With the WNBA pulling the curtain on its season with only two potential games left, the hype for Unrivaled is already underway. The 3-on-3 women’s basketball league will tip off its third season on January 8, 2027, and while major expansion, touring stops, and increased valuation changes surround the upcoming season, we will also see a new-look coaching staff. Teresa Weatherspoon returns for her third stint as head coach with Vinyl BC alongside four other returning coaches. But the coaching staff is completed with three new faces: Jarell Christian for Breeze BC, Barb Turner for Hive BC, and Pokey Chatman for Lunar Owls BC.

“We’re proud to welcome back so many talented coaches who have been with Unrivaled since our inaugural season and for the foundation they continue to help build. Adding new coaches with fresh perspectives further strengthens this group, whose breadth of experience will continue to elevate the best players in the world. We’re grateful to Noelle Quinn, DJ Sackmann and Rena Wakama for their contributions to the league and their respective clubs. We’re excited for what’s ahead in season three,” Unrivaled President of Basketball Clare Duwelius said.

Teresa Weatherspoon was one of the six inaugural coaches Unrivaled announced back on November 15, 2024. In the league’s third season, she is one of three remaining alongside Rose BC’s Nola Henry and Laces BC’s Andrew Wade. From the NCAA, WNBA, NBA, and now Unrivaled, Weatherspoon made a mark everywhere in her near two-decade career. After coaching the Chicago Sky for only one season two years ago, she took charge of Vinyl BC and guided the team to a playoff run that culminated in a championship game against Rose BC. Unfortunately for Weatherspoon, Henry’s side won the inaugural title 62-54.

Weatherspoon’s side once again made the semifinals in the second season but were eliminated by the Kelsey Plum-led Phantom BC, which won 83-75. Despite not winning a championship yet, Weatherspoon has proven her body of work in Unrivaled’s first two seasons and established Vinyl BC as a title contender. In the league’s third season, Vinyl BC players once again have the opportunity to be coached by a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, two-time Olympic medalist, and five-time WNBA All-Star.

Beyond her accolades, Weatherspoon’s greatest strength as a head coach lies in her words and the relationships she builds with her players. Angel Reese once offered a glimpse into that connection, revealing how “at home” she felt when Weatherspoon, who was the Sky’s head coach at that time, called her after she was selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the WNBA Draft.

“I think it made my rookie year pretty easy because I had a coach that already played the game, already knew what it was, and could keep it real because you’re a player’s coach,” Reese said on her podcast, Unapologetically Angel, last year.

Dearica Hamby, who has played for Weatherspoon’s Vinyl BC in each of the past two years, also shared her perspective.

“I think she is able to separate sports, so to say, from just being a human in life. It’s her way of motivating you and the way that she’s able to speak words of literally everything — empowerment, encouragement — to you… She has a way of making you believe in the person you are, more so than the player,” the Los Angeles Sparks forward said.

Meanwhile, former UConn Huskies alum Barbara Turner will begin her first stint as head coach with Hive BC after finishing her second season as an assistant coach with the Washington Mystics, helping the franchise earn the No. 5 seed in the 2026 WNBA playoffs as the youngest playoff team in league history. The 2003 and 2004 NCAA champion was also an assistant coach in the NBA with the Houston Rockets (2021-22) and in the NBA G League with the South Bay Lakers (2024-25) and the Capital City Go-Go (2022-23). Hive BC finished last in the standings in the 2026 season with a 4-10 record, so it will be interesting to see where Turner’s coaching and playing experience as a former Seattle Storm player takes them next season.

Jarell Christian is another newcomer head coach for Breeze BC, an expansion side that finished fifth seed in the regular season with a 6-8 record last season. Just like Turner, the 40-year-old also worked in the NBA G League, spending three seasons (2022-25) as general manager of the Maine Celtics and leading them to consecutive 30-win seasons for the first time in franchise history. In 2021, Christian joined the Boston Celtics organization as the first head coach in Maine Celtics history. Christian now has the opportunity to coach one of the WNBA’s best players, Paige Bueckers.

Completing the trio of Unrivaled’s new head coaches is Pokey Chatman for Lunar Owls BC. Chatman has the most extensive coaching resume of all coaches, spanning more than two decades. The former LSU player began her coaching stint at her very own former program from 2004 to 2007. She later coached WBC Spartak (2008-10), the Chicago Sky (2011-16), and Indiana Fever (2017-19). Chatman then served as both an assistant coach and associate general manager for the Seattle Storm (2022-2025), and recently as head coach of the Brazilian women’s basketball team (2024-2026). The 57-year-old now faces a challenge in her first season in Unrivaled, putting the Owls back in playoff contention after a 4-10 regular-season record last season.

As for Weatherspoon, the third-year head coach will hope that third time’s the charm for Vinyl BC to win its first Unrivaled championship after two close calls.