WASHINGTON – After leading Richmond to their second-straight regular season A-10 title and a current 16-game winning streak, Spiders junior forward Maggie Doogan secured distinction as the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, while her coach Aaron Roussell was voted on by his peers as the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive year. Duquesne senior guard Megan McConnell was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year, while Massachusetts freshman guard Yahmani McKayle was chosen as the Rookie of the Year. Saint Joseph’s sophomore guard Aleah Snead was selected as the Sixth Women of the Year, while George Mason senior guard Paula Suárez earned distinction as the Most Improved Player.
The Atlantic 10 released the six superlative honors along with the All-Conference, All-Defensive, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams Tuesday prior to the 2025 A-10 Women’s Basketball Championship first round, which tips off Wednesday at Henrico Sports & Events Center in Henrico, Va. The major awards, All-Conference teams, All-Defensive team and All-Rookie team were voted on by the 15 A-10 women’s basketball head coaches while the All-Academic team was selected by the women’s basketball communications directors.
Doogan, a Broomall, Pa., is the first ever Richmond player to be selected as the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year . Doogan has been one of the most productive players in the Atlantic 10 in 2024-25, leading Richmond with 16.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 3.6 apg while shooting 55% from the field, 38.1% from three and 79.5% from the charity stripe. The junior ranks third in the A-10 in scoring, second in FG%, fourth in free throw percentage and is a top-10 leader in rebounding, assists and blocked shots.
A three-time A-10 Player of the Week (Dec. 9, 2024, Jan. 13, 2025, Feb. 24, 2025), Doogan has consistently delivered high-level performances, finishing in double figures in 24 straight games from Nov. 12, 2024, to Feb. 12, 2025. Also a First Team and All-Academic selection, Doogan recorded a career-high 37 points against George Mason on Jan. 8, 2025, to help the Spiders remain on top of the A-10 ranks, followed by 26 points at Davidson and most recently, 33 points at VCU. She also surpassed 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds, becoming just the fourth Spider in program history to reach that mark in three seasons. In addition to conference honors, Doogan was named World Exposure Report National Player of the Week (Feb. 24, 2025), to the NCAA.com National Starting Lineup twice this season and is a semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award.
McConnell becomes the first Duquesne player since Jocelyn Floyd in 2013 to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors. The senior established herself as one of the top defenders in the country, standing out as the only non-autonomous league player named to the 2025 Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. Leading all of NCAA Division I with 115 total steals, McConnell averaged 4.0 takeaways per game and recorded 11 games with five or more steals, including two contests with a career-high nine.
Despite being a guard, McConnell ranks ninth in the league with 7.1 rebounds per game and has posted six games with double-digit boards. She has led the Dukes in rebounding 21 times this season and is one of just three players in the nation to record multiple triple-doubles. Against conference opponents, she averaged 6.8 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game, tallying 14 games with three or more takeaways and securing at least five rebounds in all but three league matchups.
McKayle headlined the A-10 rookie class, averaging 13.4 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.86 steals per game to lead in all three categories among first-years. The freshman standout ranked 12th overall in the conference in scoring, T-10th in assists, and 4th in steals per game. McKayle's play elevated throughout conference action with averages of 13.8 points, 3.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.94 steals. The Queens, N.Y. native scored in double figures on 15 occasions across 18 conference matchups and 22 times over the 29-game regular season for Massachusetts. The guard tallied a career-high 21 points three times throughout the course of the season, including an impressive showing at George Mason that saw her add a career-high eight assists in addition to four rebounds and four steals. McKayle becomes the first Minutewomen since Hailey Leidel to earn Rookie of the Year honors.
Snead has quickly become a pivotal piece in the rotation in her sophomore campaign, the Philly native more than doubling her minutes (21.1), points (6.9) and rebounds (3.6) from her rookie season in 2023-24. Snead has also recorded career-highs with 33 assists, 23 steals and 10 blocks. The sophomore has provided a consistent scoring presence on the year by registering nine games with at least 10 points while shooting at a 54.8 percent clip from the field. Snead’s best game of the season came in a 22-point breakout performance at Davidson where she made nine of her 12 field goal attempts. Snead made six starts with the absence of Brugler, bumping her totals to 12.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game in her time in the starting rotation. In conference play, Snead has averaged 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game with nearly a 60 percent field goal percentage.
