Just three days after announcing that Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton would not return, Virginia Athletics has found its new head coach Tuesday — and he has a strong record of success.
The seventh head coach in Virginia women’s basketball history, Aaron Roussell is hardly new to the position — at 46 years old, he boasts extensive experience spanning 22 years of collegiate head coaching at Chicago, Bucknell and Richmond.
From 2019-26, he spent the last seven seasons leading Richmond to a 148-72 overall record, three NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three years and two Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors. In 2025, Richmond reached the second round in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Prior to Richmond, Roussell was head coach at Bucknell from 2012-19, earning Patriot League Coach of the Year honors twice and Patriot League tournament titles in 2017 and 2019.
He also steered Division III Chicago to a massive program turnaround as head coach from 2004-12, taking the team to four NCAA Division III tournaments, including one stint in the national quarterfinals. Roussell left the program with the highest winning percentage in program history of 76.3 percent.
“My family and I are beyond excited to lead the U.Va. women’s basketball program into a bright and prosperous future,” Roussell said in a Virginia Athletics press release Tuesday. “We are well aware of the rich history and tradition of this program, and we look forward to putting the U.Va. program into the nation’s elite on a consistent basis.”
When Richmond hired Roussell in 2019, he identified his style of play as offensive-minded, high-IQ and entertaining basketball, where his culture is driven by standards of preparation, mentorship and adaptability.
“We are excited to name Aaron Roussell as our new head women’s basketball coach,” Virginia Director of Athletics Carla Williams said in the press release Tuesday. “Aaron is a proven winner who embodies the University’s values of integrity, leadership, academic excellence and student-athlete development. We look forward to welcoming Aaron, his wife Molly and their three children to Grounds for a new era of Virginia women’s basketball.”
With five players lacking eligibility and five more in the transfer portal from the 2025-26 season, Virginia currently faces significant roster uncertainty. However, with a new era established, the program has the opportunity to redefine its identity under Roussell’s proven leadership, which may inevitably attract new talent to Charlottesville and help build a cohesive unit of players in forthcoming seasons.
“I am eager to get to work with them as we look to pack [John Paul Jones Arena] on our way to creating amazing memories with the U.Va. faithful,” Roussell said.
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