CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Aaron Roussell has been hired as Virginia’s women’s basketball coach. The Cavaliers made the move Tuesday, just three days after they abruptly fired Amaka Agugua-Hamilton coming off the team’s run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Roussell joins the Cavaliers from Richmond, where he led the Spiders to a 148-72 record over the past seven seasons and made it to each of the past three NCAA Tournaments. The Spiders lost in the First Four this year. Agugua-Hamilton led the Cavaliers to the NCAA regional semifinals for the first time since 2000. No reason was given for her dismissal.
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan is No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the 2025-26 season after winning the program’s first national championship in 37 years. The Wolverines claimed all 57 votes in Tuesday’s poll in the third year the AP has released its last poll after the completion of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan beat UConn 69-63 in Indianapolis for the program's first NCAA title since 1989. UConn finished second, followed by Arizona, Duke and Illinois. No. 15 Iowa and No. 22 Texas jumped into the poll after reaching the tournament's second weekend.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina has hired NBA championship-winning coach Michael Malone to lead the Tar Heels’ basketball program. Malone acknowledged at his introductory news conference on Tuesday that he's an outsider, having not played or coached for the Tar Heels. But he says he thinks the program is “ready to embrace somebody new.” The 54-year-old Malone signed a six-year deal worth $50 million in base salary. He won an NBA title as coach of the Denver Nuggets in 2023 but was abruptly fired near the end of last season. Malone replaces Hubert Davis, who was fired last month after five seasons.
UNDATED (AP) — The value of name, image and likeness deals that can avoid review by the College Sports Commission over whether they are appropriately priced has risen from $600 to $2,500, providing an athlete doesn’t make more than $15,000 total. That's according to a memo the commission issued Tuesday to Division I schools. The CSC was formed to oversee NIL payments to athletes in college sports. The raised amount is expected to allow the commission to act faster in approving deals and focus more on the big-money arrangements between players and third parties that need more scrutiny.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The transfer portal has opened in college basketball, marking a crucial phase for teams aiming for the 2027 title. More than 1,200 players have already entered the portal, with hundreds more expected. Michigan won the NCAA championship with transfers playing key roles. The Big Ten swept the football championship and both Division I basketball titles this year.
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, Wake Forest’s Juke Harris and Saint Mary’s Paulius Murauskas are among the parade of players entering the transfer portal on the first of 15 days Division I men’s basketball players can go looking for a new school. Bidunga was the Big 12 defensive player of the year and an all-conference first-team pick. Harris was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference’s most improved player after he increased his scoring average from 6.1 points per game to 21.4. Murauskas was the West Coast Conference’s second-leading scorer with 18.4 points per game and had two 30-point games.
PHOENIX (AP) — Cori Close and the UCLA Bruins are going to have to work hard to repeat as champions. They lose their top six players to graduation after putting on one of the most dominant performances in championship history to win their first NCAA title and second overall, routing South Carolina by 28 points. But with the transfer portal opening Monday, the UCLA coach can build a new team quickly. Close has said that the school will be very active, looking to add five players. Challenging the Bruins will be the runner-up Gamecocks and coach Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks will be one of the favorites for the title when the Final Four moves to Columbus, Ohio, next year.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA decision to allow former professional players in college hockey has changed the makeup of rosters across the country. A number of former Canadian Hockey League players can now chase an NCAA championship. Nearly 20 players with CHL ties are on the rosters of this week's Frozen Four teams: Denver, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. Coaches say this influx of talent is boosting college hockey's quality.
