Sparks Turn to College Ranks: Utah’s Lynne Roberts Named Head Coach

Days after missing out on the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, the Los Angeles Sparks hired their next head coach. L.A. dipped into the college ranks and signed Lynne Roberts from Utah as the replacement for Curt Miller.

Roberts is the second head coach in a week hired in the WNBA from the NCAA women’s basketball ranks—despite the season starting on Nov. 4—after the Atlanta Dream hired Karl Smesko from Florida Gulf Coast last Wednesday.

Roberts had a 162–115 record in nine full seasons as the Utes coach, including three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances since 2022. Utah’s last tournament appearance before Roberts’s tenure was in 2011.

Her departure comes despite signing a contract extension in the summer with Utah through 2030. But there’s been a ton of tension in the college ranks given NIL (name, image, and likeness) and realignment—and Utah was one of the affected schools, moving from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 in August. The Utes were also a target of a pair of racial hate incidents during last year’s NCAA tournament.

The WNBA Coaching Market

The financial details of Roberts’s deal with the Sparks are unknown. There are varying reports as to what her salary was with the Utes. According to USA Today, she was expected to earn $709,500 with a $305,000 maximum bonus this year for a potential total north of $1 million. In 2022, USA Today pegged her to have a $410,000 salary with a $190,000 bonus, while The Salt Lake Tribune reported Roberts made $695,000 that year.

Only two WNBA head coaches made more than $1 million last season—Nate Tibbetts of the Phoenix Mercury (approximately $1.2 million) and Becky Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces ($1 million). The Athletic reported before Smesko was hired by the Dream that the low-end salaries for WNBA head coaches last season were $350,000.

The market for salaries is expected to rise as the league continues to grow and as the money from the new $2.2 billion media-rights deal is already expected to come in by 2026. It may not be enough to lure in the biggest names in women’s college basketball—Kim Mulkey, Geno Auriemma, and Dawn Staley all make north of $3 million—but it’s clear the market for WNBA coaches is going up.

“There’s no better time to join the W than right now,” Smesko said during his introductory press conference Tuesday. “This is the most exciting time for the league.”

Three WNBA head coaching positions are still available: the Connecticut Sun, Dallas Wings, and Washington Mystics.