Unrivaled announced its latest assortment of head coaches for its second season, set to tip off in January.
Unrivaled’s list of head coaches for its second season could well be … Unrivaled.
In addition to rounding out its player roster for the 2026 campaign, the league—co-founded by WNBA All-Stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart—unveiled its full coaching staff for the second go-around.
There are plenty of familiar names on the docket, as four entrants from last year’s festivities will return for another go at three-on-three glory. There are also four new names on the ledger. Two will take over the newly formed squads, while a couple of others will lead original franchises seeking new bosses.
“We’re thrilled to add such exceptional talent to our head coaching roster in our second season, elevating the strong foundation established by our inaugural coaching staffs across Unrivaled,” Unrivaled general manager Clare Duwelius said in a league statement while bidding farewell to the departed names from the maiden voyage. “[We] look forward to building on the momentum for the league this year.”
Nola Henry and DJ Sackmann are among the returnees, as Unrivaled will respectively welcome back the overseer of its inaugural champion and its first Coach of the Year winner. Andrew Wade and Teresa Weatherspoon will likewise return to Wayfair Arena in Miami, with a brief stop in Philadelphia also on the docket.
With Unrivaled due for a January return, view the full list of coaches below.
The 2026 head coaches are SET 👀 Welcome to season 2 👑 pic.twitter.com/WBJY9lWWmQ
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) October 30, 2025
Nola Henry, Rose BC
Time will tell if Henry, who boasts Division I collegiate experience with both the University of Massachusetts and the College of Charleston, sticks around as an assistant coach with the Dallas Wings after Jose Fernandez’s ascension to the top spot. For the time being, however, she will get a chance to defend the Unrivaled championship she earned at the helm of Rose BC, which downed Vinyl BC for the inaugural title last March.
After working as a de facto apprentice to Curt Miller during previous WNBA stops with the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks, Henry helped oversee the rookie tour of North Texas’ top pick Paige Bueckers, who is set to make her own Unrivaled debut this time around after living up to every expectation and then some in her WNBA premieres.
Roneeka Hodges, Phantom BC
Hodges is one of the fast risers on the WNBA coaching circuit after a playing career that saw her represent six clubs over 11 seasons. The Florida State alumna earned her first WNBA coaching job with the New York Liberty, serving as an assistant on the Sandy Brondello staff that led the franchise to its long-sought first championship in 2024. Hodges spent this past tour serving as Rachid Meziane’s de facto lieutenant in Connecticut and will take over Phantom’s helm from Adam Harrington.
Zach O’Brien, Mist BC
Stewart is quite the friend to have: O’Brien is another disciple of Brondello’s Brooklyn days, having served as an assistant coach with Hodges, Olaf Lange, and newly minted Seattle Storm boss Sonia Raman over the past four tours. Previously starring as a Division III shooter at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, O’Brien has had a role in two of the last five WNBA Finals matchups, including the 2021 edition with Brondello as a player development rep with the Phoenix Mercury.
He’s been quite busy in the desert, gaining experience in the video department of the Phoenix Suns’ G League affiliate. In this new opportunity, O’Brien succeeds Phil Handy, who previously led the Mist during the inaugural Unrivaled showing.
Noelle Quinn, Breeze BC
Quinn didn’t stay unemployed for long, as the opportunity to lead one of Unrivaled’s expansion squads comes just over a month after she was relieved of duty from the Seattle Storm’s top spot. All things considered, Quinn did a solid job guiding the Storm in the post-Stewart/Sue Bird era after Dan Hughes’ in-season retirement in 2021, posting the sixth-best win percentage in the WNBA during that span and giving the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces all they could handle during her final act in the opening round of the last postseason.
Quinn, an assistant on Seattle’s last championship group in 2020 and the winning coach of the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup championship the year after, will have plenty of former proteges to potentially work with on the Unrivaled circuit: new homegrown franchise face Dominique Malonga became the fifth Pacific Northwest representative to join the 2025 Unrivaled cause, joining Skylar Diggins, Ezi Magbegor, Brittney Sykes, and Erica Wheeler.
DJ Sackmann, Lunar Owls BC
Another coach set to reprise his Unrivaled role, Sackmann has earned a reputation as one of the top player developers on both the men’s and women’s circuits. He originally gained off-court fame when NBA champion Patty Mills called upon him to prep for Australia’s 2021 Olympic run, and his skills have since gone national.
With the Lunar Owls winning all but one of their 14 regular-season games and building a triple-digit point differential (one of many stage categories they paced during the regular season), Sackmann became the winner of Unrivaled’s first-ever Coach of the Year title.
Andrew Wade, Laces BC
Wade parlayed his success in Unrivaled, which featured a playoff appearance for the Laces, into a developmental role with the Liberty, building a quick rapport with players amidst their championship defense. It was Wade, for example, who accompanied Jonquel Jones back home to the Bahamas when the reigning Finals MVP wanted some work back home over the All-Star break.
Additionally, Wade also played a major role in acclimating Emma Meesseman to the seafoam culture upon her in-season arrival. Wade previously had a behind-the-scenes role during the Washington Mystics’ 2019 championship run, which featured Meesseman and current Liberty/Unrivaled representative, Natasha Cloud.
Rena Wakama, Hive BC
Wakama is the buzz behind the Hive, another incoming Unrivaled group in year two. At 33, she has already established quite the coaching name for herself, currently serving as an assistant on Tyler Marsh’s staff with the Chicago Sky after several tours as an assistant on the collegiate circuit (primarily a six-year stint at her alma mater, Manhattan).
To date, however, her crowning achievement has come at the helm of the Nigerian women’s national basketball team, leading the way during its most prolific Olympic run in Paris. With its upset victories over Canada and eventual bronze medalist Australia, D’Tigress became the first African squad of either gender to secure a spot in the Olympic knockout round. For her efforts, Wakama took home the Best Coach title bestowed by FIBA at the end of the tournament.
Teresa Weatherspoon, Vinyl BC
The list is rounded out by, you guessed it, Liberty representation, as one of the franchise’s original stars is back for another go at it after guiding Vinyl to a surprising appearance in the inaugural championship game. That journey took out the mighty Lunar Owls, as Weatherspoon earned sweet vindication and redemption after her controversial firing from the helm of the Sky.
Retirement from a Hall of Fame career has been anything but for Weatherspoon, who has also served at the helm of her alma mater, Louisiana Tech (she’s responsible for the Lady Techsters’ most recent NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010-11), before holding an assistant coach’s role with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans for three years.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
