Dallas Wings Hire USC Assistant Chris Koclanes As Next Head Coach

The Wings, who own the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, have found their new coach.
Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In this story:

The Dallas Wings have found their new head coach.

ESPN's Alexa Philippou reported Monday, citing sources, that Dallas hired current USC assistant Chris Koclanes as the 10th full-time head coach in franchise history.

The job opened up when the Wings fired coach Latricia Trammell following a 9–31 season, one in which Dallas missed the postseason for the first time since 2020.

The Wings, who won the draft lottery and own the No. 1 pick in 2025, are widely expected to select UConn star Paige Bueckers with the top selection. They are also returning stars in Arike Ogumbowale and Satou Sabally in 2025.

Koclanes spent eight years in the WNBA working under current Wings general manager Curt Miller, who coached the Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun. Koclanes helped Connecticut make two WNBA Finals appearances during his stint there from 2016 to '22.

He has spent the past two seasons as an assistant under Lindsay Gottlieb at USC, coaching sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins.


More of the Latest Around WNBA

feed


Published
Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.