The Shadow
RICHMOND, Va. – Once again, VCU is expected to compete for the Atlantic 10 Conference title. That’s according to league coaches, who voted the Rams second in the A-10 Preseason Poll, released Wednesday. The Black and Gold garnered 86 points in the poll and trailed only defending regular season Champion Dayton, which received 100 points and 10 first-place votes. Defending A-10 Tournament Champion Loyola Chicago was voted third with 83 points, followed by Davidson (64) and George Washington (54), respectively.
Led by third-year Head Coach Tim Doyle, VCU returns 10 letterwinners — including All-Atlantic 10 Conference selections Julia Rienks(Dronryp, Netherlands) and Lara Del Core (Busto Arsizio, Italy) – from an A-10 regular season runner-up squad that finished 18-9 overall, including 16-2 in league play, last year. The Rams are 29-7 in league play the past two seasons under Doyle’s leadership.
The Rams will also play host to the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Nov. 21-23 at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
VCU will kick off the 2025 campaign with an exhibition contest against Christopher Newport on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. at the Siegel Center. That match is free to the public. The Rams will begin regular season play at the Canes Classic Aug. 29-30 in Coral Gables, Fla., where they will take on Ohio State (Aug. 29) and Indiana (Aug. 30).
2025 Atlantic 10 Conference Preseason Poll
First-place votes in parenthesis
1-Dayton (10) – 100
2-VCU – 86
3-Loyola Chicago -83
4-Davidson – 64
5-George Washington – 54
6-Saint Louis – 44
7-Duquesne – 40
8-George Mason – 38
9-Rhode Island – 21
10-Fordham – 20
