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

2025–26 Saint Francis Red Flash men's basketball
ConferenceNortheast Conference
Record2–11 (0–0 NEC)
Head coach
Associate head coachDevin Sweetney
Assistant coaches
  • Tanner Massey
  • Kyle Polce
Home arenaDeGol Arena
2025–26 NEC men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Central Connecticut 0 0   6 5   .545
LIU 0 0   6 6   .500
Wagner 0 0   5 6   .455
Le Moyne * 0 0   5 7   .417
New Haven ** 0 0   5 7   .417
Mercyhurst * 0 0   5 8   .385
Fairleigh Dickinson 0 0   3 9   .250
Stonehill 0 0   3 10   .231
Chicago State 0 0   2 11   .154
Saint Francis 0 0   2 11   .154
† 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
As of December 22, 2025

The 2025–26 Saint Francis Red Flash men's basketball team represents 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, play their home games at the DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pennsylvania in their final season as members of the Northeast Conference.

This season will be Saint Francis' last as a 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.[1]

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.[2] They defeated Wagner,[3] LIU,[4] 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.[5] In the NCAA tournament, they would receive the #16 seed in the South Region,[6] where they would be defeated by fellow #16 seed Alabama State in the First Four.[7]

Shortly after their aforementioned moved 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.[8]

Preseason

On October 27, 2025, the NEC released their preseason coaches poll. Saint Francis was picked to finish seventh in the conference.[9]

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:[9]

Preseason All-NEC Team

No players were named to the All-NEC Preseason Team.[10]

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
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 18, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
8:30 pm, SECN+
at Oklahoma L 66–102  0–1
Lloyd Noble Center (6,476)
Norman, OK
November 6, 2025*
8:00 pm, TNT/TruTV
at TCU L 63–104  0–2
Schollmaier Arena (4,432)
Fort Worth, TX
November 11, 2025*
7:00 pm, NECFR
Mount St. Mary's L 66–74  0–3
DeGol Arena (827)
Loretto, PA
November 18, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Lehigh L 62–79  0–4
Stabler Arena (572)
Bethlehem, PA
November 24, 2025*
1:30 pm, FloCollege
vs. Belmont
Coconut Hoops Royal Palm Division semifinals
L 57–94  0–5
Alico Arena (212)
Fort Myers, FL
November 26, 2025*
11:00 am, FloCollege
vs. Troy
Coconut Hoops Royal Palm Division Consolation Game
L 64–74  0–6
Alico Arena (101)
Fort Myers, FL
November 29, 2025*
2:00 pm, NECFR
Franciscan W 85–60  1–6
DeGol Arena (384)
Loretto, PA
December 1, 2025*
7:00 pm, truTV
at Xavier L 74–96  1–7
Cintas Center (9,143)
Cincinnati, OH
December 3, 2025*
7:00 pm, NECFR
Penn State Shenango W 100–41  2–7
DeGol Arena (665)
Loretto, PA
December 7, 2025*
2:30 pm, ESPN+
at Radford L 56–89  2–8
Dedmon Center (924)
Radford, VA
December 14, 2025*
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Temple L 67–95  2–9
Liacouras Center (2,043)
Philadelphia, PA
December 17, 2025*
6:30 pm, SECN
at No. 23т Florida L 61–102  2–10
O'Connell Center (9,023)
Gainesville, FL
December 20, 2025*
1:00 pm, NECFR
Robert Morris L 70–79  2–11
DeGol Arena (385)
Loretto, PA
NEC regular season
January 2, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
Le Moyne DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
January 4, 2026
4:00 pm, NECFR
Fairleigh Dickinson DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
January 8, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
at Wagner Spiro Sports Center 
Staten Island, NY
January 10, 2026
2:00 pm, NECFR
at LIU Steinberg Wellness Center 
Brooklyn, NY
January 17, 2026
2:00 pm, NECFR
Central Connecticut DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
January 19, 2026
12:00 pm, NECFR
Stonehill DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
January 23, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
Chicago State DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
January 25, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR
at New Haven Hazell Center 
West Haven, CT
January 29, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
at Chicago State Jones Convocation Center 
Chicago, IL
January 31, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
New Haven DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
February 5, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
at Mercyhurst Owen McCormick Court 
Erie, PA
February 7, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR
at Le Moyne Ted Grant Court 
DeWitt, NY
February 12, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
at Fairleigh Dickinson Bogota Savings Bank Center 
Hackensack, NJ
February 14, 2026
2:00 pm, NECFR
Mercyhurst DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
February 19, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
LIU DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
February 21, 2026
2:00 pm, NECFR
Wagner DeGol Arena 
Loretto, PA
February 26, 2026
7:00 pm, NECFR
at Stonehill Merkert Gymnasium 
Easton, MA
February 28, 2026
1:00 pm, NECFR
at Central Connecticut William H. Detrick Gymnasium 
New Britain, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[11][12]

References

  1. ^ "Saint Francis announces move from Division I to Division III". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "2025 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Field Set". NEC. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  3. ^ "Parker leads St. Francis over Wagner 58-55 in Northeast Conference Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  4. ^ "Cranford and Saint Francis (PA) defeat LIU in Northeast Conference Tournament 71-68". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  5. ^ "St. Francis beats Central Connecticut State to win NEC tournament". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  6. ^ "Latest bracket, schedule and scores for the 2025 NCAA men's tournament". NCAA.com. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  7. ^ "Alabama State takes down Saint Francis, now set to face Auburn". WVTM-TV. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  8. ^ "Krimmel 'at peace' in retiring". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Shark Hunt Begins: LIU Unanimously Named 2025-26 NEC Preseason Men's Basketball Favorite". NEC. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  10. ^ "LIU All-Star Duo Highlights 2025-26 Preseason All-NEC Men's Basketball Team". NEC. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  11. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Saint Francis University Athletics. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  12. ^ "Saint Francis Red Flash 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 18, 2025.