Web Threads: Maggie Doogan, Rachel Ullstrom, and Head Coach Aaron Roussell
10/23/2025
By Bridgette Robles, Assistant Director of Athletic Public Relations
Web Threads are in-depth, behind-the-scenes stories from those at the heart of Richmond Athletics: student-athletes, staff members, loyal supporters, and more. Web Threads gives a glimpse into the ambitions, motivations, and sacrifices of the individuals who allow Richmond to excel at the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics and academics as well as the philanthropy that supports them every step of the way. Welcome to our web.
The University of Richmond women’s basketball team kept ticking off boxes during their historic 2024-25 season. An off-season trip to Spain. Back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference regular season titles. A second-straight NCAA Tournament berth, and, this time, a win over ACC foe Georgia Tech at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Just as the season ended and the squad was finally able to catch its breath, return to campus to wrap up the spring semester, and prep for finals, the phone rang. It was Team USA on the line.
With rising seniors Maggie Doogan, Rachel Ullstrom and Sam Dewey returning in 2025-26 along with junior Ally Sweeney, the issue wasn’t saying ‘yes’ to the invite to play in the 2025 USA Basketball 3X Nationals, a 3X3-syle tournament in Mesa, Arizona. It was getting the quartet out west.
“We wanted to play, the administration was on board, and we knew that we had the support of our donors,” head coach Aaron Roussell said. “It was just an honor to be included in a USA Basketball event. I knew because we were excited, our donors would be as well when I reached out.”
The group of donors that stepped up to help get the Richmond women’s basketball team to Arizona to play against teams from NCAA Division I powers like South Carolina, Florida, TCU, Oklahoma State, and Vanderbilt didn’t know they were extending the program’s historic run well into the summer.
“It was a pivotal moment for our program. We wanted to capitalize on the momentum from the past season and continue elevating the Richmond Spiders brand while giving our players the national exposure they deserve,” said Heather Rice, a women’s basketball alum who supported the team’s travels and helped rally others to the effort. “With only a handful of college teams invited, this was a rare opportunity to compete at the highest level, and we weren’t going to let it pass. I believe in Aaron, our coaches, our players, and this program. We’ll keep investing and saying 'yes' when it means creating exceptional experiences for our student-athletes and making our program better. Because when you believe in your people and give them the platform to shine, greatness follows.”
The 3X3 game play is more strategic than the normal 5X5 action, and, as the Spiders began to adjust, they gained more confidence. “It was [awesome] to see that we could hang with them ,” said Ullstrom. “I was like ‘Oh wow, that’s so and so. [WNBA scouts and USA basketball committee members] are watching us play right now and you wouldn’t have that experience if we weren’t out there.’”
A new role came for Roussell at 3X Nationals tournament. He served as Director of Operations, getting towels and filling water bottles for the squad as the setup didn’t permit him to coach during the fast-paced games. Still, he managed to impress, as USA Basketball subsequently invited him to help coach at the Women’s U19 National Team trials in Colorado Springs, Colorado in June.
“It was an incredible honor, and anytime you can be associated with USA Basketball, it’s a dream come true,” Roussell said. “I think the way the season ended with the success that we had and how well [Doogan, Ullstrom, and the team] played on the national stage put the program on some radars.”
Doogan was also one of 21 athletes nationwide to be selected for the 2025 USA Basketball Women’s AmeriCup Team camp in June.
“It was definitely unexpected, and I didn’t see it coming at all,” Doogan said. “And then going out to Colorado to try out for USA Basketball was an unbelievable experience.”
“It was nerve-racking being the only mid-major player,” Doogan said. “I was able to learn a lot from them — not only the coaches, but the players too. I am very grateful for the experience.”
The national exposure has been a boon to Doogan, who has begun to appear on lists of the top prospects expected to be available in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
The national stage also opened new doors for Ullstrom. She played with Team USA in Puente Arenas, Chile, as part of the USA Basketball 3X3 Nations League at the 2025 FIBA 3X3 Nations League Americas Conference in late July.
When USA Basketball called Ullstrom, it was very much a ‘pinch me’ moment for the Spider. She had just finished working a Richmond women’s basketball camp and was staying with a few kids until their parents picked them up.
“The same number kept calling and I just let it go [to voicemail],” Ullstrom said. “I went to Sara [Spencer, women’s basketball athletic trainer] and asked her if this is real. I had to decide if I’m going to go to Chile quickly.”
While it was a whirlwind to get to Chile for Ullstrom, she got a bit of the star treatment along with her USA Basketball teammates. “I’ve never traveled alone [to another country], but it was such a great experience. It was crazy how they view basketball there. I signed some things for people like 30 times.”
With their Team USA experiences behind them for now, the trio is trying to stay present with new goals for the 2025-26 squad. They’ve also taken the time to look back on all that they have accomplished the past three seasons.
“Oh my, I am going to remember getting thrown into the first practice as a freshman, the A-10 Championships, playing Duke in Ohio, then playing at Duke, winning at UCLA and playing UCLA...” Doogan quickly rattled off. “Honestly, there are memories you make off the court, too. I’ve been so lucky to be surrounded by some of the best people I know and getting to play every day with my best friends is a gift.”
“I totally agree,” Ullstrom said. “I was talking with some of my teammates from Team USA and team dynamics. They have more of a formal setting [with coaches and support staff]. [At Richmond,] we are always together and make sure everyone is included. It was just something that I took for granted and thought other schools would be similar. I could never do that.”
“I am, one, grateful for their commitment to the program, and I am also grateful for the memories that we have,” Roussell said. “To just the experience that they’ve gotten even to this point, for me, it’s been special to watch.”
All three also reflected on the team’s trip to Spain during the summer of 2024, the unofficial start to what became a magical 2024-25 season.
“This whole thing started off in Spain,” said Roussell. “That doesn’t happen without the support of our administrators, but also the support and the resources that people are giving to us. To think that [trip] wouldn’t have happened. To not be able to think through that ‘what if we had to say no to 3X3 Nationals?’ That would have been a crazy career and lifetime memory that [Doogan and Ullstrom] wouldn’t be able to have.
“I am very grateful for the supporters we have, very grateful for the administrators that we have, and that we get to tackle these expectations together,” Roussell said.
The 2025-26 Richmond women’s basketball team, the Atlantic 10 Conference preseason favorites, open the year in the Robins Center vs g Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday, November 4 at 6 p.m.
Doogan and Ullstrom's story is just one of the many student-athletes at Richmond whose lives have been impacted by the support of Spider Nation. We are grateful to the loyal supporters who make these resources available to our 400 student-athletes and the opportunities they create for them!
