As the WNBA coaching carousel spins, one more team has settled on its new bench boss.
The Seattle Storm have hired former New York Liberty assistant Sonia Raman to be the franchise's new head coach, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Friday.
According to Charania, the two sides agreed to a multi-year deal.
The hire makes Raman the first person of Indian origin to be named head coach in the WNBA.
Raman spent the last season with the Liberty after spending four years as an assistant with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies — where she was the first Indian-American woman to hold an assistant coaching position in the league.
A native of Framingham, Mass., Raman played four years of college basketball at Tufts University before moving into coaching, beginning as an assistant at Wellesley College from 2002-08, then working as the head coach at MIT from 2008-20.
While with the Grizzlies, Raman worked in scouting, player development and analytics under head coach Taylor Jenkins.
The Storm parted ways with head coach Noelle Quinn — who held the position for five seasons — at the end of the 2025 campaign following a 23-21 regular-season record and a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces.
With this hire, New York is the only team still without a head coach. The Liberty didn't renew Sandy Brondello's contract after they lost in the opening round to Phoenix. Brondello was then hired by the Toronto Tempo as their inaugural head coach.
Raman was up for the New York job as well.
The Storm could look very different next year with All-Stars Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams and Brittney Sykes set to be unrestricted free agents. Most veteran players in the WNBA will be under a new collective bargaining agreement, expected to raise salaries when it finally gets done.
Still, Raman will have sensational young forward Dominique Malonga, who was the No. 2 pick the draft last season.
-- With files from the Associated Press