Suárez's growth this season was undeniable, as the senior co-captain took her game to new heights while leading the Patriots in assists and minutes played. She averaged 11.5 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game, shooting an impressive 44.5% from the field and 38.8% from three-point range. Her impact as a floor general was felt across the A-10, ranking third in the conference in assists (123 total, 2.24 Ast/TO ratio).
A steady force on both ends of the floor, reached double figures in 16 games, including a pair of 20+ point performances. She dished out 4+ assists in 19 of 28 games and showed her deep-range shooting ability with five three-pointers against Dayton. Her statistical improvement across nearly every category from last season earned her the league's Most Improved Player award while also cementing her place in George Mason's record book—ranking sixth all-time in assists and 17th in made three-pointers.
Roussell picks up back-to-back Coach of the Year honors after leading Richmond to a 26-5 record and a 17-1 record in Atlantic 10 Conference play, marking the first team to go 17-1 in A-10 play and the first team to only lose one game in a conference season since Dayton in 2022. Roussell led the Spiders to the highest NET ranking of A-10 teams at 32, as Richmond picked up one Quad 1 win on the year, a perfect 5-0 mark in Quad 2 games, 4-0 in Quad 3 games and a 16-2 record in Quad 4 matchups. The Spiders are also 9-3 against NET Top-100 teams. Richmond ended the regular season on a program-best 16-game win streak, as well as 24-straight home conference wins dating back to a 73-58 win against George Mason on Jan. 1, 2023. As a World Exposure Report Women’s Basketball Mid-Major Head Coach of the Year Finalist, Roussell has led his team to the second-best field goal percentage in the country at 49.6% and the third-best three-point percentage nationally at a 38.7% clip.
Joining Doogan and McConnell on the All-Conference First Team are Doogan’s teammate, junior Rachel Ullstrom, as well as George Mason redshirt sophomore forward Zahirah Walton, and the Saint Joseph’s duo of senior guard Mackenzie Smith and junior forward Laura Ziegler.
The All-Conference Second Team features Suárez as well as her teammate sophomore guard Kennedy Harris, Davidson junior guard Charlise Dunn, Dayton senior forward Arianna Smith, Richmond graduate forward Addie Budnik and VCU junior guard Mary-Anna Asare.
Six players from six schools headline the All-Conference Third Team, which includes Davidson senior guard Issy Morgan, Dayton senior guard Ivy Wolf, Fordham graduate guard Taylor Donaldson, Massachusetts junior forward Megan Olbrys, Rhode Island senior center Harsimran “Honey” Kaur and Saint Joseph’s senior forward Tayla Brugler.
The All-Defensive team showcases McConnell and Walton as well as Rhode Island junior forward Anaelle Dutat, Saint Louis senior guard Kennedy Calhoun, and VCU graduate forward Mykel Parham.
McKayle headlines the All-Rookie team along with the Davidson duo of guard Kyra Bruyndoncx and forward Candice Leinafa, George Washington guard Gabby Reynolds and La Salle guard Joan Quinn.
The All-Academic team includes Asare, Budnik, Doogan, McConnell and Ziegler as well as Rhode Island senior guard Sophie Philips.
The 2025 Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship launches with three first round contests Wednesday between No. 12 George Washington and No. 13 Loyola Chicago at noon followed by No. 10 Saint Louis and No. 15 St. Bonaventure at 2:30 p.m and No. 11 VCU and No. 14 La Salle at 5:00 p.m. The quarterfinal round will be televised for the first time ever, with all four games on Friday airing on Peacock beginning at 11:00 a.m.. The semifinal round tips off Saturday and will air nationally via CBS Sports Network while the championship final wraps up the five-day tournament Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET with national broadcast via ESPN2. The first round on Wednesday and the second round on Thursday will stream all seven contests live on ESPN+.