Nigeria’s women’s basketball head coach, Rena Wakama, has been appointed head coach of Hive BC for the 2025–26 Unrivaled Basketball League season in the United States.
Unrivaled, co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2023, is an eight-team women’s basketball league that debuted in January 2025 with six teams. The league confirmed Wakama’s appointment on its website Thursday, announcing her alongside seven other head coaches for the new season.
Wakama, who led D’Tigress to back-to-back FIBA Women’s AfroBasket titles in 2023 and 2025, also guided Nigeria to a historic quarter-final finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the first by any African basketball team — male or female.
She will now take charge of one of Unrivaled’s two expansion franchises as the league prepares to begin its second season in January 2026.
“Rena Wakama will lead Hive BC in the team’s Unrivaled debut, following her first season as an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky,” the league said.
The 32-year-old also serves as head coach of Nigeria’s national team and made history in 2024 as the first female coach to win a Women’s AfroBasket title.
Before joining the Nigerian national team, Wakama held assistant coaching positions at Tulane University and Stony Brook University, having started her career at Manhattan College as director of basketball operations before being promoted to assistant coach.
A former Western Carolina University player, Wakama now joins a stellar coaching roster for Unrivaled’s second season that includes Noelle Quinn (Breeze BC), Andrew Wade (Laces BC), DJ Sackmann (Lunar Owls BC), Zach O’Brien (Mist BC), Roneeka Hodges (Phantom BC), Nola Henry (Rose BC), and Teresa Weatherspoon (Vinyl BC).
