Roussell comes from Richmond, where he led the Spiders to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and won back-to-back Atlantic 10 titles in 2024 and 2025. Richmond won its only NCAA Tournament game in 2025 in the first round against Georgia Tech.
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Virginia acted quickly after firing Amaka Agugua-Hamilton last week despite a Sweet 16 run. Roussell knows the region after coaching in the state for the past seven seasons. He is one of the most respected coaches in the country outside of power conferences and was named the 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year.
The Cavaliers have a lot of work to do with their current roster. March Madness darling and Charlottesville, Virginia product Kymora Johnson is in the transfer portal ahead of her final college season, along with fellow starter Sa’Myah Smith. Rotation players Gabby White and Breona Hurd have also put their names in the portal. Additionally, starters Paris Clark and Romi Levy graduate.
Virginia has some extra money in the bank, thanks to a gift from Reddit co-founder and Cavaliers alum Alexis Ohanian, that will have to go toward replenishing the player pool.
Roussell’s departure from Richmond to Virginia continues a mid-sized exodus to Power 5 schools this offseason, as talent is solidifying at the upper levels of rosters and at the coaching level.
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Tammi Reiss, who led Rhode Island to an Atlantic 10 title this season, is Florida’s new coach. Carla Berube had Princeton in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons, winning eight combined Ivy League regular-season and conference tournament titles in the process, but now she’s at Northwestern. Even Robin Harmony, who led the College of Charleston to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history this season, took the job in Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Virginia Cavaliers, women’s college basketball
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