Aaron Roussell - Women's Basketball Coach - University of Richmond Athletics

Aaron Roussell

Title:
Head Coach
Phone:
289-8366

Aaron Roussell enters his seventh season at the helm of the Richmond Spiders Women’s Basketball team in 2025-26. He became the program’s 17th head coach and has 21 years of head coaching experience with a career winning percentage of .696 and an overall record of 434-186 following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.

Start Date: April 2, 2019

Head Coaching Record:
2024-25 (Richmond): 28-7 Overall | 17-1 Atlantic 10 Conference
2023-24 (Richmond): 29-6 Overall | 16-2 Atlantic 10 Conference
2022-23 (Richmond): 21-11 Overall | 8-6 Atlantic 10 Conference
2021-22 (Richmond): 16-14 Overall | 7-9 Atlantic 10 Conference
2020-21 (Richmond): 13-9 Overall | 9-6 Atlantic 10 Conference
2019-20 (Richmond): 15-17 Overall | 7-9 Atlantic 10 Conference
2018-19 (Bucknell): 28-6 Overall | 16-2 Patriot League
2017-18 (Bucknell): 22-10 Overall | 15-3 Patriot League
2016-17 (Bucknell): 27-6 Overall | 16-2 Patriot League
2015-16 (Bucknell): 25-8 Overall | 17-1 Patriot League
2014-15 (Bucknell): 18-12 Overall | 10-8 Patriot League
2013-14 (Bucknell): 16-14 Overall | 11-7 Patriot League
2012-13 (Bucknell): 15-16 Overall | 5-8 Patriot League
2011-12 (UChicago): 27-1 Overall
2010-11 (UChicago): 25-4 Overall
2009-10 (UChicago): 19-7 Overall
2008-09 (UChicago): 17-8 Overall
2007-08 (UChicago): 22-6 Overall
2006-07 (UChicago): 18-7 Overall
2005-06 (UChicago): 17-8 Overall
2004-05 (UChicago): 16-14 Overall

Total: 21 Seasons | 64-33 Atlantic 10 | 90-31 Patriot League

All-Time Coaching Positions:

Head Coach, Richmond Spiders Women’s Basketball (2019–present)
Head Coach, Bucknell Bison Women’s Basketball (2012–19)
Head Coach, University of Chicago Maroons Women’s Basketball (2004–12)
Graduate Assistant Coach, Minnesota State Mavericks Women’s Basketball (2002–04)
Boys' Varsity Assistant Coach and Head JV Coach, Breck High School (Minneapolis, Minn.) (2001–02)

All-Time Coaching Highlights:
Richmond Spiders Women’s Basketball (2019-present):

2024-25

Guided Richmond to its first outright back-to-back Atlantic 10 regular season titles in program history.
Named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the second straight season, as well as Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year and ECAC Coach of the Year.
Coached Maggie Doogan to A-10 Player of the Year honors, Rachel Ullstrom to All-Conference First Team honors, and Addie Budnik to All-Conference Second Team honors.
Captured a program-best 17-game winning streak during the season.
Finished the season 28-7 overall and 17-1 in A-10 play, going 12-2 at home, 11-1 on the road, and 5-4 in neutral site games.
Collected key non-conference wins over Fairfield, Oklahoma State, and Columbia.
Earned the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win, defeating No. 9 Georgia Tech and advancing to the Second Round before falling in a hard-fought contest to No. 1 UCLA in Los Angeles.
Richmond’s non-conference strength of schedule ranked 22nd nationally (Warren Nolan).
One of just three mid-majors to finish top 75 in NET and win a game in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Roussell guided Richmond to back-to-back Atlantic 10 regular season titles for the first time in program history, while also securing the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory in 2025. For his efforts, he was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the second straight season, as well as the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year and ECAC Coach of the Year.

In 2024-25, Richmond finished 28-7 overall and 17-1 in Atlantic 10 play, setting a program record with a 17-game winning streak during the season. The Spiders went 12-2 at home, 11-1 on the road and 5-4 in neutral site games. Roussell led the Spiders to marquee non-conference wins over Fairfield, Oklahoma State and Columbia, while Richmond earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament win with a first-round victory over No. 9 Georgia Tech. The Spiders fell in the second round in a tight battle to No. 1 UCLA in Los Angeles. Richmond’s non-conference strength of schedule ranked 22nd nationally, and the Spiders were one of just three mid-major programs to finish in the top 75 of the NET and win a game in the NCAA Tournament.

