The Atlantic 10 enters 2026-27 with a coaching shakeup among some of the top programs. Five programs open the year with new head coaches, including two of the three teams that landed at the top of last season's standings. The league has seen significant talent turnover, which will reshape the conference's top tier this season.
The Big Picture
Rhode Island won the A-10 Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years, then lost Tammi Reiss to Florida. Albany's Colleen Mullen inherits what's probably the toughest rebuild in the league. Richmond lost Aaron Roussell to Virginia and turned to Vermont's Alisa Kresge. VCU fired Beth O'Boyle midseason and eventually hired High Point's Chelsea Banbury; Fordham pulled Neil Harrow away from LIU, and Loyola Chicago brought in Kansas assistant Morgan Paige after Allison Guth stepped down.
The player exodus matched the coaching turnover. Two-time A-10 Player of the Year Maggie Doogan graduated at Richmond, alongside first-team guard Rachel Ullstrom. Rhode Island's tournament Most Outstanding Player, Albina Syla, transferred to Cal, and the Rams lost their entire championship rotation with her. George Mason's first-team all-conference duo, Zahirah Walton and Kennedy Harris, both left for West Virginia, and La Salle lost the two players who captained its WNIT run, Aryss Macktoon and Ashleigh Connor, to Mississippi State and Iowa State. Davidson's Charlise Dunn became the program's first women's player ever drafted, going 36th overall to the Toronto Tempo. Dayton, Loyola Chicago and Duquesne all lost key returners too. Against that backdrop, the program that kept both its coach and its best players, Saint Joseph's, with Gabby Casey and Aleah Snead still in the fold, looks best positioned of anybody.
Skim Milkey's Predicted 2026-27 Order of Finish
1 - Saint Joseph's
2 - VCU
3 - Saint Louis
4 - Davidson
5 - George Mason
6 - George Washington
7 - Rhode Island
8 - Richmond
9 - Dayton
10 - Duquesne
11 - Fordham
12 - La Salle
13 - Loyola Chicago
14 - St. Bonaventure
Skim Milkey's Preseason All-Conference Team
Katie Donovan, G, Davidson
Jordyn Poole, G, Dayton
Olivia Kulyk, G, Fordham
Sara Lewis, F, George Washington
Gabby Reynolds, G, George Washington
Mary Amoateng, G, George Mason
Ally Sweeney, G, Richmond
Sophia Vital, G, Rhode Island
Alyssa Koerkenmeier, C, Saint Louis
Tyonna Bailey, G, Saint Louis
Gabby Casey, G, Saint Joseph's
Aleah Snead, G, Saint Joseph's
Katarina Knežević, G, VCU
Lexi Fleming, G, VCU
Macy Spencer, G, VCU
Saint Joseph's
Record: 20-11, 10-8 A-10 (5th, tie)
Coach: Cindy Griffin, 26th season, 442-332 (29th overall, 490-365 career)
Saint Joseph's being the pick to win the Atlantic 10 needs little explaining. It checks every box the rest of the league can't: it kept its coach, kept its two best players, and closed last season by playing its best basketball of the year. Cindy Griffin, entering her 26th season on Hawk Hill, has her program in a great spot, thanks to the continuity they have. The Hawks went 20-11 overall and 10-8 in league play last year, earning the #5 seed before falling to Davidson in the quarterfinals.
The centerpiece is Gabby Casey, the 2025-26 A-10 Most Improved Player and a second-team All-Conference selection. Casey led the Hawks at 16.0 points per game, third in the league, while adding 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 steals, and shooting 48.0% from the field and 40.6% from three. Alongside her, Aleah Snead returns after a third-team All-Conference campaign in which she averaged 11.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, eighth in the A-10, and started all 29 games. Both were also All-Big 5 honorees.
What makes Saint Joseph's the favorite is that Casey and Snead aren't the whole returning core. Jill Jekot, a junior guard who transferred in from Penn State last season, started 26 of her 27 appearances and averaged 7.1 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 45.3% from the field, and Rhian Stokes, a junior guard, started all 31 games and finished third on the team at 9.8 points per game. That's four returning starters, and it's the deepest returning backcourt in the conference. Behind them, the Hawks bring back Olivia Lutterodt, Kaylinn Bethea, Rian Dotsey, Emily Knouse, Cecilia Kay and Lauren Greer, all of whom saw meaningful minutes in 2025-26.
