Veteran WNBA coach Sandy Brondello is expected to be named the first coach in Toronto Tempo history, a source with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Athletic.
In Toronto, Brondello hopes to replicate her prior success in the WNBA. She is the winningest coach in the New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury’s histories, and she won a title with each franchise. She spent the last four seasons with New York before the Liberty parted ways with her less than a week after their 2025 season ended with a first-round playoff exit.
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Liberty manager Jonathan Kolb said the decision not to retain Brondello was “proactive” for the team’s need of “evolution and innovation.”
The Tempo will debut in the spring as the WNBA’s 14th franchise. They will primarily play in Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum, but two regular-season games will be in Vancouver and two additional regular-season games will be in Montreal.
Toronto has a proven WNBA winner in Brondello, who has demonstrated the ability to connect with players. The IX Basketball was first to report news of Brondello joining the Tempo. Brondello was largely beloved by New York’s players and support staff as the franchise went from just 16-20 in her first season to a perennial title contender at the end of her tenure, including the 2024 championship.
Toronto, which will launch as an expansion team along with the Portland Fire, prioritized past head-coaching experience in its search and considered several other former WNBA head coaches. Brondello and Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rogers make up the only coach-GM combination of former WNBA players. Brondello played in the WNBA from 1998-2003, and Rogers played from 2010-2016.
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The Tempo’s next steps remain an open question. Though the Golden State Valkyries’ expansion draft was held in December before their inaugural season in 2025, the upcoming expansion draft involving the Tempo and Fire is not expected until after a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.
The WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association have been negotiating a new deal for months, and the expiration date for the current agreement is Oct. 31. What’s included in the new agreement will have significant implications on how the Tempo, among other franchises, structures rosters as salaries are expected to increase significantly.
Brondello has not coached an expansion team, but she played for the Detroit Shock during their inaugural season in 1998.
Toronto’s hire of Brondello is expected to set off a chain reaction in the Dallas Wings and Seattle Storm’s head-coaching hires, as Brondello also interviewed with both teams, league sources said.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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