Sandy Brondello was appointed head coach of the Australian Opals in April 2017, becoming the 11th coach in Opals history. She combines the role with her WNBA head coaching career, most recently having agreed in February 2025 to lead the Opals through to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Brondello is set to lead Australia's campaign at the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Berlin, working alongside assistant coaches Paul Goriss, Renae Garlepp and Kennedy Kereama.

A three-time Olympic medallist and 2010 inductee into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame, Brondello is one of only a small group of figures in the sport to have starred as a player and then returned her national team to the podium as head coach — guiding the Opals to a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Australia's first Olympic medal in the sport since 2012.

Opals Head Coach (2017–present)

Brondello succeeded Brendan Joyce after Australia's quarterfinal exit at the Rio 2016 Olympics. In her first major tournament in charge, she guided the Opals to a silver medal at the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain, topping their group at 3-0 and defeating China and host Spain before falling to the United States 73-56 in the final. Later that year she led Australia to gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, beating England 99-55 in the final.

The Opals were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the (COVID-delayed) Tokyo 2020 Olympics, falling to the United States. Brondello then guided Australia to a bronze medal on home soil at the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup in Sydney — the tournament in which Opals great Lauren Jackson made her celebrated late-career return — defeating Canada in the third-place game after a semifinal loss to China.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Brondello masterminded Australia's return to the Olympic podium after a 12-year medal drought, with the Opals defeating Belgium 85-81 in the bronze-medal game. It was Brondello's fourth Olympic medal overall and her first as a head coach, following three won as a player. In 2025, the Opals won gold at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup. In February 2025, Basketball Australia confirmed Brondello would remain head coach through the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.

Opals Head Coaching Record Under Brondello

WNBA Coaching Career

Brondello's coaching career began in 2005 as an assistant with the San Antonio Silver Stars under Dan Hughes, a role she held for five seasons before being promoted to head coach in 2010, leading the team to a playoff berth.

After serving as lead assistant to 2012 Coach of the Year Carol Ross with the Los Angeles Sparks (2011–13), Brondello was named head coach of the Phoenix Mercury on November 15, 2013. In her debut season, she led Phoenix to a then-WNBA record 29-5 mark and the 2014 WNBA Championship, earning her the 2014 WNBA Coach of the Year award. She went on to coach the Mercury for eight seasons (2014–2021), reaching the playoffs every year and a second WNBA Finals in 2021.

On January 7, 2022, Brondello was named the ninth head coach in New York Liberty franchise history. She led the Liberty to the playoffs in all four of her seasons, including back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances, capped by the franchise's first-ever WNBA Championship in 2024, a five-game series win over the Minnesota Lynx.

On November 4, 2025, Brondello was named the inaugural head coach of the Toronto Tempo, the WNBA's first franchise based in Canada, ahead of the club's 2026 debut season.

Across her WNBA head coaching career, Brondello ranks among the winningest coaches in league history, with two championships (2014 Phoenix, 2024 New York), three Finals appearances (2014, 2021, 2024) and a winning percentage above .590 entering the 2026 season.

Playing Career

Brondello represented Australia for 17 years across four Olympic Games (1988, 1996, 2000, 2004) and four World Championships/World Cups, retiring with three Olympic medals (bronze 1996, silver 2000, silver 2004) and two World Championship bronze medals. Her 302 Opals appearances rank third all-time behind Hall of Famers Robyn Maher and Karen Dalton.

A shooting guard, Brondello played five WNBA seasons (1998–2003) with the Detroit Shock, Miami Sol and Seattle Storm after being selected in the fourth round (34th overall) of the 1998 WNBA Draft. She was named to the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game in 1999 and averaged 11.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 41.4% shooting across 155 career games.

Brondello also enjoyed a decorated club career, playing 10 seasons in Australia's WNBL (1986–96) — earning WNBL Player of the Year in 1992 and league MVP in 1995 with the Brisbane Blazers — and a decade in Germany with BTV Wuppertal (1992–2002), winning 10 consecutive national titles, reaching four EuroLeague Final Fours and claiming the 1996 EuroLeague title and Final Four MVP award. She attended the Australian Institute of Sport in 1986–87.

Honors

• Inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame, 2010
• Inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame, 2009
• 2014 WNBA Coach of the Year
• 1999 WNBA All-Star
• 1995 WNBL Most Valuable Player
• 1996 EuroLeague Champion and Final Four MVP (BTV Wuppertal)

Brondello was born August 20, 1968, in Mackay, Queensland, where she first started playing basketball on a court her father built in the family's backyard.