,’” McChesney told Hurrdat Sports. “So, I really wasn’t thinking anything of it. I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it so we can get back to the season.’ I went and got it checked out with a specialist, and he was like, ‘Yeah, you probably need to get this fixed before you ever get on the court.’”
McChesney said that the surgery took 10 hours, before going to recovery.
Liam McChesney smiles before an exhibition against Colorado State on Saturday, October 25, 2025, in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann.
“I stayed in the ICU for four days, four nights, just by myself,” McChesney said. “That was definitely the worst part of my life, I’d say. My parents would come during the day, and it would be good. I’d have good spirits, but I’d be alone during the night. The nurse would come in every 30 minutes, but I would just look down and see tubes just coming out of me left and right, and IVs coming out of my neck, and watching blood get drained from my lungs.”
He credits his family for their support along the way.
“I’m just grateful because they were there with me every step of the way,” McChesney said. “I know recovering from that surgery the first couple of days back was extremely rough, and having my mom and dad there just made everything better.”
After the surgery, doctors told McChesney that he should take a year off from sports. He said that he spent that year around the team at High Point, helping and encouraging them on the sidelines.
“The hard days were really kind of terrible, just getting through those tough days and building the confidence back up,” McChesney said. “That second year, I was able to play on scout team for High Point. I think that set a good baseline for me, and getting back, getting my game back and my confidence.”
McChesney started playing basketball in third grade, before getting more involved in eighth grade. The 6-foot-10 native of Prince Rupert, Canada, committed to Utah State out of Charles Hayes Secondary School, redshirting the first year. He played three games before the leg injury, then transferred to Illinois State after the season. He started in 27 of the 60 games he played as a Redbird, averaging 5.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game. He transferred to High Point after that, where the doctors found the heart abnormality.
Despite the challenges, he wasn’t ready to give up the sport he grew up watching and playing.
“I was over thinking everything in my life at that point,” McChesney said. “But that process, it’s made me stronger in the long run and it’s helped me put my faith in Jesus, knowing that I’ve got God beside me, and it’s not a one-on-one battle for myself. It’s helped me want to stay in the game. I just love the game of basketball, and at the end of the day, I’m always going to, and no one’s going to be able to take that away from me. I just really felt like I still have something to prove, so even if I did want to give it up, I didn’t want to live with any regret. I felt like I haven’t showed my best stuff yet.”
McChesney spent two seasons at High Point, taking a medical hardship both years, before transferring to Creighton in the summer of 2025, following former High Point head coach Alan Huss, who returned to Creighton as associate head coach and coach-in-waiting on Greg McDermott’s staff.
“Coach Huss, he took me as a guy that was going to come in and try and help the team win at High Point,” McChesney said. “I did play zero minutes, and the guy still wanted to take me to Creighton. So, that just shows that he actually cares about me. He really helped me along the way.”
Growing up, McChesney watched the Bluejays. Now, he’s learning from a Creighton legend in McDermott.
“Coach McDermott is an extremely special coach to be able to have as your head coach,” McChesney said. “Being able to learn from him and all the basketball that he’s seen in his coaching career is crazy. So, kind of every little bit of information you can get from him is obviously ideal, and that was a big part of me coming here.”
Creighton Bluejay Liam McChesney (#13) checks into the game during a basketball game against South Dakota on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann.
McChesney first organized game since returning from the heart surgery was Creighton’s exhibition against Iowa State. He also checked in at the end of No. 23 Creighton’s season-opening win over South Dakota, logging four minutes, a rebound and an emphatic block on a Coyote shot attempt.
“His parents are here, they’ve been here for a week or so,” McDermott said after the game. “It’s been a heck of a journey for that young man. What he’s been through and how he continues to fight, it’s not easy. When we get out of shape and we try to get back in shape, the first thing that happens is our chest burns, right? But when his chest burns, his mind goes to a different place than we do. So fighting that part of it and getting through the points where you know you’re going to be OK, that’s a struggle, and I give him a lot of credit. I think everybody in that locker room has learned a lot from him, and it was great to see him out there in the uniform tonight.”
Junior forward Owen Freeman echoed the sentiment.
“It was awesome,” Freeman said. “We were all cheering him on. It was really good to just see him get back out there, especially with everything he’s been through. So we were all really happy for him.”
With everything that McChesney’s faced, he hasn’t let that stop him; rather, he’s constantly working to get back out on the court.
“At the end of the day, you’re going to face adversity, whether you like it or not,” McChesney said. “There are so many freak accidents that happen in the game of basketball, and just sports at this level. Just taking it day by day, you never know when it’s going to get taken away from you. So, just trying to enjoy the process, and being grateful for what you’ve got, because as you’re going through adversity, you really think the world’s kind of collapsing on you, but it’s really not. It’s all about the thoughts you have in your brain, and putting my faith in God has definitely helped me with that.”
For now, McChesney will continue to work on getting his body back to full form with hopes of earning more playing time this season.
“I just don’t feel like giving up,” McChesney said. “I’ve just been this far, and why would I give up at this point?”
