D’Tigress head coach Rena Wakama has been named the inaugural head coach of Hive BC, one of two expansion teams joining the Unrivaled Basketball League for its 2025-26 season.
The Unrivaled League, co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, announced its full coaching roster for its second season, which tips off in January 2026. The appointment marks a rapid and impressive rise for the 32-year-old Wakama, who has become one of the most sought-after coaches in women’s basketball.
Wakama’s resume has been building steadily. After a season as an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, she took the helm of the Nigerian national team in June 2023 and immediately made history.
That August, she became the first female coach to ever win the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket, a feat she repeated in 2025.
Her crowning achievement came at the Paris Olympics, where she guided D’Tigress to become the first African basketball team ever, men’s or women’s, to reach the quarterfinals.
“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 announced on its website highlighting her historic international success.
Before her breakout on the international stage, Wakama honed her skills in the collegiate ranks, serving in assistant coaching roles at Tulane University and Stony Brook University. Her coaching career began at Manhattan College, where she spent two years as the director of basketball operations before being promoted to an assistant coach. She played her college basketball at Western Carolina University.
Wakama now joins a prestigious group of head coaches in the Unrivaled League, including Noelle Quinn (Breeze BC), Teresa Weatherspoon (Vinyl BC), and defending champion coach Nola Henry (Rose BC). Her appointment signals both her personal ascent and the growing global reach of the young league.