The newcomer class adds more shooting and size around that core. Freshman forward Ebba Jägre, a Swedish recruit, averaged 12.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in Sweden's top women's league before arriving, and the Hawks also added transfer guards Maddy Potts (Syracuse) and Deja Evans (Drexel). Freshmen Addy Platt and Jahzara Green round out the incoming class.
With four established starters back and a deep, veteran-heavy roster around them, Saint Joseph's has the highest floor of any A-10 program, and the frontcourt questions that would normally hinder a team's ceiling are smaller here than almost anywhere else in the league.
Players to watch: Gabby Casey, Aleah Snead, Jill Jekot, Rhian Stokes
VCU
Record: 8-23, 4-14 A-10 (12th, tie)
Coach: Chelsea Banbury, 1st season, 0-0 (8th overall, 140-79 career)
VCU's 2025-26 season was rough: an 8-23 record, a 4-14 A-10 mark, and a midseason coaching change after Beth O'Boyle was dismissed on February 2 with the team at 8-15. Assistant Kirk Crawford served as interim head coach for the remainder of the year, during which the Rams didn't win another game. The program responded by making its most ambitious hire in years.
Chelsea Banbury arrives from High Point as the 14th head coach in VCU history, and her resume is exactly what a rebuilding program covets. In seven seasons with the Panthers, she went 140-79 with four Big South regular-season titles, three conference tournament championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
The roster reflects a rebuild, but has a solid infusion of talent for the first season. Fourth-year guard Mary-Anna Asare led VCU at 16.0 points per game before an injury shortened her season, and she entered the portal. Banbury replaced that scoring by bringing two of her former High Point players with her, rather than starting entirely from scratch.
Guard Macy Spencer, the reigning Big South Player of the Year and Big South Newcomer of the Year, averaged 18.6 points a game and transferred to VCU to reunite with Banbury. Grad transfer guard Lexi Fleming, a Bowling Green veteran who spent her last full season at High Point averaging 13.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists, made the same move. The returning core is more substantial than it first looks for a team that only won eight games last year. Katarina Knežević, who started 26 games and put up a 10.3-and-6.1 season, is probably the roster's top performer right now, and Cyriah Griffin, who scored 7.5 points a game last year with 15 starts, isn't far behind. Daija Preston, Patricia Augustin, Ann Zachariah, Laia Crespín, Lucía Sotelo, and Lucy Ghaifan round out the group of returners.
The confirmed 2026-27 roster currently stands at ten, the eight returners plus Spencer and Fleming, with no additional freshmen or transfers announced as of this writing. That's a fairly deep and productive roster on paper for a team that finished 13th a year ago. Spencer, Fleming and Knežević alone give VCU as much individual talent as almost anyone in the league, and the record last season looks a lot like it will be left in the past rather quickly.
Players to watch: Macy Spencer, Katarina Knežević, Lexi Fleming, Cyriah Griffin
Saint Louis
Record: 12-21, 5-13 A-10 (11th)
Coach: Rebecca Tillett, 5th season, 66-76 (9th overall, 117-144 career)
Saint Louis endured a difficult 12-21 season, but the Billikens found a cornerstone in the process. Alyssa Koerkenmeier, entering her second season, returns as the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, and that alone gives Saint Louis a clearer building block than most teams in the league have.
Koerkenmeier, a 6-foot-6 center, took the league by storm as a freshman. She led the A-10 and ranked 10th nationally with 2.29 blocks per game, added 11.6 points and 9.3 rebounds, and started all 31 games. On top of Rookie of the Year, she earned third-team All-Conference, All-Defensive, and All-Rookie honors and set Saint Louis freshman records for rebounding and blocks. She's already a player who can dominate on both ends and a preseason All-Conference Player of the Year candidate entering her sophomore year.
Around her, the Billikens return guards Mia Bergstrom and Jahda Denis, the latter having started all 32 games as a freshman and averaged 10.8 points, along with forward Jasaiyah Wallace and forward Jada Tiggett. The newcomer class blends established mid-major production with international upside. D'Myjah Bolds joins from Western Michigan after averaging 7.1 points and 5.0 rebounds; Gabby Spink transfers in from Murray State; and Tyonna Bailey, who scored 17.0 points and grabbed 6.9 rebounds a night at Charleston Southern, gives them a great backcourt weapon, not just depth. Freshmen Evelyn Shane, Jameela James, and Peyton Olufson round out the class.
