CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Aaron Roussell was hired as Virginia's women's basketball coach on Tuesday, three days after the Cavaliers abruptly fired Amaka Agugua-Hamilton coming off the team's run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Roussell joins the Cavaliers from Richmond, where he led the Spiders to a 148-72 record over the past seven seasons and made it to each of the past three NCAA Tournaments. The Spiders lost in the First Four this year.
“Aaron is a proven winner who embodies the University’s values of integrity, leadership, academic excellence and student-athlete development,” Virginia athletic director Carla Williams said in a statement.
Agugua-Hamilton led the Cavaliers to the NCAA regional semifinals for the first time since 2000. She went 70-58, including a 29-42 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play, in four seasons. No reason was given for her dismissal.
Following Agugua-Hamilton's departure, forward Sa’Myah Smith entered the transfer portal, saying she and her family made the decision “due to the coaching change and uncertainty.” Smith averaged 7.9 points and 6.8 rebounds this season.
Guard Kymora Johnson, who led the team with an average of 19.5 points and 5.9 assists, and fellow guard Gabby White also entered the portal.
Virginia became the first double-digit seed to reach the Sweet 16 since 2022 and pulled off the upset of the tournament, knocking off No. 2 seed Iowa on the road in double overtime in the second round. They became the first First Four team to advance that far before falling to TCU.
“We got a deeply rich tradition at UVA on this stage and we hope to get our team back there one day sooner than later,” said South Carolina coach and former Virginia player Dawn Staley, upon hearing that Agugua-Hamilton, known as “Coach Mox,” had been fired.
Expectations for the Cavaliers have risen since 2024, when alum Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and the husband of Serena Williams, gave a “transformational” multiyear gift to the women's basketball program.
Before taking the Richmond job, Roussell coached at Bucknell for seven seasons, going 151-72 and reaching March Madness twice.
This headline has been corrected to fix the spelling of Aaron Roussell's last name.
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