Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) club Chicago Sky have appointed D’Tigress head coach Rena Wakama as an assistant coach.
In a statement on the club’s website on Tuesday, Wakama will join Head Coach Tyler Marsh’s staff.
The 32-year-old’s appointment comes after the Chicago Sky previously named Courtney Paris and Tanisha Wright as assistant coaches.
“The Raleigh, North Carolina native joined the coaching staff at Tulane in 2024 as an assistant coach,” the club said about Wakama. “Prior to her time with the Green Wave, she spent a year at Stony Brook in a similar role from 2023-24, where she helped lead the team to a 28-5 overall record after winning the Coastal Athletic Association regular season title with a 16-2 record.
“She also spent six years at Manhattan College as the director of basketball operations and then as an assistant coach with the Jaspers.
“Wakama was also a former standout collegiate player out of Western Carolina University from 2010-14, where she was named Southern Conference All-Tournament Second Team Honors and a three-time SoCon Academic Team honoree. She made 121 starts over her four-year career and averaged 10.4 points per game in her senior year with the Catamounts.”
Speaking after her appointment Wakama said: “I am honored and thankful for Jeff and Tyler for granting me the opportunity to join the Chicago Sky family.
“Tyler has one of the best basketball minds in the industry and I’m excited to help him bring his vision to life. I look forward to serving this organization and working alongside the other brilliant minds on staff to create a brand of basketball that is not only competitive but also fun to watch! Let’s get to work!”
Wakama was appointed D’Tigress head coach in June 2023 and led the team to win the Women’s AfroBasketball title just two minutes after coming on board, becoming the first female coach to ever win the tournament.
She guided D’Tigress to the quarter-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics basketball event, a feat which no African team, men or women, have managed to achieve before.
Following D’Tigress’ impressive dislay at the games she was named Paris 2024 Best Coach.
