With former University of Richmond head coach Aaron Rousell now in charge of women hoops at Virginia, the preseason experts expect a big dropoff this season by the Spiders.
Richmond finished third in regular-season play in the Atlantic 10 Conference last season, just one game out of first back of George Mason and Rhode Island.
But in the preseason poll that was released recently during media day in Washington, the Spiders were pegged to finish eighth this season. Saint Joseph’s was the unanimous pick to win, followed by Davidson, George Washington, George Mason, Dayton, Saint Louis and VCU.
After Richmond, those picked ninth to 14th were Rhode Island, La Salle, St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, Fordham and Loyola Chicago.
Rhode Island had to replace head coach Tammi Reiss, the former Virginia and WNBA star, after she took the job at the University of Florida. Ex-JMU and WNBA assistant Neil Harrow is the first-year coach at Fordham after he won 21 games in his only season at crosstown Long Island. It was the most wins for a first-year coach at the Brooklyn school.
Here is a look at the three Virginia schools in the Atlantic 10, plus other notes from around the conference:
George Mason (2025-2026: 23-10)
Sophomore guard Mary Amoateng is a second team all-conference preseason selection.
She tallied 8.5 points and 2.3 assists per contest last season. She was also named to the all-defensive team in preseason picks.
Anovia Sheals, who averaged 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season, was named to the all-conference third team in preseason selections. She played last season at Austin Peay.
The veteran coach for the Patriots is Vanessa Blair-Lewis. Her husband, Eric Lewis, has been an NBA official.
In June, Blair-Lewis announced the addition of former Mason player and head coach Debbie Taneyhill as an assistant coach. She was the head coach from 1997 to 2008 in Fairfax.
“Debbie is George Mason. Her history, leadership, and impact are deeply woven into the fabric of George Mason University,” said Blair-Lewis on the school website. “As a former student-athlete, assistant coach, associate head coach, and head coach of the Women’s Basketball program, she understands the university’s culture, values, and traditions at the highest level.”
Mason opens play Nov. 2 at home with Temple.
VCU (2025-2026: 8-23)
Macy Spencer, a senior guard from Texas, averaged 18.6 points and 2.3 assists per contest last season at High Point and is a second team pick on the all-conference preseason squad.
Third-team all-conference preseason pick Katarina Kneževic, a junior guard/forward, averaged 10.3 points, 6.1 boards and 1.8 assists last season. From Serbia, she previously played in college at Arizona.
The Rams open the season at home Nov. 3 with Central Connecticut, then Virginia Tech comes to the Siegel Center on Nov. 12.
Chelsea Banbury is the first-year coach after a successful tenure at High Point.
“She is a winner who will bring a winning standard to our program,” VCU athletics director Ed McLaughlin said on the school website. “Chelsea has proven that she knows how to lead a program to the NCAA Tournament on multiple occasions and I look forward to her leading our program into March Madness. We share a vision of what this women’s basketball program can be and a deep belief in the importance of developing young people in all ways. Our entire university will support her efforts, and I know our community will embrace her and her family.”
Richmond (2025-2026: 26-8)
Senior guard Ally Sweeney is a first team all-conference preseason pick.
She averaged 10.5 points and 4.4 assists per game last season.
The rookie head coach for the Spiders is Alisa Krege, who played at Marist in New York and had a successful tenure as the head mentor at Vermont.
The Spiders open the season Nov. 2 at Charlotte.
Notebook
From Bridgewater to Pittsburgh
Turner Ashby High graduate Raeven Washington returns for her second season with Duquesne in Pennsylvania.
Washington is related to former Virginia star and Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson.
The former Valley District Player of the Year appeared in 30 games as a freshman with 23 starts and averaged 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.3 percent from the field.
She was third in the conference with 1.6 blocks per outing and her 49 rejections ranked ninth on the all-time school list for a season.
“She is incredibly gifted. In the 19 years I have coached, she has more potential than any player I have had,” Duquesne coach Dan Burt told AFP last year about Washington. “She has to realize that potential.”
Duquesne opens the season at Tennessee on Nov. 2.
Several imports at Davidson
Sylvie Jackson, who led Louisa County to a state title in 2020, is one of just three Americans on the roster at Davidson – a school that has relied on European imports for years with the men’s program.
The senior guard from Zion Crossroads played in just six games last season due to medical reasons. She averaged 1.5 points per outing.
Davidson opens play Nov. 2 at Columbia, then hosts Virginia on Nov. 5.
Farmville to DC
George Washington, just across the Potomac River from Arlington, should benefit from the addition of former Longwood standout Amor Harris.
The senior guard is from nearby Alexandria and played three seasons in Farmville for the Lancers. She averaged 11 points per outing as a sophomore at Longwood.
GW also has a transfer from Richmond in junior guard Alicia Newell, who played two seasons for the Spiders. It is a homecoming as she went to high school at Elizabeth Seton, just across the DC line in Maryland and part of the powerful Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.
Newell averaged 7.2 points per outing as a Richmond sophomore and has NCAA tourney experience.
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David Driver
