Head coach of Nigeria’s D’Tigress, Rena Wakama, has been appointed head coach of Hive BC for the 2026 season of the Unrivaled basketball league, www.aclsports.com reports.
Wakama, who led the D’Tigress to back-to-back FIBA Women’s AfroBasket titles in 2023 and 2025 and guided the team to a historic quarter-final berth at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, will take charge of one of the league’s two expansion franchises as Unrivaled enters its second campaign in January 2026.
The announcement came as the league unveiled its full coaching roster for the 2026 season. Wakama joins a group of eight head coaches that includes Noelle Quinn (Breeze BC), Andrew Wade (Laces BC), DJ Sackmann (Lunar Owls BC), Zach O’Brien (Mist BC), Roneeka Hodges (Phantom BC), defending champion coach Nola Henry (Rose BC), and Teresa Weatherspoon (Vinyl BC).
Unrivaled, co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2023, made its debut in January 2025. The league offers a player-equity model and features a fast-paced full-court 3-on-3 format, created to elevate women’s basketball and provide elite players with a domestic off-season competition option.
For the 2026 season, the league will expand from six to eight teams, introduce a development player pool to deepen talent, and move to a multi-city touring format across the United States. The campaign will run from January to March, concluding with a single-elimination play-off.
Wakama’s elevation underscores her rapidly rising profile in global basketball and stands as another important milestone for Nigerian coaching excellence on the international stage.
