The Toronto Tempo begin their inaugural WNBA season in 2026, and on Wednesday, they have come to terms with their first ever head coach. According to the Associated Press, the first Tempo head coach is a person with plenty of WNBA experience–Australia’s Sandy Brondello.
Brondello is set to be the head coach of her fourth WNBA franchise. She previously coached the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2010, the Phoenix Mercury for eight seasons from 2014 to 2021, and the New York Liberty for four seasons from 2022 to 2025. In that time, she had a record of 269 wins and 181 losses for a winning percentage of .598 in 450 regular season games.
Brondello also has won two WNBA Finals as a head coach. In 2014, the Mercury swept the Chicago Sky three games to none in the WNBA Finals. In 2024, the Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx three games to two in the best out of five series. There was a lot of surprise that the Liberty did not bring back Brondello for 2026. New York was second in the East at 27 wins and 17 losses, but New York was upset two games to one in the first round of the postseason by Phoenix.
As a player, Brondello played five seasons in the WNBA with the Detroit Shock, Miami Sol and Seattle Storm. She was a NBA All-Star with the Shock in 1999.
Brondello is a three-time Olympic medalist as a player in women’s basketball. She won silver at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, silver at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and bronze at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Brondello also won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as a head coach.