That's four initial players, Koerkenmeier, Denis, Bailey, and Bolds, with some production behind them, which is a deeper returning core than a 12-21 finish usually has the following season. Saint Louis's identity should center on defense and rebounding, with Koerkenmeier protecting the rim; if Bailey's scoring translates and the rest of the new guards mesh quickly, the Billikens have a strong shot at finishing well ahead of their typical projection.
Players to watch: Alyssa Koerkenmeier, Jahda Denis, Tyonna Bailey, Mia Bergstrom
Davidson
Record: 21-12, 12-6 A-10 (4th)
Coach: Gayle Fulks, 10th season, 143-128
Davidson has been a model of consistency under Gayle Fulks, who enters her 10th season after guiding the Wildcats to a 21-12 record, a 12-6 league mark, and a top-four A-10 finish that included a run to the conference semifinals. That stability matters more than usual this year, because the roster turnover isn’t just a simple code to crack for Davidson.
The headline loss is Charlise Dunn, a first-team All-Conference selection who averaged 15.3 points and 7.4 rebounds, and made program history as the 36th overall pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft, selected by the Toronto Tempo. But Dunn wasn't the only significant piece to leave: Edina Strausz, Candice Lienafa, and reserves Angeliki Ziaka and Sienna Dauer are all gone as well, meaning Fulks is replacing more than just her leading scorer.
The good news is the returning core is deeper than that departure list suggests. Katie Donovan was Davidson's second-leading scorer a year ago, averaging 12.1 points per game. Kyra Bruyndoncx, a junior guard, started 26 games and added 9.3 points per contest. Ines Garcia Monje, Elena Alvarez Castellanos, Emilie Bessell, and Jasmine Timmerson round out a fairly experienced returning group. Seniors Sylvie Jackson and Eliza Buerk are also back after playing limited roles in 2025-26, and sophomore Asha Nightingale returns as well. Davidson adds one transfer in forward Georgia Ferguson, who comes from Evansville.
The freshman class brings size and international depth: Sveva Bernasconi (Italy), Sharni Reisinger (Australia) and Lilli Onnela (Finland) join a roster that already leans heavily international, with players from Spain, Belgium, Canada and Australia throughout the rotation.
Donovan and Bruyndoncx alone give Fulks two established scorers to build around, which is something many teams aren’t afforded, especially when that team loses their best player. Garcia Monje and Alvarez Castellanos give her seasoned playmaking and rebounding beyond the scoring column. The Wildcats' identity under Fulks has been efficient, disciplined basketball with strong halfcourt execution, and with six contributors who already know their roles, Davidson has as much returning substance as almost anyone in the league and is poised to finish back in the top third.
Players to watch: Katie Donovan, Kyra Bruyndoncx, Ines Garcia Monje, Emilie Bessell
George Mason
Record: 23-10, 16-2 A-10 (1st, tie, WBIT appearance)
Coach: Vanessa Blair-Lewis, 6th season, 99-58 (27th overall, 415-361 career)
George Mason shared the 2025-26 regular-season title at 16-2 in league play and reached the A-10 Tournament final before falling to Rhode Island 53-51, capping a 23-10 season. The Patriots have been one of the league's best programs under Vanessa Blair-Lewis, who won the 2025 tournament title in her fourth George Mason season and now enters her sixth year. The offseason tested that stability, though: first-team All-Conference forward Zahirah Walton and first-team guard Kennedy Harris both transferred to West Virginia, taking a large share of the Patriots' scoring and playmaking with them.
That double departure would sink most programs, but Mason has two things going for it: an excellent coach and a rising sophomore in Mary Amoateng, who earned A-10 All-Rookie honors and All-Defensive Team recognition as a freshman while putting up 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists a night. Amoateng projects as a focal point rather than a complementary piece in 2026-27, and her defensive versatility should remain an asset even with the roster around her reshaped. The Patriots also return Trinity Massenburg from the group last season, along with guards Madison Bob and Kayla Johnson, giving Blair-Lewis four pieces to continue to build around.
