If the new Toronto Tempo WNBA franchise wanted to make a statement out of the gate, it did today by announcing the legendary Sandy Brondello as the team’s first head coach.
A two-time WNBA champion and former Coach of the Year, Brondello brings a wealth of experience and championship pedigree to lead Canada’s first-ever WNBA team as it prepares to debut in 2026.
Brondello, who coached the New York Liberty to a WNBA championship in 2024, has had an incredible coaching career with the Liberty from 2022 to 2025 and the Phoenix Mercury (2014–2021).
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Over the past decade, she’s built a reputation as one of the league’s most respected and successful leaders, guiding her teams to four WNBA Finals appearances and becoming one of only two coaches in league history to win championships with multiple franchises. She currently ranks sixth all-time in both career wins and games coached, and second in playoff victories — impressive credentials for the woman set to define a new era of Canadian professional basketball.
“It’s an incredible honour to be part of this historic moment for basketball in Canada,” Brondello said in the team’s announcement. “From my first conversations with the Tempo organization, it was clear we share the same vision: to build a world-class franchise that competes at the highest level, to create a strong and dynamic culture, and to root everything we do in clear and consistent values. This is a place that’s serious about doing things the right way—about excellence, about people, about community—and that’s exactly the kind of environment every coach wants to be part of.”
Originally from Queensland, Australia, Brondello has been a driving force in women’s basketball on both sides of the globe. Since 2017, she’s also served as head coach of the Australian National Team, leading the Opals to a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her own playing career was equally decorated: a former WNBA All-Star and three-time Olympic medalist, Brondello was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Her route from small town Australia to the WNBA is epic alone.
“My father was a sugar cane farmer and he built that backboard and pinned it on an old water tank in the backyard,” Brondello said in a 2017 Melbourne Herald Sun article. “It was a bit uneven, but it allowed me to shoot.”
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“Sandy is one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the world,” said Monica Wright Rogers, general manager of the Toronto Tempo, who called the hiring a defining step for the franchise. “She knows how to win at the highest level—but she also knows how to build culture and community. She’s known for creating an environment where every player understands their role, feels empowered to lead, and recognizes how they contribute to something bigger than themselves. That’s what builds sustainable success. That’s what builds champions.”
When asked at today’s press conference what type of coach she is, Brondello said, a player’s coach.
“A pretty good one I think,” she said. “I’ve had so many different experiences with some of the best players in the world and I’m someone who wants to keep learning and I’ve learned a lot from those players. But being a former player I think that’s helped me. I’m a player’s coach I suppose. I understand what these players are going through, so that gives me some insight, but I also understand how to get the most out of them.”
Earlier this year, the team got off to a great start causing some serious buzz with the announcement of a few big-names signing on as part of the team’s leadership group such as tennis legend Serena Williams and Lilly Singh.
The Toronto Tempo will begin play in the 2026 WNBA season, hosting home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum while also bringing regular-season games to Montreal and Vancouver—cementing their identity as a truly national team.
