The Los Angeles Sparks underwent a lot of changes ahead of the 2025 season. They added Kelsey Plum and brought in a new coaching staff headlined by Lynne Roberts, who had not coached in the WNBA before. The Sparks had a variety of problems that caused them to miss the playoffs. Adjusting to a new coaching staff and All-Star always takes time. On top of that, the Sparks were without Cameron Brink for most of the season, as she was still recovering from a torn ACL she suffered in her rookie season.
Nevertheless, the Sparks had their moments in the second half of the season and made a serious playoff push. A big reason for their improvement was the addition of Latricia Teammell, who brought WNBA coaching experience and a defensive focus to an inexperienced coaching staff.
Once five teams—the Storm, Fire, Tempo, Wings, and Liberty—began searching for head coaches, it seemed possible that the Sparks might lose Trammell to a new job. After all, Trammell has been coaching since 1994, working her way from coaching in high school to college and then the WNBA, where she served as an assistant and head coach for several years. That experience made her an interesting candidate for a few open positions, but the Sparks may be able to keep her around after all.
Only one coaching position remains open
The Fire, Tempo, Storm, and Wings have all found their new (or first) head coaches already. Sandy Brondello will take over in Toronto, Jose Fernandez will lead the Wings from now on, Sonia Raman will get her first head coaching position in Seattle, and the Fire hired Alex Sarama. New York is the only team currently without a head coach.
The Liberty’s coaching search is reportedly focused on candidates with NBA and/or G League experience. Will Weaver, Kristi Toliver, Lindsey Harding, and Joseph Blair are some of the names that have been connected to the Liberty. Latricia Trammell has extensive coaching experience, but has never worked in the NBA or G League. So, she may not be one of the top candidates for the Liberty job, which is good news for the Sparks.
If the Sparks manage to re-sign Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum in free agency, they will undoubtedly want to make the playoffs. They will need to tighten up the defense and have WNBA coaching experience on the staff to do that. Trammell helped with that in the 2025 season. Her impact may be even bigger if she gets a full season with the team.