Head coach of Nigeria’s D’Tigress, Rena Wakama, has been appointed as the new head coach of Hive BC for 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 steered the team to a historic quarter-final finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, will now lead one of the league’s two new expansion franchises as Unrivaled enters its second campaign in January 2026.

Her appointment was confirmed as the league unveiled its full coaching lineup for the upcoming season. Wakama joins a distinguished group 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), defending champion coach Nola Henry (Rose BC), and Teresa Weatherspoon (Vinyl BC).

Co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2023, Unrivaled debuted in January 2025 with a unique player-equity model and an innovative full-court 3-on-3 format. The league was created to elevate women’s basketball while offering elite players a domestic off-season competition.

For the 2026 season, Unrivaled will expand from six to eight teams, introduce a development player pool, 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 new role marks yet another significant milestone in her remarkable coaching journey, further solidifying her status as one of Africa’s most promising basketball minds and a symbol of Nigerian coaching excellence on the global stage.