McPhail was a member of the United States U-17 men's national soccer team at the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship.
He was a 1986 Parade Magazine High School All American soccer player.
[1] That year, he entered Southern Methodist University where he played on the men's soccer team from 1986 to 1989.
[3][4] In the fall of 1989, McPhail signed with the Richardson Rockets of the Southwest Independent Soccer League.
In 1990, McPhail played for the Colorado Foxes in the American Professional Soccer League.