2023-24

Led the Spiders to one of the most successful seasons in program history as UR won the A-10 regular season title and the program’s first A-10 championship title, the first conference crown since the 1991 season in the CAA.
Picked up his 400^th career win against Loyola Chicago and notched the program’s 1,000^th win against Fordham.
Slotted himself to No. 4 in all-time wins at Richmond (94), trailing Stephanie Gaitley (116).
Roussell led the Spiders to the No. 10 seed in the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, the program’s first appearance since 2005 and fourth appearance overall. The Spiders played Duke in the first round in Columbus, Ohio.
Named A-10 Coach of the Year, Richmond’s first honor since Stephanie Gaitley picked up the only other honor in 1989-90 (CAA).
Coached Addie Budnik to A-10 Defensive Player of the Year (first in program history), Most Outstanding Player in the A-10 Championship and All-Defensive team honors. Rachel Ullstrom picked up A-10 Sixth Woman of the Year honors (program’s first since 2021-22, Emma Squires) and Maggie Doogan and Grace Townsend earned All-Conference First Team honors.
Had a 14-0 record inside the Robins Center, marking the first time in program history the Spiders were unbeaten at home.
Saw the fifth-longest active win streak of NCAA D-I teams.
Notched a program record 29 wins, finished the season 29-6 overall and 16-2 in conference play.
Finished the season first in the A-10 in assists per game (15.5), blocks per game (5.7), field goal percentage (47.3, 12^th nationally), scoring offense (73.1), three-point percentage (38.1, 7^th nationally), three pointers per game (9.1, 9^th nationally) and win percentage (82.9, 16^th nationally).
Finished the season with a 52 NET ranking, first among A-10 teams. Went 8-5 against the top 100 NET teams, and 15-0 against NET teams ranked below 150.

2022-23

Coached the Spiders to a record-breaking season, including a record-breaking victory over Longwood on Dec. 11, 2022, where the Spiders saw a 119-55 score line. The 119-point output marked a new women's basketball program record of points scored at the Robins Center, eclipsing the 115-point total against American, scored on Jan. 28, 2000.
Led the team to its highest seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship since the 2014-15 season. As the No. 5 seed, the Spiders defeated No. 12 Dayton and No. 4 Fordham enroute to the team’s first appearance in the A-10 Championship semifinal game since 2008-09 where the Spiders ultimately fell to No. 1 UMass.
Accepted a bid into the WNIT which marked the program’s first appearance in the tournament since the 2014-15 season.
Opened the tournament with a 75-52 victory over Penn inside the Robins Center before falling to Rhode Island in the WNIT second round.
Coached Addie Budnik to All-Conference Second Team Honors, All-Championship team honors and All-Academic team honors while Maggie Doogan was named to the All-Conference Third team and the All-Rookie team.
Finished the season second in the A-10 in field-goal percentage (44.1%), defensive rebounds per game (28.6), three-point percentage (34.9%) and three-pointers per game (8.2).

2021-22

In year three, the Spiders ranked first in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage, effective field goal percentage and two-point percentage while ranking second in three-point percentage and points per game and third in assists.
UR also ranked top-10 in the nation in effective field goal percentage and two-point percentage after ranking 339th in both categories in 2019-20.
Finished the 2021-22 season 16-14 overall featuring an eight-game win streak that saw a 2-0 mark in the Florida Atlantic Pre-Christmas Tournament and a buzzer-beating win at A-10 opponent George Washington. The season was also highlighted by a Power 5 win as the Spiders defeated Virginia, 74-65, at the Cavalier Classic.
Coached Emma Squires to A-10 Sixth Woman of the Year honors while Addie Budnik was named All-Conference Second Team

2020-21

Moved up 160 spots nationally in offensive rating, 171 spots in field goal percentage and 203 spots in assists per game during his second season.
Finished the season with a 13-9 record in year two, advancing to the A-10 Quarterfinals for the second-straight season with another postseason win against 11th-seeded George Washington, winning 58-54 in overtime.

2019-20

Roussell led the team to 15 wins in year one, a six-win improvement from the program’s previous season and fourth most wins by a first-year coach in school history.
Coached Addie Budnik to the school's first-ever Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year honor and was a finalist for Freshman of the Year by World Exposure Report. Also helped Kate Klimkiewicz lead the A-10 in three-pointers made (49) as she was named to the A-10 All-Conference Second Team and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.
Started 5-0 in A-10 play on the road for the first time in school history.
Richmond had the highest rated schedule in the A-10 and finished with 11 games against teams in the top-100 RPI.
Coached Jaide Hinds-Clarke to A-10 All-Conference honors after leading the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game.
The Spiders went from 275 in the RPI to 125 (+150 increase) in the first year under Roussell. The mark was eighth-best nationally and best among first-year coaches.
Richmond also had the most improved offense in the Atlantic 10 in 2019-20, scoring 6.4 more points per game.
Led Richmond to eight road victories in his first season after only one road win in 2018-19. UR also won a road game in the Atlantic 10 Championship first round at George Washington to secure a postseason win for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Bucknell Bison Women’s Basketball (2012-2019):

