Head coach of Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, Rena Wakama, has been appointed as the new head coach of Hive BC ahead of the 2026 season of the Unrivaled Basketball League.
Wakama, who guided D’Tigress to back-to-back FIBA Women’s AfroBasket titles in 2023 and 2025, and led the team to a historic quarter-final finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, will now take charge of one of the league’s two expansion franchises as Unrivaled enters its second season in January 2026.
The announcement came as Unrivaled unveiled its complete coaching roster for the upcoming campaign. Wakama joins a talented lineup of eight head coaches, including 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)—who led her team to the inaugural championship—and Teresa Weatherspoon (Vinyl BC).
Co-founded in 2023 by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, the Unrivaled League debuted in January 2025 with a player-equity model and a fast-paced, full-court 3-on-3 format designed to elevate women’s basketball while providing elite players a competitive off-season platform.
For the 2026 season, the league will expand from six to eight teams, introduce a development player pool to broaden talent depth, and adopt a multi-city touring format across the United States.
The campaign will run from January to March, culminating in a single-elimination playoff.
Wakama’s appointment marks another significant milestone for Nigerian coaching excellence and further cements her reputation as one of the rising figures in global basketball leadership.
