Turnover is the only way to describe the early WNBA offseason. Five head coaching jobs are available after recent hires. The Dallas Wings hired Curt Miller as general manager, while the Washington Mystics, Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx have GM openings of their own. And by the way, there are two expansion franchises slated to begin play in 2026 who will need a GM and head coach.
Next season, we’ll see new coaches on the sideline for over half of the league. WNBA teams will hire nearly as many new front office executives over the next two seasons, too.
The Golden State Valkyries, who will begin play in 2025, hired Ohemaa Nyanin as general manager and lead decision-maker in May. Now, the Valkyries know where they will pick in the draft. They have the expansion draft rules. Heck, they even have a head coach in the newly-announced Natalie Nakase.
With the Valkyries ready to rock, well, other than knowing which players will actually wear their uniform, it begs the question as to when the Toronto and Portland expansion franchises will undergo the same steps.
Toronto and Portland won’t begin play until 2026; they have time. Neither franchise has a name yet. But, just before Golden State announced their team’s name and brand identity as the Valkyries, they announced Nyanin as general manager. The announcements came just before the 2024 season so I’d assume by the time the 2025 season tips off and we see the Valkyries on the floor for the first time, we’ll see similar announcements from the Portland and Toronto camps.
Both expansion franchises have competition in the GM market due to the openings in Washington and Las Vegas. Naming a GM is the presumed next domino to fall for both expansion teams, the question is whether the current WNBA landscape may hurry those decisions. The good news is, a plethora of strong candidates are out there, so we figured now was a good time to discuss a handful of those candidates that you may see lead a WNBA front office in the near future.
Potential WNBA GM Candidates:
Brandi Poole – Poole, an assistant coach on the Dallas Wings’ staff since 2022, is an under-the-radar candidate for a lead front office job for any of the current openings. She spent time on Curt Miller’s staffs at Bowling Green and Indiana, then joined him with the Connecticut Sun as an assistant from 2018-22.
Poole has WNBA front office experience and was recently in discussion for another front office role, sources told Winsidr. Plus, Poole was the director of operations for the Portland Fire during the WNBA’s first stint in Rose City.
Monica Wright Rogers – Wright Rogers, assistant general manager for the Phoenix Mercury, brings the player perspective to any front office. She was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx second overall in 2010 and won two titles with the team. During her seven seasons in the WNBA, she spent time on the players association board as secretary-treasurer.
After her playing career, she spent time as both a coach and in business-centered roles before she decided to focus on the business side of basketball. Now, as assistant GM with Phoenix, she helps manage the cap, oversees operations for the team and assists with player evaluation and scouting. Phoenix has made numerous moves to make an immediate impact and stay afloat with Wright Rogers working in the front office. Most notably, last offseason’s blockbuster deal which brought Kahleah Copper to the Mercury.
Morgan Tuck – Another former WNBA champion and top draft pick, Tuck is now the Connecticut Sun’s director of franchise development and assistant GM. She joined the Sun’s front office in 2021 shortly after she announced her retirement from the WNBA. Connecticut drafted Tuck with the third overall pick in 2016.
While the former UConn product and Sun player may want to stay in Connecticut, Tuck may be in line for a lead front office role in the near future. She has assisted general manager Darius Taylor on plenty of critical transactions over the past two seasons that kept the Sun as one of the WNBA’s true contenders.
Michael Fischer – Fischer was a longtime fixture in the Los Angeles Sparks front office where he served as vice president of player personnel and assistant GM. He spent a period with full general manager responsibilities, too, bringing experience as a lead decision maker.
Since 2022, Fischer has consulted for various WNBA organizations, both existing and expansion teams, according to his LinkedIn page. The expansion piece is interesting. Maybe Fischer has already worked with the Toronto and/or Portland expansion franchises, maybe he hasn’t. Maybe he helped the Golden State Valkyries through their initial stages. Nevertheless, a candidate with Fischer’s WNBA front office background can’t be ignored.
Maria Giovannetti – Giovannetti has spent over a decade with the Washington Mystics, currently as assistant general manager and senior vice president of strategy and vision. Previously, she spent time leading basketball operations in Washington.
She has worked alongside former general manager and head coach Mike Thibault in roster construction, including the Mystics teams that went to back-to-back WNBA Finals in 2018 and 2019, and securing that first-ever title in 2019. As assistant general manager the past five seasons, Giovannetti also has advanced player development, scouting and the facilitation of player support functions under purview. She clearly has the background to head up a front office and makes sense to take over in Washington, but she’s also a great fit for any current openings if the Mystics hire externally.
More Names to Consider
Mike Thibault, Former Washington Mystics General Manager and Head Coach – Thibault can’t be ignored for the league’s open vacancies. The Mystics and Thibault recently agreed to part ways this, which makes one of the most accomplished GMs in WNBA history available. Thibault wore the dual hat as Washington head coach and GM from 2012-23 when he moved away from the bench to lead the team’s basketball operations. To me, the question is whether Thibault will jump into another job right away.
Clare Duwelius, Minnesota Lynx General Manager – Duwelius works in another top front office alongside president of basketball operations and head coach Cheryl Reeve. Reeve was named both the WNBA Coach of the Year and Basketball Executive of the Year in 2024. Duwelius is a longtime fixture in the Lynx front office, and I’m not sure she’s necessarily ready to leave, but could a new opportunity with one of the league’s newest franchises make sense?
Editor’s Note: Duwelius was announced as the executive vice president and general manager for Unrivaled after the time of writing, which takes her name off the board for potential WNBA GM openings. Duwelius’s departure from the Minnesota Lynx carves yet another potential open WNBA GM job.
Pokey Chatman, Seattle Storm Assistant Coach and Associate General Manager – Chatman wore the dual hat as head coach and general manager for nearly a decade in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever. She has worked with the Storm since 2022 through tons of roster change, which includes the free agent acquisitions of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Chatman has a plethora of basketball experience across the WNBA, collegiate and international ranks. A true legend of the game.
Eli Horowitz, Los Angeles Sparks Assistant General Manager – Horowitz has worked in LA’s front office since 2018. He initially led public relations and communications for the team, then helped and eventually led analytics for the Sparks. He was named assistant general manager in 2023 and most recently was promoted to assistant general manager and vice president of scouting and analytics when Raegan Pebley was named Sparks general manager ahead of the 2024 season. Horowitz is a young star amongst WNBA executives, similar to Nyanin.
Editor’s Note: While we believe Horowitz is a legitimate candidate for future lead WNBA front office roles, we acknowledge he was part of the Winsidr team before he joined the Sparks.
