McNeill

LORETTO — Saint Francis University Director of Athletics Jim Brazill announced Raphael McNeill as the women’s basketball head coach on Thursday.

McNeill served as the acting head coach for the final six games of the 2025-26 season. McNeill becomes the 10th head coach as the team heads into its 39th season in program history, and the first as the Red Flash transition to NCAA Division III and the Presidents’ Athletics Conference for the 2026-27 season.

“This is an exciting time for Saint Francis women’s basketball,” Saint Francis President Malachi Van Tassell said. “I know Coach McNeil will do great things for our program. Ralph is an outstanding coach who knows how to develop players athletically and academically.”

McNeill came to Loretto after two years at Riverdale Baptist High School. He served as the varsity women’s basketball head coach, leading the team to a 24-11 record and a Top 10 ranking in Maryland in 2024-25. For the 2023-24 season, McNeill served as the associate head coach of the Riverdale Baptist varsity boys team and as the head coach of the junior varsity team.

“I would like to extend my deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to Father Malachi, Jim Brazill and the entire search committee for your faith and trust in me, not only as a coach, but more importantly as a person chosen to lead this incredible women’s basketball program,” McNeill said. “This opportunity means so much to me, and I do not take it for granted. Saint Francis University is a special place, and to be entrusted with guiding a program filled with such talented, driven and remarkable young women is truly an honor.”

Before his time at Riverdale Baptist, McNeill spent eight seasons as the associate head coach for the men’s basketball team at Livingstone College. He began his coaching career at the NCAA level as an assistant coach at Virginia Union, a CIAA school, during the 2013-14 season. McNeill was an assistant coach at NJCAA Division I Chesapeake College for two years.