The Los Angeles Sparks have a new head coach.
The Sparks named current Utah women’s basketball coach Lynne Roberts their next head coach Tuesday night. Roberts will immediately leave her position with the Utes to move to the WNBA, and associate head coach Gavin Petersen will take over in Salt Lake City.
“I am honored to be named the next head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks,” Roberts said in a statement. “I want to thank our ownership group for this incredible opportunity…The Sparks have a talented team with tremendous potential, and we will relentlessly compete for WNBA championships. I believe Los Angeles should be the premier market in the WNBA, and I look forward to partnering with our players and front office to make this happen.
THE Sparks split from Miller earlier this fall after a difficult season which was supposed to mark the start of a reconstruction. The team selected Cameron Brink with the No. 2 overall pick and Rickea Jackson with the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft, but Brink tore his ACL in June and missed the entire season .
The Sparks then finished last in the WNBA standings with an 8-32 record. Miller finished just 22-55 in his two seasons with the organization. He was hired last week as the new vice president and general manager of the Dallas Wings, who will go first overall in next year’s draft.
Roberts has spent the last 19 years at the college level, first at Pacific before being hired at Utah in 2015. The Utes have made the NCAA tournament in each of the last three seasons and won the title of the Pac-12 regular season in 2023. They were eliminated in the second round of the tournament by Gonzaga last year.
Utah started the season 3-1, with its only loss coming against Northwestern last week. Roberts would finish with an overall record of 165-116 with the Utes.
“Lynne Roberts has done an exceptional job elevating our women’s basketball program to the championship level, and I have truly enjoyed working with her during my six-plus years at Utah,” the athletic director said. Mark Harlan in a statement. “She took our program to incredible heights and made an incredible impact as a leader in our athletics department. Lynne, Katelin and their family became great friends, and Carolyn and I will be greatly missed. And although it is very difficult to see her move on, I am excited about her new coaching challenge and wish her every success.
Roberts will now be tasked with turning the Sparks around after what has been a difficult time in Southern California. The franchise, which won its third championship in 2016 under coach Brian Agler, has missed the playoffs in each of the last four seasons and has failed to have a winning record over that span.
However, Roberts and the Sparks will have the second overall pick in next summer’s WNBA Draft, and Brink should be healthy in time for the start of the season – both of which should help next season considerably. With Jackson coming off a strong rookie campaign and veteran Dearica Hamby still in her prime, Roberts appears to be in a good starting spot this spring.
