Patrick McGrail began his duties as the next WashU men's basketball assistant coach on June 1, 2024.
In the 2025-26 season, WashU reached the Sweet 16, wrapping up with a 20-8 record. The Bears beat Transylvania in the opening round of the regional and topped #19 UW-Whitewater in the regional final to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 11th time in program history and the tird year in a row.
Sophomore Connor May earned NABC Third Team All-America honors, marking the 12th NABC All-American in program history and the 53rd overall. He also earned D3hoops.com First Team All-Region 8 and NABC First Team All-District 8 honors as well as a First Team All-UAA nod.
Senior Yogi Oliff was named UAA Defensive Player of the Year, marking the sixth person in program history to earn this distinction. He was also named Second Team All-UAA.
In his first season at WashU 2024-25, the Bears went 23-7, reaching the Final Four for the first time since 2009 and the fourth time in program history. For the second season in a row, senior Hayden Doyle was named an All-American, picking up third team honors for both d3hoops.com and the NABC. Additionally, Doyle was named a finalist for the prestigious Jostens Trophy.
McGrail joined the Bears after holding the positions of assistant coach and most recently associate head coach at Rhodes College. This marked his second stint at Rhodes, as he was an assistant coach for two years from 2013-15 as well.
Since rejoining the Rhodes staff in 2018, he helped turn around the program from a 5-21 record his first season to double-digit wins in the last three seasons. Most notably, after a 2-12 season in 2020-21 and 10-15 in 2021-22, the program went on to have an 18-7 season in 2022-23.
Between his stints at Rhodes, McGrail served as the Athletic Coordinator at his alma mater of Fenwick High School in northern Illinois and was the assistant varsity basketball coach, guiding the team to the 2017 state championship game.
McGrail is a graduate of Rhodes, being named the 2013-2014 SAA Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his career in the SAA record books with a top 3-point percentage of 47.8.
Updated July 2026