No team worked the portal harder than George Mason this offseason. Blair-Lewis landed seven transfers, and the headliner is Anovia Sheals, a Second Team All-ASUN pick at Austin Peay who put up 14.1 points and 5.9 rebounds a night. Summer Yancy, from UCF, started 16 of 29 games last season, and Desirae Ashton joins from Bucknell after averaging 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 48.8% from the field. Tia Dobson (UNCW) and Lourdes Da Silva Costa (Alabama) add further depth, and Roisin Grandberry, a forward, arrives from Loyola Chicago after 41 career games there. Mary-Kate Tshibuabua also transfers in, coming straight from Rhode Island's championship roster. The freshman class brings in guards Kailani Merrell and Irati Franco Dominguez.
George Mason's defense should remain a strength here, with Amoateng anchoring a group that will need to establish new chemistry fast. The bigger question is offense, where Walton and Harris were the engine of the team, and replacing 32.1 points per game between two players is a difficult ask. If Sheals's scoring translates immediately and Amoateng's growth covers even most of the remaining gap, Mason's coaching and defense should be enough to keep it in the top tier, even if the roster's returning offensive prowess doesn't match what it has been the last two seasons.
Players to watch: Mary Amoateng, Summer Yancy, Anovia Sheals, Desirae Ashton
George Washington
Record: 18-18, 7-11 A-10 (9th, tie, WNIT appearance)
Coach: Ganiyat Adeduntan, 2nd season, 18-18 (6th overall, 83-79 career)
George Washington quietly authored one of the better seasons in the league's lower half, finishing 18-18 and reaching the WNIT quarterfinals in Ganiyat Adeduntan's first year at the helm. The Revolutionaries went 7-11 in A-10 play but showed plenty of fight in the postseason, beating Bradley, Southern Indiana and Loyola Chicago before bowing out at Illinois State in the WNIT. With Adeduntan back for her second year and her leading scorer returning, George Washington feels like a sensible pick to move up.
That leading scorer is Gabby Reynolds, a third-team All-Conference guard who averaged 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists across 35 games and profiles as one of the better returning perimeter players in the conference. She's not the only established piece, either. Sara Lewis started all 34 games and averaged a near double-double at 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds, and Kamari Sims was right there with her, starting every game of her own and posting 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. Guard Jaeda Wilson and wing Tanah Becker round out a returning group with some returning experience behind it.
The staff worked the portal aggressively to fill out the rest of the roster. Cam Rust arrives after a stop at Seton Hall, and Amor Harris joins from Longwood, where she averaged 10.6 points across 21 starts. Anne Bair and Alicia Newell round out the transfer class. N'na Konate, a sophomore forward, also joins the frontcourt after a stop at Campbell. Freshmen guard Ayla Habbal, out of London, Bela Cucuta, and Camryn Gunter add further pieces to the incoming class.
The Revolutionaries' ceiling hinges on Reynolds's continued growth into a first or second all-conference candidate and how well the transfers arrive and mesh. Depth and frontcourt scoring could be better this season than last, which would give this program more upside. With a returning coach, three established returning starters, and an active portal haul, George Washington has talent to work with this season.
Players to watch: Gabby Reynolds, Sara Lewis, Kamari Sims, Alicia Newell
Rhode Island
Record: 28-5, 16-2 A-10 (1st, tie, NCAA Tournament appearance)
Coach: Colleen Mullen, 1st season, 0-0 (9th overall, 139-102 career)
Rhode Island was the story of the 2025-26 A-10 season, winning a share of the regular-season title and the conference tournament, setting a program record with 28 wins and a 17-game winning streak, and reaching the NCAA Tournament for just the second time ever and the first time in 30 years, a run that ended with a first-round loss to Alabama. Then the roster and the bench emptied. Tammi Reiss, the three-time A-10 Coach of the Year who became the winningest coach in program history, left for Florida, and Rhode Island hired Colleen Mullen, a URI alum and former Rams point guard who went 139-102 in eight seasons at Albany, to try to keep the momentum going.
Mullen inherits almost none of the championship roster. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Albina Syla transferred to Cal; first-team guard Brooklyn Gray, Sixth Woman of the Year Vanessa Harris, third-team forward Palmire Mbu and Ines Debroise are all gone. Only guard Sophia Vital and redshirt Amori Jarrett, who missed 2025-26 recovering from a knee injury, return from the title team. Vital started all 32 games and put up 7.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, a third-team All-Conference season that makes her the veteran anchor and one of the better returning guards in the league.
