Sandy Brondello has been part of the WNBA since its earliest days, and now she is set to make history once again. On Tuesday, the Toronto Tempo officially named the two-time championship winner as the franchise’s first head coach. Toronto is entrusting her to guide the WNBA’s first international team into its inaugural 2026 season.
Brondello, who led the New York Liberty to the 2024 WNBA title, said the opportunity to build something from the ground up in Toronto reignited her coaching fire.
“This is the place I wanted to be,” Brondello said at her introductory press conference. “To build a team from the ground up, that really excited me.”
The Australian native knows what expansion feels like. She began her playing career in 1998 with the Detroit Shock, another first-year team, and remembers the energy that came with it.
“There was a freshness about it,” she said. “There was just a lot of excitement because it was new.”
That same excitement fuels her approach with the Tempo. Brondello said her main focus will be on creating a player-led culture that emphasizes relationships and cohesion.
“The more connected you are off the court, the better you’ll be on it,” she said. “It’s not my culture. It’s their player-led culture.”
Sandy Brondello will set the tempo for Tempo basketball
Brondello joins the Tempo after winning titles with both the Mercury and Liberty. It makes her one of only two coaches in WNBA history to capture championships with multiple franchises. Furthermore, she ranks among the league’s all-time leaders in wins and playoff victories. She is also the head coach of Australia’s national team.
General manager Monica Wright Rogers called Brondello “one of the most respected coaches in the world,” praising her ability to balance competition with culture-building.
Toronto will play home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum. There will also be additional contests in Montreal and Vancouver. However, for Brondello, the challenge of shaping a franchise in a new country is exactly what she wanted.
“It’s about legacy,” she said. “We want to build a world-class team, grow the game in Canada, and show what the Tempo can be.”
