WNBA free agency is halted, but the Toronto Tempo are still making additions

Despite no updates on the state of negotiations between the WNBA and players since the two sides agreed to a free agency moratorium earlier in the week, there is still movement happening in the WNBA — just on the coaching side.

The Toronto Tempo announced Wednesday that they have added two new coaches to new head coach Sandy Brondello’s staff as assistants. Ciara Carl and Brian Lankton will join Toronto’s first-ever coaching staff as the expansion franchise prepares to launch in the 2026 WNBA season.

Both coaches seem to have connections to Brondello and Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rogers. Lankton comes to Toronto from New York, where he most recently served as a Player Development Coach/Video Coordinator for the Liberty. He also has experience as a Video Coordinator in Indiana in the G League, as well as in Sacramento (with the NBA’s Kings), and with Team USA Basketball.

Ciara Carl is coming to Toronto by way of the Phoenix Mercury, where she has served as Head Video Coordinator/Assistant Coach since 2023. She also has experience on the college level, having coached at places like the University of North Texas, San Diego State, and Metropolitan State University of Denver.

It seems like both Lankton and Carl will get the promotion from their video coordinator roles to full-fledged assistant coaches. It’s a great opportunity to start a new role with a team, on a brand-new expansion team. Yet, they will also be under the mentorship of Brondello, a two-time WNBA champion as a head coach.

While it’s not official yet, there is talk that Brondello’s staff of assistants will be rounded out by Olaf Lange (her husband). Lange, who serves as the head coach for the German women’s national team, has a long coaching resume — most recently as an assistant coach on Brondello’s Liberty staff, and before that as an assistant for the Chicago Sky.

While the Tempo’s coaching situation seems to be settling, they still don’t have any players to coach. The WNBA’s ongoing contract dispute means they have not been able to hold an expansion draft for the Tempo and the Portland Fire yet, but they are still making moves where they can to prepare for the time when they can build out their roster.