On-Campus Report: Isiah Warfield takes after father, looks to 'earn it' at Liberty

Editor’s note: This article is a part of a weekly series that the Beaver County Times will publish every Tuesday titled the “On-Campus Report,” where sports reporter Parth Upadhyaya will catch up with former Beaver Valley high school stars who are now in the collegiate ranks.

While many around the Beaver Valley and in the high school sports world have been recently inspired by Aliquippa High School football head coach Mike Warfield, Isiah Warfield has had a front-row seat to the elder Warfield’s life for the better part of two decades. And he says it’s paid off.

Mike Warfield has led Aliquippa — seemingly against all odds — to two PIAA titles and two WPIAL titles in his four years at the helm. He’s served as a father figure to many players who have come through his program, and through winning, he’s provided hope to a community, at times, desperately in need of it. His son, Isiah Warfield, a 6-foot-5 former Sewickley Academy and Central Valley High School basketball star and now a sophomore guard at Division I Liberty, has taken away a great deal from his father’s approach to life.

“He loves to say, ‘Why not us?’” Isiah Warfield told the Beaver County Times in a recent interview. “‘Why not me? Why not us?’ He’s basically saying you’ve got to earn everything. Everything’s not just given to you — you’ve got to earn it.”

Isiah Warfield — who won a PIAA Class 2A title in 2017 as a freshman reserve and back-to-back WPIAL Class 2A titles in 2017 and 2018 with the Panthers — was one of the best basketball talents in Beaver County in his final two years of high school. As a three-star recruit, he averaged 25.8 points per game as a junior at Sewickley Academy and committed to Liberty before transferring to Central Valley in fall 2019 ahead of his senior season.

Since arriving at Liberty as a freshman in 2020, though, Warfield has learned that he’ll need to elevate his game even further to be the player he wants to be at the collegiate level. This season, he’s averaged 1.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 9.8 minutes per game so far through the Flames’ first 19 games (13-6).

The transition from high school to college basketball has been anything but easy for Warfield. But he’s confident that his time is coming. And, during his most challenging days, he recalls lessons he’s learned from his father about perseverance.

“Watching him, how hard he works and seeing the work he’s put in, that’s something I feel like I’ve taken from him and (been) able to apply to my life — just hard work,” he said.

The Times recently caught up with Warfield in a conversation with topics ranging from what it’s been like to see his dad’s rise to prominence in the world of high school football, why he chose Liberty as the place to continue his basketball career and how he’s adjusted from being an elite scorer at the high school level to finding a new role with the Flames.

Beaver County Times: With your dad, Mike Warfield, being who he is — Aliquippa High School’s head football coach and a former Quips football player — how’d you end up pursuing basketball and not football?

Isiah Warfield: When I was younger, (I was) just testing out all different sports.

I played football at a young age, but the reason I stopped playing football (around my seventh grade year) was because I really enjoyed baseball growing up, and I wanted to play fall baseball instead of football. And that’s kind of what drove me to not play football anymore. And then I just started growing and (kept) playing basketball. As the years went on, I felt that basketball was the sport for me. And I just fell in love with it.

BCT: What’s it been like to be “Mike Warfield’s son,” as your father has become a celebrity of sorts in recent years in the high school football world?

Warfield: I love it. I enjoy being able to see him succeed.

I’m really proud just to be his son, just to see what he’s doing within the Aliquippa community and in the Beaver County community. It’s really cool just to be able to sit back and watch what he’s been able to do. And, when I was home, being able to go to some of his games, it was just real cool to see the success he’s been having.

BCT: Being from Center Township, why did you end up going to Sewickley Academy to begin with? And then what made you decide to transfer to Central Valley ahead of your senior season?

Warfield: The decision to go to Sewickley was more of an academic reason — (with) just how prestigious the academics are for getting into colleges and stuff. In case sports didn’t work out for me, we felt that going to Sewickley would help me out academically and education-wise.

But after I committed to Liberty — I got my scholarship and stuff to go to Liberty while I was still at Sewickley — we felt like there was no reason for us to still have to pay for the tuition (at Sewickley Academy) if I had already had a college picked and was accepted. And then just getting a chance to go back and finish out with my friends I grew up with was also a (factor).

BCT: Did you being as good as you were in high school as a basketball player in a football-first area ever add extra pressure on you? And if so, did that ever become overwhelming at that point in your life?

Warfield: I don’t think it became overwhelming.

Obviously, there was something in my mind that said, “There’s a standard and a performance you’ve got to live up to,” just knowing where I’m from and what people expected of me. But I wouldn’t say it was overbearing or anything like that. I think it just kind of motivated me to a certain point to keep working and hold myself to that standard.

BCT: With you garnering interest from Power 5 programs like Pitt and West Virginia before you committed to Liberty after your junior season, what made you choose Liberty instead of waiting out and potentially ending up at a high-major school?

Warfield: I committed (to Liberty) before my last AAU season. And the reason I did was (because) I just felt that Liberty was recruiting me really hard.

I was able to form a relationship with (head) coach (Ritchie) McKay and (assistant) coach (Brad) Soucie early while they were recruiting me. Going on visits there and going to other places and seeing programs, how they run it, Liberty was just really different. Having the religious part of it with (it being) a Christian school, that was a big part for me. And just the family environment that the program had — it was just different.

It just felt like I was a part of the family right away. I clicked with the players; I clicked with the coaches. I just felt like it was the best fit for me to grow outside of basketball.

BCT: How has it been going from being the top dog in basketball in high school in the Beaver Valley to having a slow start to your collegiate career?

Warfield: (There were) definitely growing pains my freshman year — not really getting any (playing) time, coming off the bench with a few seconds left in the half and in the game.

It was definitely hard at first. But there were some vets on the team that were able to help me out, (and they) went through the same thing. (They) just helped me keep my head up. And then just having a great relationship with my parents and with some of my close friends at home, I was able to talk to them. They really helped me out mentally with that whole aspect.

And then I just had to know that my time’s coming. I really just grew in the patience aspect (and in) trying to find my role here.

BCT: When you’ve been a guy all your life who’s averaged crazy amounts of points per game, how tough of a transition is it to go from that to having to find other ways to impact your team now with the Flames?

Warfield: At first, I thought scoring and putting the ball in the hoop was the most important thing and was something that would get me on the court. And I think that’s where I grew and learned that that’s not always the most important thing.

And I think, with this year, being able to carve out some more time and a bigger role for myself, I had to realize that there’s more to basketball than just scoring the ball. So, just learning that, it was able to help me out.

BCT: As you look ahead, in what areas do you feel you need to improve upon the most to help ensure the rest of your career at Liberty is successful?

Warfield: Here at Liberty, it’s definitely a defensive program. So, just being able to stay locked in and keep growing on the defensive side of the ball (is important).

And then just having a more consistent jump shot is also something I feel I need to focus on a lot. And then, obviously, getting stronger and being more comfortable handling the ball — you can always work on that stuff.

Contact Parth Upadhyaya at pupadhyaya@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @pupadhyaya_.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Sewickley Academy's Warfield finds ways to make impact at Liberty