CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia women’s basketball head coach Aaron Roussell announced Friday (April 17), the additions of staff members Darren Guensch, Ariel Stephenson, Alex Louin and AJ Wahl. Guensch and Stephenson were named assistant coaches, while Louin was named assistant coach and director of operations. Wahl will serve as director of video and analytics.
Stephenson, Louin and Wahl served in similar roles under Roussell at Richmond over the past three seasons. Over that stretch, the Spiders captured a pair of Atlantic-10 regular season titles, the 2024 A10 Tournament championship and made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament including the program’s first tournament win in 2025.
Guensch coached under Roussell at Richmond for three seasons (2020-2022), and one season at Bucknell (2019).
Darren Guensch
Guensch (pronounced: GENCH) arrives at Virginia following one season at Virginia Tech, where he played a key role in recruiting and player development while helping the Hokies earn a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“This will be my third opportunity to work with Darren,” Roussell said. “He is a man of great character and someone I have looked up to and learned from throughout my career. Darren’s preparation and pride in everything he does is truly remarkable. His familiarity with me, and the ACC will be a boost for everyone in this program.”
Raised in Leesburg, Va., Guensch owns degrees from two different institutions in the Commonwealth (Radford and George Mason) and has spent time coaching at George Mason, VCU, Richmond and Virginia Tech.
He brings more than 20 years of Division I coaching experience, including four seasons alongside Roussell at Richmond and Bucknell. During that time, Guensch helped guide teams to conference championships, NCAA Tournament appearances and multiple all‑conference honors.
Prior to the 2025-26 season, Guensch served as associate head coach at Missouri State from 2022-2025, where the Lady Bears posted a 69‑31 record and captured a Missouri Valley Conference regular‑season title. He has also coached at East Carolina (2016-2018), College of Charleston (2014-2016), UNCG (2012-2014) and VCU (2010-12). Guensch served as the director of basketball operations for two seasons at George Mason from 2006-2008 and also spent one season as an assistant coach at Loudoun County High School in Northern Virginia in 2005.
He and his wife Devon have two children, Miles and Layna.
Ariel Stephenson
Stephenson joins the Cavaliers following three seasons on Roussell’s staff at Richmond serving as an assistant coach.
“Ariel is a future star in this profession,” Roussell said. “I admired her as a player, coach, and now as a colleague. Her presence as a leader of young women is unmatched. Her basketball knowledge and her history in the ACC will be a great benefit to this program.
In her second season at Richmond, Stephenson was named to the 2025 WBCA Thirty Under 30 list, a national honor recognizing up-and-coming women’s basketball coaches who demonstrate exemplary involvement in community service, mentorship, and impact on student-athletes.
Prior to joining the Spiders, Stephenson spent a pair of seasons at Davidson. She served as director of player development in 2021-22 before being promoted to director of basketball operations ahead of the 2022-23 season. Stephenson spent the 2019-20 season at George Washington as a graduate assistant and video coordinator.
At Virginia, Stephenson will make her return to the ACC after a standout four-year playing career at Wake Forest. A two-year captain for the Demon Deacons, she became Wake Forest’s 25th member of the 1,000-point club in 2018 while earning All-ACC Academic and All-Rookie honors during her career in Winston-Salem. Stephenson transferred to George Washington for her final season of eligibility as a graduate student before transitioning to a graduate assistant role.
Stephenson earned a bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science from Wake Forest in 2019 and earned her master’s degree in sport management from George Washington in 2021.
Alex Louin
Louin joins the Cavaliers following three seasons on Roussell’s staff as an assistant coach and operations director at Richmond from 2023-2026.
“Alex is somebody I have relied on for assistance in every aspect of our program over the last three years,” Roussell said. “Her tireless work ethic is noticed by everyone around her. She is going to be a great coach and is already one of the best player development coaches in the country.”
Prior to joining the Spiders, Louin served as an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington during the 2022–23 season and previously worked as a player development coach with the Fordham men’s basketball program.
A native of Doylestown, Pa., Louin was a standout player at Villanova from 2014-2018 where she earned All-Big East honors in all four seasons. She scored 1,432 career points and ranks among Villanova’s top-20 in points, rebounds and assists. She led the Wildcats to three WNIT appearances and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2018.
Louin continued her playing career professionally in Europe with BBX Grengewald Hueschert in Luxembourg, where she was named First-Team All-Total League and hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to win the league championship in 2018. She later starred with Torpan Pojat (ToPo) in Finland, leading the league in scoring at 28 points per game, earning first-team All-League and Foreign Player of the Year honors as the team’s only American player.
Louin earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and finance as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Villanova.
AJ Wahl
Wahl arrives at Virginia following three seasons on Roussell’s staff at Richmond from 2023-2026 where he served as the program’s video coordinator, playing a key role in Richmond’s success through his expertise in video, analytics and game preparation.
“AJ’s commitment to me and our program over the last three years has been unbelievable,” Roussell said. “He watches more basketball at all levels than maybe anyone I know, and his contributions to the success of our team and our players has coincided with the highest levels of success our program has achieved.”
Before Richmond, Wahl served as assistant varsity boys’ basketball coach at Trinity Episcopal School in Richmond, Va. At Trinity, he oversaw video operations and analytics while also assisting with game strategy and lineup decisions.
Prior to Trinity, Wahl spent two years as a student manager for the Villanova women’s basketball team. With the Wildcats, he filmed practices and games, tagged video for scouting purposes, and produced recruiting evaluations. During his time with the program, Villanova went 24-9 in 2021–22 under Big East Coach of the Year Denise Dillon.
A native of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Wahl earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Villanova in 2022 and completed a master’s in sport leadership from VCU in 2023.