Raphael McNeill was promoted to head coach of the Saint Francis women’s basketball program in April 2026 after serving as the acting head coach for the final six games of the 2025-26 season.
McNeill is the 10th head coach in program history as Saint Francis enters its 39th season of women’s basketball. He also becomes the first head coach to lead the program into its transition to NCAA Division III and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) for the 2026-27 season.
McNeill helped Saint Francis close out its time in the Northeast Conference (NEC) and NCAA Division I with a historic victory in its final home game of the 2025-26 season. On February 28, Saint Francis defeated Central Connecticut State, 82-63, to earn the program’s 400th regular-season NEC victory, making Saint Francis the only program in league history to reach that milestone. The win also clinched the 31st NEC Tournament appearance in program history.
McNeill came to Loretto following two seasons at Riverdale Baptist High School in Maryland. In 2025-26, he served as the varsity girls’ basketball head coach, leading the team to a 24-11 record and a Top 10 ranking in the state. Under McNeill’s leadership, two players earned NCAA Division I scholarship offers, while two additional players received NCAA Division II offers. During the 2023-24 season, McNeill served as the associate head coach of the Riverdale Baptist varsity boys’ basketball team while also leading the junior varsity program as head coach.
Prior to his time at Riverdale Baptist, McNeill spent eight seasons as the associate head coach of the men’s basketball program at Livingstone College. During his tenure, Livingstone captured the CIAA Tournament championship in 2014-15. McNeill also recruited and coached Roger Ray, the program’s all-time leading scorer and a CIAA Player of the Year.
McNeill began his collegiate coaching career at Virginia Union University, a CIAA member, where he served as an assistant coach during the 2013-14 season. He then spent two seasons as an assistant coach at NJCAA Division I Chesapeake College, where he coached three All-Region XX selections.
McNeill began his coaching career at the high school level in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with stops at Suitland High School, C.H. Flowers High School and Largo High School.
McNeill began his collegiate playing career at Old Dominion University before transferring to Fayetteville State University. He earned his degree in computer science and mathematics from Fayetteville State in 2001.