To fill the void, Mullen leaned heavily on her old program: four of her six transfers followed her from Albany, and they arrive with strong track records attached. Delanie Hill led that group at 14.0 points a game while starting all but one contest; Martina Borrellas started every game and averaged a 9.5-and-6.8 double-double, and Amaya Stewart added 11.8 points off the bench. Anaïs Levasseur, the fourth of the group, played a more limited role. Mia Fiore (Merrimack) and Queen Ikhiuwu, who started every game at Wofford and averaged nearly 13 points and 8 rebounds, round out the transfer class. The freshman class runs five deep, headlined by Canadian standout Alex Newson, alongside Ioana Savu, Naiara Quintana Martinez, Katie Liggio and Lauren Bousquet.
Mullen's Albany teams were defined by elite defense, which suggests some continuity of identity even amid this much personnel change, and bringing four of her own former players with her should accelerate installing her system more than a typical portal class would. This is one of the biggest rebuilds in the league even though it's a title defense, but it's a rebuild with more established pieces already in place than the roster turnover alone would suggest. The bigger question is how fast this many new faces gel together, not whether the individual talent is there to compete in a more talented conference.
Players to watch: Sophia Vital, Alex Newson, Delanie Hill, Queen Ikhiuwu
Richmond
Record: 26-8, 15-3 A-10 (3rd, NCAA Tournament appearance)
Coach: Alisa Kresge, 1st season, 0-0 (9th overall, 145-89 career)
Richmond enters a new era. Aaron Roussell, who built the Spiders and led them to their first NCAA Tournament win, left for Virginia after seven seasons, and Richmond hired Alisa Kresge, who went 145-89 in eight seasons at Vermont with three NCAA Tournament appearances. She inherits a program coming off a 26-8, 15-3 season and an at-large NCAA bid, one of the most successful stretches in school history, but also one that has to replace the best player in the league.
Maggie Doogan is the main one Kresge has to replace, a two-time A-10 Player of the Year who averaged 21.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists and set the conference single-game scoring record with 48 points in a triple-overtime win over Davidson on January 10, 2026. She surpassed 2,000 career points and exhausted her eligibility. First-team guard Rachel Ullstrom, who averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 rebounds while knocking down 90 three-pointers, is gone too. Replacing that much elite production is the defining challenge of Kresge's first season.
The good news is Richmond returns second-team All-Conference guard Ally Sweeney, whose 144 assists led the entire Atlantic 10 to go with 10.5 points a game, and she directs the offense with two years of starting experience behind her. Ava Persichetti, Rayne Wright, Aneisha Scott, Shaneka Campbell and Payton Richard are part of the returning group, but logged modest numbers last year, and the drop-off between Sweeney and the rest of the roster is significant.
Kresge's first Richmond class is one of the most fully assembled in the league. Duquesne transfer Harriet Ford joins the frontcourt, and the freshman class runs seven deep: Josie Fontana, Kate Schindler, Bridget Rifenburg, Emma Schoen, Alexandra Vandiver, Hanna Tjernberg and Arisa Ihara, an international signee added over the summer.
Nobody on this roster is going to replace what Doogan did alone. The question is how fast the young guards grow into bigger roles. Kresge built her Vermont teams on discipline and defense, and that identity should carry over even during a rebuild. The differences between this team and last year's are big, and you can't count on production to carry over with the losses they are facing. They have two returning players with a handful of unknowns behind them.
Players to watch: Ally Sweeney, Harriet Ford, Ava Persichetti, Alexandra Vandiver
Dayton
Record: 17-14, 9-9 A-10 (7th, tie)
Coach: Tamika Williams-Jeter, 5th season, 53-66
Dayton finished 17-14 overall and 9-9 in the Atlantic 10 in 2025-26, earning the #7 seed before a second-round tournament exit to George Mason in overtime. Tamika Williams-Jeter, entering her fifth season, has kept the Flyers competitive, and 2026-27 will test how well she can retool the roster around a changed rotation.
The central task is replacing Nayo Lear, the Flyers' senior leader and third-team All-Conference honoree. Lear was the main piece on offense, averaging 14.1 points a game and shooting over 50% from inside the arc. Her graduation removes Dayton's most dangerous threat on the offensive end of the floor.
