2025–26 Saint Francis Red Flash men's basketball team

The 2025–26 Saint Francis Red Flash men's basketball team represented Saint Francis University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Red Flash, led by first-year head coach Luke McConnell, played their home games at the DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pennsylvania in their final season as members of the Northeast Conference.

2025–26 Saint Francis Red Flash men's basketball
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	7–24 (5–13 NEC)
Head coach	Luke McConnell (1st season)
Associate head coach	Devin Sweetney
Assistant coaches	Tanner Massey Kyle Polce
Home arena	DeGol Arena

2025–26 NEC men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
LIU †	15	–	3		.833			24	–	11		.686
Central Connecticut	12	–	6		.667			18	–	12		.600
Mercyhurst *	10	–	8		.556			17	–	17		.500
Le Moyne *	10	–	8		.556			15	–	17		.469
New Haven **	9	–	9		.500			14	–	17		.452
Stonehill	8	–	10		.444			12	–	21		.364
Fairleigh Dickinson	8	–	10		.444			11	–	21		.344
Wagner	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
Chicago State	5	–	13		.278			7	–	25		.219
Saint Francis	5	–	13		.278			7	–	24		.226
† 2026 NEC tournament winner * ineligible for the 2026 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II ** ineligible for both the 2026 NEC tournament and the 2026 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II

This season was Saint Francis' last as an NCAA Division I member, as on March 25, 2025, the school announced that it would start reclassification to NCAA Division III in July of 2026, joining the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

Eight of the conference's ten teams would qualify for the tournament. New Haven is ineligible for the tournament due to their transition from Division II. The Red Flash finished 5–13 and in tenth (last) place in the conference standings. Thus, they finished off their final Division I season by missing the NEC tournament and in turn being eliminated from making the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Previous season

The Red Flash finished the 2024–25 season 16–18, 8–8 in NEC play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated Wagner, LIU, and upset top-seeded Central Connecticut in the NEC tournament championship game, earning the Red Flash just their second ever NCAA tournament appearance, and their first since 1991. In the NCAA tournament, they would receive the #16 seed in the South Region, where they would be defeated by fellow #16 seed Alabama State in the First Four.

Shortly after their aforementioned move to DIII, head coach Rob Krimmel announced that he would be retiring from coaching after 13 seasons with the team, with associate head coach Luke McConnell being named Krimmel's successor.

Preseason

On October 27, 2025, the NEC released their preseason coaches poll. Saint Francis was picked to finish seventh in the conference.

Preseason rankings

NEC Preseason Poll

Place	Team
1	LIU*
2	Central Connecticut
3	Stonehill
4	Mercyhurst
5	Fairleigh Dickinson
6	Chicago State
7	Saint Francis
8	Wagner
9	Le Moyne
10	New Haven
(*) Unanimous selection

Source:

Preseason All-NEC Team

No players were named to the All-NEC Preseason Team.

