After getting overlooked in the WNBA draft, University of Richmond star Maggie Doogan is currently working out with the Phoenix Mercury in Arizona.
Over three rounds during last week’s WNBA draft, 15 teams picked 45 players. Maggie Doogan, the most accomplished player in the history of the University of Richmond women’s basketball program, wasn’t one of them.
Analysts had projected Doogan would be a second-round pick. She wasn’t selected, but her agent got a call during the second round: The Phoenix Mercury wanted Doogan to sign a training camp contract. The athlete didn’t hesitate; she signed the paperwork that night and started packing her things.
The next morning, she was on a plane to Phoenix.
“I have that dog mentality,” Doogan says. “I’m just trying to prove everyone wrong. I feel like I’ve done that my whole life, and it’s nothing new, but with going undrafted, I feel like I have an extra chip on my shoulder.”
It’s a chip she carried with her during a standout four years with the Spiders, marked by three consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament from 2024 to 2026. The team’s success during Doogan’s tenure was remarkable, so much so that the Division I University of Virginia recently hired away UR head coach Aaron Roussell to lead its own women’s squad.
Before this changing of the guard, the Spiders were making waves in the world of college basketball as they notched victories and achieved milestones that are rare for smaller programs. At the forefront of it all was the 6-foot-2-inch forward from Pennsylvania.
Doogan’s mother, Chrissie, inspired her to pick up a basketball for the first time. Doogan comes from a family full of athletes; she grew up watching and attending women’s basketball practices at La Salle University, where Chrissie was associate head coach.
“I grew up in their locker room, just surrounded by girls that I idolized,” Doogan says. “They probably weren’t as big as I made them out to be in my head, but they were stars to me.”
In University of Richmond’s First Four loss to Nebraska in this year’s NCAA tournament, Maggie Doogan finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Starting out gangly and underdeveloped, Doogan had no idea what was in store for her college career, she says. The desire to follow in other players’ footsteps drove her.
Her junior year in high school, Doogan was preparing for a state championship when the COVID-19 pandemic descended. She used the extra time from canceled classes to find unique ways to train while most local gyms and school facilities were closed. Whether playing basketball with her dad in the driveway or running with her mom in a cemetery near their house, Doogan pushed herself.
Coach Roussell saw her as a perfect fit for his program, especially paired with another top recruit out of Highland Park, Illinois, Addie Budnik.
“We had Addie, who we thought was going to be good, but we really liked the combination and the complement that Addie and Maggie had together,” Roussell says. “I think we tried to really sell that — that [they] could be really, really good together.”
Once Doogan committed to UR, things moved fast. Before she knew it, training camp arrived, and she was at the Robins Center. She soon discovered that her progress in the weight room wasn’t enough to compete with her teammates. “I think she was still a little bit raw in some ways,” Roussell recalls. “She understood the game, but there were still some habits I think we had to break.”
The Spiders were coming off five straight losing seasons. During the 2021-22 season, before Doogan’s freshman year, UR squeezed out a 16-14 record. While the squad was operating at a solid level for a mid-major program, games against bigger schools often led to staggering losses.
Doogan was making good progress at UR until she broke her hand during a Thanksgiving tournament in 2022. The fracture demanded surgery and a recovery period that took her off the court for seven games. “She was already a good player, but weirdly, [the] injury, and that time off, showed me a lot about her heart and her [drive],” Roussell says.
Rather than dwell on the setback, Doogan used the time to find a new angle on learning the game. “I had to watch from the sidelines, and I had to do a lot of extra conditioning,” she says. “I think that actually helped me be more of a vocal leader, because I had to cheer and I had to help my team from the sidelines, and I couldn’t really do anything else.”
Time went by, and Doogan’s play gained recognition in the Atlantic 10 Conference. She says one of her favorite moments from college was winning the A-10 Championship during her sophomore year. “One of the distinct memories I had is her basically collapsing in my arms, crying about how happy she was,” Roussell says.
The win came after a 29-5 season that eclipsed the past decade of UR women’s basketball. Heading to Durham, North Carolina, for the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2024, the Spiders suffered a 72-61 loss to No. 7 Duke University, but the defeat was seen as progress. The previous season, the Blue Devils had beaten the Spiders 100-49.
During her third season with UR, Doogan helped lift the Spiders to new heights, averaging 21 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. The next year, UR made history in Los Angeles. Led by Doogan’s 30 points and 15 rebounds, the Spiders defeated Georgia Tech 74-49 to win their first NCAA tournament game.
After the team’s loss to No. 1 UCLA in the second round, Doogan was invited to the USA Basketball AmeriCup Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and was twice named to the NCAA.com National Starting Five.
She also started to appear on WNBA draft boards, which continued throughout her senior season. Doogan consistently picked up weekly conference and national honors while being named an All-American by multiple media outlets.
Maggie Doogan, left, and a teammate celebrate the Spiders’ victory over La Salle University at the Robins Center in February.
This year’s second straight at-large bid to the NCAA tournament was a huge milestone for the small program, with Doogan leading the way. UR lost its First Four matchup against the University of Nebraska, but several outlets, including SB Nation and CBS Sports, still projected Doogan as a second-round pick.
“I just hope everyone kind of figures it out, because I do want to fulfill my little Maggie dream of going to the WNBA,” she said before the April 13 draft.
Even with graduation approaching swiftly, Doogan’s impact on the program will linger.
“I think that’s hopefully the legacy that she leaves behind. [She] was not an A-plus player, a WNBA player when she got here,” Roussell says. “She developed into that.”
In Phoenix, Doogan is doing what she’s always done — playing the underdog, putting in the work. She has until the beginning of the new WNBA season in early May to secure a spot on the roster.
