Nigeria’s women’s basketball head coach, Rena Wakama, has secured a new coaching role in the United States after being appointed head coach of Hive BC in the Unrivaled Basketball League for the 2025–26 season.
The Unrivaled League — a women’s basketball competition co-founded in 2023 by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier — confirmed Wakama’s appointment on Thursday in a statement released on its website.
Wakama will lead Hive BC, one of the league’s two new expansion teams, as Unrivaled prepares for its second season set to tip off in January 2026.
She joins a lineup of eight head coaches that includes WNBA icon Teresa Weatherspoon (Vinyl BC), Nola Henry (Rose BC), and Noelle Quinn (Breeze BC).
The 32-year-old Nigerian tactician has enjoyed a remarkable rise in her coaching career.
Since taking charge of the D’Tigress in 2023, Wakama has led Nigeria to back-to-back FIBA Women’s AfroBasket titles in 2023 and 2025.
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She also guided the team to a historic quarter-final finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics — the first-ever by an African basketball team, male or female.
Before her international success, Wakama served as an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and held collegiate coaching roles at Tulane University, Stony Brook University, and Manhattan College. A former collegiate player herself, she represented Western Carolina University during her playing career.
Unrivaled praised Wakama’s achievements, describing her as a trailblazer in women’s basketball and a key figure in the global growth of the sport.
Her appointment is seen as another milestone for Nigerian basketball, further cementing Wakama’s legacy as one of the most accomplished female coaches from Africa.