Roster

2025–26 Saint Francis Red Flash men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Chris Moncrief 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Evansville Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania G 1 KJ Swain Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Sr Cincinnati Christian Schools Hamilton, Ohio G 2 Zion Russell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Niagara Upper Marlboro, Maryland G 3 Brandon Russell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Archbishop Ryan High School Hamilton, New Jersey G/F 4 Ralph Martino Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Maryland Eastern Shore Lanham, Maryland G 7 Paris Papadatos 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Fr St. Thomas Aquinas High School Alimos, Greece G/F 8 Skylar Wicks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr UTSA Jersey City, New Jersey G 11 Melvin Weaver III 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Hampton Unionville, Connecticut F 13 Kam Wylie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Mt. Zion Preparatory Academy Baltimore, Maryland G 15 Victor Payne 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Cromwell High School Cromwell, Connecticut F 20 Cam Tweedy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Fairleigh Dickinson Waldorf, Maryland F 21 Gestin Liberis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr George School Havertown, Pennsylvania G 22 Ryen Gresko 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Penns Manor High School Penn Run, Pennsylvania G 24 Carson Rhodes 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Hollidaysburg Area High School Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania G 30 Trey Weiand 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Trinity High School Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania C 32 Kofi Asare 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Orion International Academy Bradwell, England G 33 Brandon Rabish 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Penn Cambria High School Cresson, Pennsylvania G 55 Ahmad Harrison 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Notre Dame (MD) Baltimore, Maryland	Head coach Luke McConnell (Saint Francis (PA)) Assistant coach(es) Devin Sweetney (Saint Francis (PA)) Tanner Massey (Coastal Carolina) Kyle Polce (USC Beaufort) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 18, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 8:30 pm, SECN+		at Oklahoma	L 66–102	0–1	20 – Wicks	5 – Tied	3 – Wicks	Lloyd Noble Center (6,476) Norman, OK
November 6, 2025* 8:00 pm, TNT/TruTV		at TCU	L 63–104	0–2	18 – Wicks	6 – Wicks	5 – Liberis	Schollmaier Arena (4,432) Fort Worth, TX
November 11, 2025* 7:00 pm, NECFR		Mount St. Mary's	L 66–74	0–3	23 – Russell	13 – Wicks	4 – Russell	DeGol Arena (827) Loretto, PA
November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Lehigh	L 62–79	0–4	24 – Wicks	12 – Wicks	5 – Russell	Stabler Arena (572) Bethlehem, PA
November 24, 2025* 1:30 pm, FloCollege		vs. Belmont Coconut Hoops Royal Palm Division	L 57–94	0–5	17 – Harrison	7 – Wicks	3 – Martino Jr.	Alico Arena (212) Fort Myers, FL
November 26, 2025* 11:00 am, FloCollege		vs. Troy Coconut Hoops Royal Palm Division	L 64–74	0–6	21 – Wicks	9 – Wicks	3 – Wicks	Alico Arena (101) Fort Myers, FL
November 29, 2025* 2:00 pm, NECFR		Franciscan	W 85–60	1–6	16 – Liberis	10 – Liberis	6 – Harrison	DeGol Arena (384) Loretto, PA
December 1, 2025* 7:00 pm, truTV		at Xavier	L 74–96	1–7	19 – Wicks	8 – Russell	6 – Wicks	Cintas Center (9,143) Cincinnati, OH
December 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, NECFR		Penn State Shenango	W 100–41	2–7	19 – Papadatos	10 – Liberis	7 – Swain Jr.	DeGol Arena (665) Loretto, PA
December 7, 2025* 2:30 pm, ESPN+		at Radford	L 56–89	2–8	15 – Papadatos	6 – Russell	2 – Tied	Dedmon Center (924) Radford, VA
December 14, 2025* 12:00 pm, ESPN+		at Temple	L 67–95	2–9	22 – Wicks	6 – Tied	7 – Russell	Liacouras Center (2,043) Philadelphia, PA
December 17, 2025* 6:30 pm, SECN		at No. 23 Florida	L 61–102	2–10	22 – Wicks	5 – Russell	3 – Russell	O'Connell Center (9,023) Gainesville, FL
December 20, 2025* 1:00 pm, NECFR		Robert Morris	L 70–79	2–11	19 – Wicks	8 – Wicks	4 – Wicks	DeGol Arena (385) Loretto, PA
NEC regular season
January 2, 2026 7:00 pm, NECFR		Le Moyne	L 58–84	2–12 (0–1)	12 – Russell	7 – Wicks	5 – Russell	DeGol Arena (375) Loretto, PA
January 4, 2026 4:00 pm, NECFR		Fairleigh Dickinson	W 85–82	3–12 (1–1)	24 – Wicks	6 – Wicks	6 – Harrison	DeGol Arena (381) Loretto, PA
January 8, 2026 7:00 pm, NECFR		at Wagner	W 71–69	4–12 (2–1)	16 – Harrison	9 – Wicks	7 – Wicks	Spiro Sports Center (689) Staten Island, NY
January 10, 2026 2:00 pm, NECFR		at LIU	L 63–67	4–13 (2–2)	21 – Wicks	4 – Tied	3 – Russell	Steinberg Wellness Center (224) Brooklyn, NY
January 17, 2026 2:00 pm, NECFR		Central Connecticut	L 90–98	4–14 (2–3)	17 – Harrison	9 – Liberis	7 – Harrison	DeGol Arena (768) Loretto, PA
January 19, 2026 12:00 pm, NECFR		Stonehill	W 63–61	5–14 (3–3)	16 – Harrison	8 – Wicks	2 – Tied	DeGol Arena (674) Loretto, PA
January 23, 2026 7:00 pm, NECFR		Chicago State	W 81–60	6–14 (4–3)	20 – Wicks	11 – Wicks	8 – Harrison	DeGol Arena (703) Loretto, PA
January 31, 2026 7:00 pm, NECFR		New Haven	L 69–81	6–15 (4–4)	16 – Harrison	7 – Wicks	5 – Liberis	DeGol Arena (709) Loretto, PA
February 5, 2026 7:00 pm, NECFR		at Mercyhurst	L 89–98	6–16 (4–5)	22 – Moncrief	7 – Wicks	6 – Tied	Owen McCormick Court (932) Erie, PA
February 7, 2026 1:00 pm, NECFR		at Le Moyne	L 84–86	6–17 (4–6)	27 – Wicks	7 – Tied	5 – Moncrief	Ted Grant Court (586) DeWitt, NY
February 9, 2026 3:00 pm, NECFR		at Chicago State	L 75–80	6–18 (4–7)	23 – Russell	11 – Tweedy	5 – Russell	Jones Convocation Center (27) Chicago, IL
February 12, 2026 7:00 pm, NECFR		at Fairleigh Dickinson	L 59–66	6–19 (4–8)	14 – Moncrief	7 – Tied	3 – Harrison	Bogota Savings Bank Center (796) Hackensack, NJ
February 14, 2026 2:00 pm, NECFR		Mercyhurst	L 79–94	6–20 (4–9)	33 – Wicks	5 – Wicks	5 – Wicks	DeGol Arena (910) Loretto, PA
February 19, 2026 7:00 pm, NECFR		LIU	L 89–91	6–21 (4–10)	25 – Wicks	8 – Liberis	7 – Russell	DeGol Arena (771) Loretto, PA
February 21, 2026 2:00 pm, NECFR		Wagner	L 56–65	6–22 (4–11)	21 – Russell	6 – Russell	5 – Harrison	DeGol Arena (1,068) Loretto, PA
February 24, 2026 6:00 pm, NECFR		at New Haven	W 73–67	7–22 (5–11)	19 – Liberis	9 – Liberis	3 – Russell	Hazell Center (50) West Haven, CT
February 26, 2026 7:00 pm, NECFR		at Stonehill	L 77–103	7–23 (5–12)	22 – Wicks	6 – Liberis	4 – Wicks	Merkert Gymnasium (307) Easton, MA
February 28, 2026 1:00 pm, NECFR		at Central Connecticut	L 64–69	7–24 (5–13)	16 – Moncrief	11 – Liberis	6 – Wicks	William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1,018) New Britain, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources: