The Citadel athletics department is excited to announce the hiring of Claire O’Neel as the next Mixed Rifle Head Coach.
Claire O'Neel enters her fourth season as the head coach of The Citadel mixed rifle and women's rifle head coach.
Under the guidance of O'Neel during the 2026 season, Braden Michalak earned his second consecutive All-Southern Conference team nod as he was selected to the second team Air Rifle.
During the 2025 season, James Hart, Braden Michalak, and Emrie Fast-Clarke were all named to the All-Southern Conference teams.
In her first season as head coach, The Bulldogs finished second overall in at the 2024 Southern Conference Rifle Championships. The Bulldogs claimed their second consecutive Air Rifle title.
Under the guidance of O'Neel, James Hart was named to the First team Smallbore and Second team Air Rifle. Charlotte Welsh was named to the Second team Smallbore. Hart was the lone Bulldog to compete at the 2024 NCAA Rifle Championships.
A four-year member of the Ole Miss women’s rifle team, O’Neel was a First-Team Air Rifle All-American in 2022, in addition to being selected to the Great America Rifle Conference Second Team.
“I am very grateful to Deputy AD for Finance and Operations Geoff Von Dollen for giving me this opportunity!”, said O’Neel. “I have always wanted to coach, and being able to coach at a place like The Citadel is a special opportunity. I'm looking forward to working with the team to develop a strong and cohesive culture to continue to advance the program.”
O’Neel has coaching experience with The Civilian Marksmanship Program in Camp Perry, Ohio, running the Kongsberg Target System while also educating youth shooters on positioning and firearm safety.
“We are very excited about Coach O’Neel joining our mixed rifle program as the next head coach,” said Director of Athletics Mike Capaccio. “She has some great experience and will be a great leader for our program. We are happy to welcome her to the Citadel family.”
During her time at Ole Miss, O’Neel also excelled in the classroom, earning SEC academic honors in 2020 and 2021.
