RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond women's basketball team earned national recognition on Tuesday, checking in at No. 19 in ESPN's preseason Top 25 rankings ahead of the 2025-26 season.

The list, compiled annually by ESPN analyst Charlie Creme, projects the nation's top programs ahead of the official Associated Press and USA Today/WBCA Coaches polls.

The Spiders are coming off a 28-7 campaign and back-to-back seasons that rank among the most successful in program history, highlighted by the 2024 Atlantic 10 championship, consecutive A-10 regular-season titles, NCAA tournament appearances and the program's first NCAA tournament win in 2025. Richmond returns senior standouts Maggie Doogan and Rachel Ullstrom while adding All-Conference transfer Tierra Simon from Saint Louis, a move ESPN highlighted as key to the Spiders' strong preseason outlook.

Richmond is the lone mid-major program featured in ESPN's preseason rankings and the only Atlantic 10 team included. The Spiders' 2025-26 schedule also features a pair of non-conference matchups against opponents ranked inside ESPN's Top 25, including No. 4 Texas and No. 21 TCU.

The Spiders are set to open the 2025-26 campaign on Nov. 4 against Mount St. Mary's inside the Robins Center. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. Season tickets are on sale now. For any ticketing questions, contact the Richmond Athletics Ticket Office at 1-877-SPIDER-1.

Read the full ESPN preseason rankings here.