Rachid Meziane, who has lengthy coached professionally in France and leads the Belgian girls’s nationwide staff, is the brand new coach of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.
The announcement got here Wednesday, the day after the Sun named former WNBA and UConn participant Morgan Tuck as their new normal supervisor. Tuck took over for Darius Taylor, who’s now the staff’s chief basketball strategist and director of scouting.
Meziane replaces Stephanie White, who left the Sun to grow to be coach of the Indiana Fever. A local of Clermont-Ferrand, France, Meziane had led the French girls’s basketball membership, Villeneuve d’Ascq, since 2019. That staff received the Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB) championship and was EuroLeague runner-up for the 2023-24 season.
“He brings a wealth of expertise, ardour, and a confirmed monitor document of success that may assist elevate our gamers and staff as a complete,” Tuck mentioned in an announcement launched by the Sun. “Rachid’s dedication and dedication to rising girls’s basketball, internationally and domestically, brings a singular perspective each on and off the court docket that aligns with the values and imaginative and prescient of our group.”
Meziane has coached the Belgium nationwide staff since November 2022 and led it to the FIBA European girls’s championship (EuroBasket) gold medal in 2023. Belgium misplaced the bronze medal sport to Australia within the 2024 Olympics. Meziane beforehand was an assistant coach to the French girls’s nationwide staff, which received a bronze medal within the 2020 Olympics.
“I’m honored to characterize a franchise just like the Connecticut Sun, a staff and group with a wealthy historical past and a passionate fan base,” Meziane mentioned. “I stay up for working with our proficient roster and assembling a devoted teaching employees, as we proceed to construct upon the Sun’s legacy and try for a championship.”
The Sun haven’t received a WNBA title however have appeared within the WNBA Finals 4 instances. Connecticut was 28-12 this previous season and misplaced 3-2 to Minnesota within the semifinals. There might be a number of roster turnover coming for the Sun. They have simply three gamers below contract for the 2025 season in line with Her Hoops Stats, with stars Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones as unrestricted free brokers.
Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti mentioned her expertise with USA Basketball allowed her the possibility to observe Meziane in FIBA competitions.
“I’ve witnessed firsthand his distinctive basketball IQ and his skill to organize his groups to compete on the highest degree in any state of affairs,” Rizzotti mentioned. “As we regarded for a key differentiator to raise Connecticut’s success and domesticate a championship mindset for the longer term, Rachid’s intensive expertise and fervour for the sport stood out.”
There are nonetheless two head-coach openings within the WNBA for 2025, in Dallas and in Washington. The Mystics additionally haven’t named a brand new normal supervisor.
