As uncertainty clouds the WNBA offseason, Toronto head coach Sandy Brondello is sounding the alarm, raising concerns about the league’s delayed 2026 schedule and its ripple effect on stalled free agency.
The WNBA teams all released their regular-season schedule for the 2026 season recently. However, with the ongoing moratorium expected to delay the offseason proceedings before the WNBA season, Toronto Head Coach Sandy Brondello has highlighted her concerns regarding the team’s inability to start adding players to their roster.
Speaking to CBC regarding the Toronto Tempo, Brondello said, “When the CBA does get done, and hopefully does get done sooner than later, it’d be nice to have a player. We don’t know what kind of style [we] want to play. I don’t know. I don’t have any players yet. I know I have a vision of how I want to play. But until that, we just work really hard and prepare the best we can and be ready when it really does happen, because it will happen quick.”
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The WNBA will welcome two new franchises in the 2026 season, with one of them being the Toronto Tempo. Canada’s first WNBA franchise will be looking to build its squad from the Expansion draft, which will consist of the unprotected players from the existing franchises. Another pool from which the Toronto Tempo can build its roster is the Free Agency.
It is going to be tougher for a newly inducted franchise to go through the whole process of signing players, building a team identity, and a playstyle, especially if the moratorium stretches for a long time. The franchises are yet to even announce the players they are allowing to go into the Expansion Draft unprotected, which shows just how far a team like Toronto is from getting everything going. The teams need to build their roster swiftly, especially considering the large prize pool.
Unrivaled has made a huge decision regarding the prize pool for the final four teams. While the tournament has a $300,000 total prize, with $200,000 will be paid to the champion. Each semi-finalist will take home $25,000 each, while the runner-up will get $50,000. This adds up to a total of $275,000 just between the final four.
The delay will only make the start of the season more difficult for the Toronto Tempo. Their first few steps have been positive. In Sandy Brondello, Toronto has entrusted its project to a two-time WNBA Champion and former Coach of the Year in 2014.
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The 57-year-old is also an Australian Basketball Hall of Famer, showing just how decorated a coach Toronto has signed to lead its franchise. As a former WNBA All-Star, Sandy Brondello is well-versed with the league and its rigours, having also coached the New York Liberty for three years.
With some new teams, can the regular season finally see the issues with the CBA getting resolved?
The regular season Schedule Reveal fuels hope of CBA resolution
All WNBA teams, including the Toronto Tempo, have posted their full schedules for the 2026 regular season. The Toronto Tempo will be hosting its home games across four different arenas. Cola-Cola Coliseum will host the most home games for Toronto, while there are a couple of games each scheduled in Montreal and Vancouver as well.
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There are no further updates about the ongoing discussions between the WNBA and the WNBPA regarding the CBA after the announcement of the agreed moratorium. A lot of concern has been raised regarding the potential for delays that could result in a curtailed 2026 season or even a lockout.
Alternatives have also been mentioned, especially how Unrivaled Basketball or the upcoming Project B can step up in case of an unfortunate lockout. However, the fact that the franchises have openly announced the season schedule would give fans hope that a resolution must be around the corner.
Franchises like the Indiana Fever have already announced the sale of single-game tickets, which would further raise hopes that details about the Expansion Draft, the 2026 WNBA Draft, and Free Agency will soon be revealed, with teams like Toronto eager to sign core players to start building their roster.
The post Toronto’s Sandy Brondello Voices Concern Over WNBA 2026 Schedule Release Amid Stalled Free Agency appeared first on EssentiallySports.
