Appleton native Chris DeMarco is heading to the WNBA.
DeMarco, 40, was hired as the team’s head coach Freedom of New Yorkaccording to a report from ESPN.
DeMarco is currently an assistant coach for Warriors of the Golden State in the NBA. He will continue in this role for the foreseeable future before leaving to begin his tenure with the Liberty.
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He replaces Sandy Brondello, who was fired after four seasons with the Liberty despite leading the team to WNBA Finals appearances in back-to-back seasons and its first WNBA title in 2024 against the Minnesota Lynx.
The Liberty lost in the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs to the Phoenix Mercury.
DeMarco has been an assistant with the Warriors since 2012. He has also been the head coach of the Bahamas men’s national basketball team since 2019.
Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco will take over as head coach of the New York Liberty.
The 2004 Xavier High School graduate won four NBA titles (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) while serving in various roles with the Warriors.
DeMarco was a three-year letterwinner at Xavier under head coach Lee Rabas. He played three seasons at Edgewood College in Madison and one season at Dominican University of California for his final season of NCAA eligibility in 2008-09, becoming an honorable mention NAIA All-American. He earned his MBA in Global Management in 2011 and was working in data storage for a technology company.
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In 2012, his opportunity to return to basketball presented itself with a video coordinator internship with the Warriors. DeMarco heard about the internship from John Fahey, a former Edgewood teammate.
DeMarco told the Post-Crescent in 2018 that his late father, Sal, who was a youth sports coach in the Appleton area for 25 years, was a major reason for his desire to pursue a similar career path.
“I’ve always loved the game. I’ve always loved the competitiveness. Just the excitement and the intensity of the game,” DeMarco said. “I always knew I wanted to coach. I didn’t know at what level. My dad was a youth coach, so I think from there I wanted to do the same thing.”
The Liberty are one of five WNBA teams to hire a head coach this offseason.
This article was originally published on Appleton Post-Crescent: Chris DeMarco hired to be head coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty
