Then-New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello looks on as her team plays against the Phoenix Mercury during the WNBA playoffs in September.Darryl Webb/The Associated Press
Six months away from taking the court for the first time, the Toronto Tempo celebrated what appears to be an important early win on Tuesday, announcing two-time WNBA champion Sandy Brondello as the franchise’s first head coach.
One of two expansion franchises set to debut in the WNBA in 2026, the Tempo will lean heavily on the experience of the veteran Australian, who has been involved in the league since 1998 as a player and coach, winning championships with the Phoenix Mercury in 2014 and with the New York Liberty in 2024.
“I had a few options there,” Brondello said at the announcement in downtown Toronto. “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.
“This is Canada’s team, and I thought that would be very exciting. And I’m up for every challenge … I’ve won a few championships there, but I think this is just a little different situation, obviously.”
Tempo GM turns focus to staff, roster
The well-travelled coach is no stranger to the international arena either, having coached the Australian women’s national team – the Opals – for eight years, which included a pair of Olympic Games. She also led Australia past Canada for bronze at the 2022 World Cup; something she jokingly apologized for on Tuesday.
After playing 10 years in Australia’s Women’s National Basketball League, the shooting guard from Queensland began her involvement with the WNBA when she was drafted by the Detroit Shock – now the Dallas Wings – in 1998. After retiring from playing in 2003, she began her coaching career in 2005 as an assistant with the San Antonio Stars, eventually becoming a head coach in Texas for the first time in 2010.
From there, Brondello moved on to Phoenix, where she led the Mercury to the highest single-season win total in league history, with 29 wins and five losses, earning her coach-of-the-year honours in the process. She capped that historic season by winning her first championship with a three-game sweep of the Chicago Sky.
After leaving Phoenix, Brondello joined New York, leading a star-laden Liberty team that featured Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones to the first championship in franchise history last year, ending a streak of five straight final losses with a 3-1 win over the Las Vegas Aces.
Brondello has no plans to lower her sights now that she’s heading up an expansion franchise, one without any players as yet.
“I’ve won two championships. I’ve been to the playoffs every single year, so it’s no pressure coming into this new season,” she said sarcastically. “But that really excites me, the challenge that we have ahead of us.”
The WNBA’s Toronto Tempo named Sandy Brondello as the franchise’s first head coach. The expansion team is set to begin play in 2026, with Brondello bringing a wealth of experience having led the Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty to WNBA championships in 2014 and 2024.
The Canadian Press
After losing in the first round of this year’s playoffs, the Liberty opted not to renew Brondello’s contract in September. Brondello had a 107-53 record over four seasons in New York and earned the most wins in franchise history.
As arguably the top free-agent coaching talent available, the 57-year-old hit the market at the right time, and Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rogers was only too happy to offer her a new landing spot.
“As I went through that [coaching] 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 in WNBA history,” the GM said Tuesday.
Wright Rogers said that when she thought about who the inaugural head coach would be, she prioritized someone who could attract free agents, as well as someone who knew the WNBA inside out.
But beyond that, she wanted someone who would set the culture, build the franchise, and show players how to win.
Montreal Canadiens co-owner Geoff Molson and France Margaret Belanger, the NHL team’s president of sports and entertainment, have joined the ownership group of the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo. The Tempo also announced that they would have two regular-season games in Montreal during their inaugural WNBA campaign in 2026.
The Canadian Press
“The head coach, especially for a brand-new team, is a person who turns vision into reality and potential into performance,” the Tempo executive said.
Brondello will get her chance to do all of that over the next six months, as Canada’s first WNBA team ramps up preparation ahead of its opening tipoff. The to-do list is long, including hiring a coaching staff, selecting players at the expansion draft and signing free agents. The dates for both the expansion draft and the start of free agency are yet to be announced.
But before then, there remains the important detail of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. Though both sides last week agreed to extend the current deal until the end of November, both the WNBA and the players’ association remain divided over key issues such as revenue sharing.
While Brondello understandably wasn’t able to comment on the negotiations, she emphasized that the team must continue to prepare as though a deal will be reached, and that the Tempo will hit the court as planned in 2026.
“Hopefully we can start moving forward,” she said. “But there’s still work to be done in the trenches, and making sure once we’re allowed to move forward and signing players that we’re ready to go.”