The Flyers do return an experienced, versatile group from that roster. Jordyn Poole, a junior guard who previously played at Purdue, headlines the backcourt alongside Olivia Leung, who quietly put together 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 19 starts a year ago. The frontcourt rotation brings back Ajok Madol, Jayda Johnson, Fatima Ibrahim, M.G. Talle and Molly O'Riordan, who scored 7.1 points per game and grabbed 5.5 rebounds per game.
The transfer class is smaller than most in the league but adds two scorers. Cori Allen, a graduate transfer who played at Illinois before a stop at Memphis, arrives after averaging 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 steals last season, and guard Sophie Swanson joins after stops at Purdue and Virginia Tech. The freshman class includes London Johnson, Brooke McLeod, and Milee Smith.
Dayton's interior size should make it a strong rebounding and rim-protecting team. The questions are perimeter shooting and who becomes the go-to scorer in crunch time now that Lear is gone. There's no single star here, but the returning group is deep and solid across the board, and if Poole takes a leap in her third season and the frontcourt converts its size into consistent production, Dayton has the personnel to push back into the top half.
Players to watch: Jordyn Poole, Ajok Madol, Cori Allen, Sophie Swanson
Duquesne
Record: 12-19, 4-14 A-10 (12th, tie)
Coach: Dan Burt, 14th season, 242-164
Duquesne finished 12-19 and 4-14 in the Atlantic 10, earning the #12 seed and a second-round tournament appearance. Dan Burt, the winningest coach in program history, returns for his 14th season leading the Dukes and faces a retooling job after losing the program's most dynamic young player.
The A-10 All-Rookie guard Alexis Bordas, who led Duquesne in scoring and drilled 90 three-pointers, transferred to West Virginia this offseason. Faith Walker also departed to Ball State, and Harriet Ford transferred to Richmond. Bordas' exit removes the Dukes' primary perimeter threat, leaving Burt to rebuild the backcourt basically from scratch. However, Duquesne does return some talent.
Duquesne returns six-letter winners. The most notable is Raevin Washington, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward who scored 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds last year, but Gabby Grantham-Medley might be the most complete piece as she averaged 6.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 21 starts. Dunja Zecevic is also back, along with Maja Rohkohl, Kellie McConnell, and Nadia Moore.
Burt added seven newcomers for 2026-27. De'Naya Rippey transfers in from Saint Peter's after averaging 13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals last season, and Carla Viegas, a Spanish guard who averaged 8.4 points in a dozen starts at Pitt, joins her at Duquesne. The five-player freshman class includes Amaya Robinson, Ayala Oren, Dalma Grets, Bakhaw Seye and Dieymarie Diouf.
Rippey alone gives Duquesne a stronger newcomer than most of the teams picked ahead of them, and paired with Grantham-Medley and Viegas, the Dukes have more to work with than a 12th-place finish last year suggests. The Dukes will still be young in spots and leaning hard on Washington's interior defense, but Burt's experience and this transfer class give Duquesne a legitimate shot at moving up several spots.
Players to watch: Raevin Washington, Gabby Grantham-Medley, De'Naya Rippey, Carla Viegas
Fordham
Record: 10-20, 2-16 A-10 (14th)
Coach: Neil Harrow, 1st season, 0-0 (2nd overall, 21-11 career)
Fordham finished last in the Atlantic 10 at 2-16 in league play and 10-20 overall, and the program responded with a full reset. Neil Harrow takes over as head coach after a standout debut season at LIU, where he went 21-11, a program record for wins by a first-year head coach, and led the Sharks to their first NEC title-game appearance since 2009-10. Before LIU, Harrow spent three seasons as associate head coach at James Madison, helping the Dukes to three Sun Belt championships and an NCAA Tournament bid. He inherits the hardest rebuild in the league, no question about it.
The senior core that carried Fordham's minutes last season is gone, leaving Harrow with a thin returning group. Confirmed returners include Carryn Easley, Lakresha Edwards, Precious Omoshola, Ugne Sirtautaite, and young pieces London Liley and Anastasija Veljovic, giving Harrow a small nucleus of experience to build around.
The newcomer class is built almost entirely through the portal. Olivia Kulyk transfers in from NJIT after averaging 14.6 points and 5.0 rebounds a year ago, and Ella Averill, an Australian guard, joins from Brandon University. Slovenian forward Zala Zrot adds size, and freshmen Khole Moye and Joy Osigwe round out the class.
