It’s been a busy week for new Virginia women’s basketball head coach Aaron Roussell, who officially earned a pair of commitments from Emilie Brzonova and Lyla Coogen on Wednesday.
Brzonova, a 5-foot-11 guard from the Czech Republic, joins the ’Hoos after flipping her original commitment to Florida. The addition of Brzonova continues a recent trend of poaching from Gainesville, kick-started by Virginia naming former Gators head coach Kelly Rae Finley as Roussell’s associate head coach.
In Brzonova,
Virginia is getting a sharp-shooting scorer with significant international playing experience. She played the 2025-26 season for Faenza Basket Project in Italy after making a name for herself by leading Czech Republic’s U18 team at the 2024 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket, shooting 48% from beyond the arc while averaging 13.8 points and 2.3 assists per game.
On the local front, Coogen will arrive in Charlottesville after playing her final high school season at The St. James Academy in Springfield, Virginia. A 6-foot-3 forward, Coogen began her high school career at St. John’s College High School, where she won two WCAC championships and earned a second-team All-State selection.
The additions of Brzonova and Coogen come on the heels of Adeang Ring’s announcement of her recommitment to UVA on Monday via Instagram. Though Ring played just 11.8 minutes per game this past season for Virginia, her potential was incredibly evident, and the ’Hoos are hoping a big leap could be in store.
At 6-foot-5, Ring provides great length in the frontcourt, and despite her inefficiency this past season (38.5% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc), she has a smooth shooting stroke and tremendous mobility for a player of her height. If her shooting numbers can begin to align with her sky-high potential, Ring could be a perfect floor-spacer in Roussell’s fluid offensive scheme, and a potent rim protector on the defensive end of the floor.
This week’s trio of additions brings Virginia’s current roster total up to nine players. Ring will join Kymora Johnson, Olivia McGhee, and Breona Hurd as returning Cavaliers, while Brzonova and Coogen join Mary-Anna Asare, Erica Gribble, and Caterina Piatti as newcomers.
Piatti, a transfer forward from Florida, is the other half of UVA’s new Gainesville pipeline. At 6-foot-4, Piatti offers size and high-level collegiate experience after starting all 33 games for the Gators as a freshman this past season.
Also from the transfer portal, Asare heads to Charlottesville after four seasons in Richmond at VCU. Coach Roussell is very familiar with her game after battling against Asare’s Rams in the Atlantic 10, and now she’ll join forces with him at Virginia. Asare averaged 17.4 points per game in seven starts this past year before missing the remainder of the season due to injury.
Rounding out the group, Roussell earned his first top-100 freshman commitment in the form of Gribble, who is the No. 82 overall prospect in the class of 2026, according to espnW. A highly talented 5-foot-11 guard from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Gribble is Greensburg Central Catholic’s all-time leading scorer and averaged 21.5 points per game as a senior in 2025-26.
With a few roster spots yet to fill, stay tuned to Streaking the Lawn as Roussell continues to build upon a very strong recruiting class heading into year one of his tenure in Charlottesville.
