-
Michael Voepel
-
Kevin Pelton
Close
Kevin Pelton
ESPN Senior Writer
- Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series
- Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers
- Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE system
For the second time in a week, a women’s college basketball coach has left a team in season to move to the WNBA, as the Los Angeles Sparks named Lynne Roberts as their new head coach on Tuesday night. Roberts spent the past nine seasons at Utah and was Pac-12 coach of the year in 2023.
Earlier Tuesday, new Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko met with the media for the first time after taking over on Nov. 13. Smesko had just started his 23rd season at Florida Gulf Coast when he left for the Dream.
Do the hirings signal a new trend in the WNBA? Since the WNBA launched in 1997, the league hasn’t been much of a draw for college head coaches — especially established veterans such as Roberts, 49, and Smesko, 54 — because the college game has been considered more stable and lucrative.
But with the drastic changes in college sports in recent years…