Kulyk is a strong addition, arguably as productive as several transfers on rosters ranked well above Fordham, and Easley and Edwards add legitimate scoring punch. This is still a foundation-laying year for a program that finished last a year ago, realistically speaking. Still, Harrow's track record of quick program turnarounds at LIU and a more talented incoming class than the record suggests give Fordham a decent shot at escaping the cellar faster than most last-place teams.
Players to watch: Carryn Easley, Olivia Kulyk, Precious Omoshola, Ella Averill
La Salle
Record: 19-14, 10-8 A-10 (5th, tie, WNIT appearance)
Coach: Mountain MacGillivray, 9th season, 100-142
La Salle's one-year turnaround was among the best stories in the league in 2025-26. The Explorers surged from the #14 seed in the 2025 A-10 Tournament to the #6 seed and their first Women's NIT bid in 34 years, finishing 19-14 after going 18-45 combined over the previous two seasons. The two players most responsible for that breakthrough are both gone, though. Aryss Macktoon, the 2025-26 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, transferred to Mississippi State, and second-team All-Conference guard Ashleigh Connor left for Iowa State. Losing a Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team scorer in the same offseason is about as steep a talent cliff as anybody in this league is facing.
La Salle does return a pair of starters who will help offset the loss of Macktoon and Connor. Joan Quinn, a junior guard, put up 11.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists while starting 31 of 32 games, and forward Kiara Williams was right there with her, starting all 32 games and averaging 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds. The rest of the 2026-27 roster is far less tested: guards Jana Mbombo Njoya, Lauren Patnode, India Webb and Charity Sawyer, forward Amiya Moses, and center Ava Hoy all return, but they all saw limited minutes behind last year's veteran group.
The newcomer class leans on a mix of experience and youth to build for the future. Guard Hassana Amadu arrives from Casper College, and guard Vivien Nejašmic joins from Xavier. The freshman class is the second largest in the league at six players: Sophi Hutchison, Ioanna Samanta, Emilia Coleman, Olli Ostoni, Zynaye Henry and Tiana Thompson.
The roster still leans heavily on development beyond Quinn and Williams, a dramatic shift from the veteran group that carried La Salle to its WNIT run. MacGillivray's staff is going to need several of those sophomores or newcomers to take meaningful leaps for the Explorers to stay competitive.
MacGillivray's system is built to force turnovers and crash the glass, and that expectation won't change despite the roster turnover. With Quinn and Williams anchoring things, La Salle shouldn’t fall all the way to the bottom of the conference. Matching last season's results without the two players who took them there is a different question entirely. This group has middle-of-the-pack upside for now, with the newcomers deciding which direction the team ends up.
Players to watch: Joan Quinn, Kiara Williams, Jana Mbombo Njoya, Vivien Nejašmic
Loyola Chicago
Record: 16-18, 9-9 A-10 (7th, tie, WNIT appearance)
Coach: Morgan Paige, 1st season, 0-0
Loyola Chicago's 2025-26 season was, on paper, a step forward: a 16-18 finish, a 9-9 league record and a WNIT Super 16 run. The offseason erased much of that progress, though. Coach Allison Guth resigned, the program named Morgan Paige as the next head coach, and the roster shed several of its most promising young pieces into the transfer portal.
The most damaging loss was Alex-Anne Bessette, the third-team All-Conference and All-Rookie guard who averaged 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds, shot 42.8%, and started 32 of 33 games as a freshman. Alexa Kinas scored 9.9 points a game and played the most minutes on the team last year, but now is at Tulsa. Alexus Mobley, who scored 11.6 points per game, also exhausted her eligibility and will be a big loss.
Paige does return a core that she can work with. Brooklyn Vaughn, a junior forward, started 29 of 34 games and averaged 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds, giving Paige a solid rebounder and interior presence to build the frontcourt around. Senior guard Rosalie Mercille, a perimeter shooter, and junior guard Kendall Hendrix also return, along with senior guard Audrey Deptula and redshirt freshman Jasmine Perry.
