Sandy Brondello named first head coach of WNBA’s Toronto Tempo

The WNBA’s Toronto Tempo have announced Sandy Brondello will take over the team as head coach in 2026. Sean Leathong has the details.

It was all about the opportunity to build for Sandy Brondello.

The Australian was named the first head coach of the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo at a press conference on Tuesday. The first team in the league to be based outside of the United States starts play in 2026.

“I had a few options (to go elsewhere), but in the end I was really intrigued about starting from the very beginning and building something with really good people and in a different country,” Brondello said. “This is Canada’s team and I thought that would be very exciting and I’m up for every challenge.”

Brondello led the New York Liberty to the 2024 championship, but her contract was not renewed after the team lost in the first round of the playoffs this past season.

Brondello went 107-53 in four seasons with New York and earned the most wins in franchise history. She also guided the Phoenix Mercury to a WNBA title in 2014 and a finals appearance in 2021 during an eight-year tenure.

“I’ve won a few championships ... this is just a little different situation, obviously, that a lot of the players now are free agents,” she said. “Yes, we’ll be an expansion team, but hopefully summer in Toronto is pretty special, I hear, so hopefully we can get some pretty special players to represent the Tempo.”

The 57-year-old Brondello was alongside general manager Monica Wright Rogers, another former player who was hired June 22. Wright Rogers said her coaching search began back in mid-July.

“(I) was focused on having a head coach that, number one, would attract free agents. That would allow us to take advantage of the space that we’re in right now as a franchise,” she said. “Number two, WNBA experience ... I couldn’t shake that feeling to want someone that knows this league that wouldn’t have a huge learning curve especially with us being an expansion franchise in a new country.

“And so as I went through that search, I really got to a final list and then something happened in New York and we were able to have a crack at one of the best coaches and WNBA history and I took a swing.”

Brondello acknowledged the passion Canadian sports fans have, comparing it to her native Australia. She said her goal is to “put a product out there that everyone can be proud of.”

“I want to play a fun style. Everyone talks about pace and space and all that kind of stuff. But in the end, we don’t have players yet,” she said. “But I want to put the players in the best spot so that they can have success. 

“What’s that look like? You have to adapt to the different situations and the different teams. You have be flexible. So there’s no set style of how we want to play. We want to play entertaining basketball. We want to play great team basketball and be tough. But we also have to be adaptable for the moment.”

A date for an expansion draft and free agency has yet to be announced, with a new collective bargaining agreement having to first be in place ahead of the 2026 season. 

Brondello said she’s received a number of congratulatory texts from former players but isn’t allowed to speak with them regarding the Tempo yet.

“I have great relationships with players I’ve recently coached or former players that I have coached, and I think that’s important for me,” Brondello said. “In my leadership, the relationships really is the most critical, and I talk about culture, but it’s getting to know these players, and they’re not just basketball players, they’re human beings, because that’s my goal too.

“I want them to be, if they’re being coached by me, they’re going to be better people. They’re going to feel that a coach that has their back and that supports them, but also pushes them for greatness. We strive for excellence every single day we get on the court. And I know I’m not perfect, but I’m striving to be better and continue to learn.”

By Abdulhamid Ibrahim

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2025.