Saw seven highly successful seasons at Bucknell, including a 102-30 (.773) mark over the final four years. He led Bucknell to six-straight winning seasons and four-straight years of 22 wins or more.
Was named Patriot League Coach of the Year twice.
Earned three Patriot League Rookie of the Year award winners from 2014-16 including Claire DeBoer, who went on to earn Patriot League Player of the Year accolades in 2016-17.
Led Bucknell to four-straight postseason appearances, including two NCAA Tournament appearances and two WNIT appearances. Bucknell’s four-straight postseason appearances is the best run in program history.
His Bison teams posted an 84-20 (.807) record on their home court during his seven-year tenure as head coach.
Guided Bucknell to a program-record 28 wins in the 2018-19 season, winning the Patriot League regular season and tournament titles.
Saw a program-record 12-game win streak in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 and had a program-record 29-game home win streak.
The Bison’s 102 wins from 2015-19 are the most in a four-year span in the history of the Patriot League and the program also posted a 64-8 (.889) league record over the period.
Coached Bucknell to its top season in program history in 2018-19 as the Bison amassed a school-record 28 victories and a 28-6 overall record.
Won the Patriot League regular season and tournament titles in 2018-19, advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell was the No. 12 seed in the Greensboro region and took on fifth-seeded Florida State.
Coached Bucknell to its program’s best offensive season in 2018-19, setting program single-season records in points scored (2,462), field goals (875), 3-pointers (283) and assists (529).
Led the Bison to a 22-10 record in 2017-18, including a 15-3 mark in league play, finishing second in the standings. Bucknell accepted an invitation to the WNIT and played at West Virginia to cap the season.
Had a banner year in 2016-17, leading the team to a 27-6 overall record and a 16-2 mark in Patriot League play. He won the Patriot League regular season and tournament titles in impressive fashion, while earning his second Patriot League Coach of the Year award. The Bison earned the No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2017, facing off against third-seeded Maryland.
Began his postseason run in 2015-16, with a then program-record 25-8 overall record and a 17-1 league mark. The Bison tied for the Patriot League regular season crown, and he earned his first league Coach of the Year honor. Bucknell was invited to the WNIT and won the program’s and the Patriot League’s first-ever postseason game with a victory at Akron, before falling to Michigan on the road in the second round.
The rise kept coming in 2014-15 as the Bison finished with an 18-12 record, the most wins for the Bison since 2007.
Helped the Bison post a winning record at 16-14 in 2013-14, Bucknell’s first winning season since 2008-09. The Bison earned a bid into the Women’s Basketball Invitational postseason tournament for the first time in program history.
Began his time at Bucknell in 2012-13, and turned the program around almost immediately, improving the program’s win total by 10 games compared to the previous season.
Finished as a finalist for the WBCA Spalding Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year Award in 2013.

University of Chicago Maroons Women’s Basketball (2004-2012):

Logged the most victories and highest winning percentage of any women's basketball coach in UChicago's 48-year history.
Led University of Chicago to the only three UAA outright championships in program history, two of the championships came in his last two seasons, both on perfect 14-0 league records.
Also saw four NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet Sixteen appearances and one Elite Eight showing with the Maroons.
Was named the UAA Coach of the Year in 2008, 2011 and 2012.
Named WBCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012
Coached six of the then 10 1,000-point scorers in UChicago history.
Mentored 15 different all-conference performers over eight seasons and had players earn All-America honors in 2005, 2011 and 2012.
Led UChicago to a No. 1 ranking in the ESPN/WBCA Coaches' Poll in 2006-07.
Maroons were listed in the ESPN/WBCA and D3hoops.com top-25 polls in each of the last seven years under his coaching.
His 2010-11 team combined for a 3.36 grade-point average and in his last season, Taylor Simpson of UChicago was awarded the Jostens Trophy, given to the most outstanding Division III women's basketball student-athlete based on basketball ability, academic success and community service.
Compiled a 161-50 (.763) record at UChicago, including a 43-game regular season win streak and a 52-5 mark over his last two seasons leading the Maroons.

Education
Alma Mater: Iowa ’01
Bachelor’s Degree: Journalism/Mass Communications, Political Science (Iowa)
Master’s Degree: Sports Administration (Minnesota State)

Personal
Roussell and his wife, Molly, have a son named Riley and two daughters named Kelsey and Kendall.