Paige leaned hard on the portal to rebuild the roster fast. MD Ntambue arrives from Villanova, where she played sparingly last year as she scored 1.5 points in 25 games, and Hailey Johnson brings real experience at the point after stops at Duke and Pepperdine. Vasiliki Cholopoulou (Columbia), Mireia Jurado (Arizona), Angela Le Faou (Pitt) and Gabby Wilke (Butler) fill out the rest of the incoming class, with freshman forward Gemma Wichmann rounding it out.
This is a rebuild, top to bottom, with a new coach, a new staff, and none of last year's top scorers left. Vaughn is the one piece Paige knows she can count on. Everyone else is unproven at this level, so how fast Paige builds around her, and whether Mercille can shoulder more of the scoring, will decide how far this team actually goes.
Players to watch: Brooklyn Vaughn, Rosalie Mercille, Kendall Hendrix, Hailey Johnson
St. Bonaventure
Record: 17-16, 7-11 A-10 (9th, tie, WNIT appearance)
Coach: Jim Crowley, 4th season (second stint), 285-297 (27th overall, 370-423 career)
St. Bonaventure enjoyed a milestone 2025-26, posting a 17-16 record, the program's first winning season in roughly a decade, and reaching the second round of the WNIT. Jim Crowley, back for the fourth year of his second stint with the Bonnies, deserves plenty of credit for the resurgence. Sustaining it will be difficult after the team loses both of its double-figure scorers.
The graduations of Laycee Drake and Aaliyah Parker gut the offense. Drake, a graduate guard, led the team at 15.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists and started all 33 games, ranking among the A-10's scoring leaders. Parker added 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and a team-high 69 steals, one of the best single-season steal totals in program history; she's since joined the coaching staff. Replacing that much production from the backcourt is a steep climb for anybody.
Elyse MacDonough, Ivona Djikanovic, and Mackenzie Pettinelli are three returning starters who each saw 10 or more starts last year, but none of them scored more than 5.8 points a game. Crowley's returners are largely role players, with Kaylee Krysztof, Mallory Heise, Brillana Boyd, Kylie Buckley, Iva Corluka, Olivia DiFranco, and Diamond Fields all returning with various amounts of experience.
Jordyn Williams joins from Niagara after averaging 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds while leading her team in steals, and Kyla Hayes arrives from St. John's. Kay Donahue transfers in from Lafayette, and the class also includes Australian wing Lola Gralton.
St. Bonaventure's identity under Crowley has been defense and toughness. Still, with this much scoring gone, this many new faces, and the thinnest returning production of anyone in the league, a repeat winning season would be a significant achievement. St. Bonaventure can finish inside the Top 10 of the standings, but it will take a few players making big leaps in production for this season.
Players to watch: Kaylee Krysztof, Jordyn Williams, Kyla Hayes, Kay Donahue
Atlantic 10 Round-Up
Two storylines will define this conference more than anything else. The first is Rhode Island's upcoming season after the Rams won the conference and then lost their coach and nearly their entire rotation, leaving Mullen to rebuild around a single returning starter in Vital. At the same time, four of her own former Albany players get up to speed in a new league. The second is Saint Joseph's continuity. In a conference where five other head coaches turned over, and star power walked out the door at Richmond, George Mason, La Salle, Davidson, and Duquesne, the Hawks changed nothing, keeping Cindy Griffin, four returning starters, and the league's deepest, most experienced roster intact.
Everything else flows from that contrast. The individual race is wide open with Doogan gone, and Casey enters the season as the favorite to claim the mantle, with Koerkenmeier and VCU's imported duo of Spencer and Fleming all in the mix. West Virginia quietly built its roster out of this conference's best players, pulling George Mason's Walton and Harris and Duquesne's Bordas in a single offseason, a reminder of how exposed mid-majors are to the transfer portal. And La Salle's one-year turnaround, built largely around Macktoon and Connor, now has to be rebuilt around Quinn and Williams instead, which is the clearest illustration in the league of how fast a mid-major breakthrough can unwind once the portal gets involved.
Editor's Note:
Records and conference standings reflect the final 2025-26 Atlantic 10 regular season. Player stats reflect 2025-26 production, unless noted. All 14 rosters have been confirmed against official, live 2026-27 team pages as of September 13th. Coaching and roster notes reflect known offseason moves as of September 13th. Roster additions may shift rosters before the season opens in November and may affect the order as of this writing.
Check out the previous conference previews: America East, American, Atlantic Sun
