Alumna Sonia Raman Hired as Head Coach of WNBA's Seattle Storm

MEDFORD, MA (October 28, 2025) - Sonia Raman, a 1996 Tufts University graduate and member of the Jumbo women's basketball team, was announced today as the new head coach of the WNBA's Seattle Storm.

> Read the Seattle Storm release here

Raman was previously an assistant coach for the New York Liberty in the WNBA this past season. Prior to that, she worked four seasons as an assistant coach for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. In that role, she joined a group of trailblazing women coaching men's professional sports teams in 2021.

Her path to a professional coaching career started at Tufts, though it was not in her sights when she arrived on campus in 1992. Raman wasn't even recruited to play basketball. A pre-med student who switched to international relations, she joined the Jumbo team as a walk-on, and quickly earned a reputation as a hard worker. 

An unfortunate accident—she was hit by a car in her junior year—forced her to the sidelines with a broken leg, but the injury led to a taste of what coaching was like.

"I was never the most talented player on my team, so my value always had to be being prepared and being a great teammate," Raman said after she was hired by the Grizzlies. Being sidelined, she drew on those attributes. "I was trying to help the team by encouraging my teammates and also starting to really study the game more." She made such an impact that she was voted captain as a senior.

Raman developed as a coach during two years as an assistant at Tufts under Janice Savitz, but didn't see coaching as a long-term option. It wasn't until later, after earning a law degree from Boston College and working for the U.S. Department of Labor and Fidelity Investments, that she returned to coaching at Wellesley College and realized it was her passion. She then landed her first full-time coaching job at MIT and became the program's all-time victories leader as well as a two-time NEWMAC Coach of the Year.

Rich Cho, the Grizzlies' vice president of basketball strategy, originally called Raman to inquire about the bright and talented student-athletes she coached at MIT. However, after getting to know Raman, Cho called again and offered her an opportunity to interview with the general manager and head coach. She was hired, and during her time in Memphis the Grizzlies recorded two 50+ win seasons and finished first in the Southwest Division twice.

Last year with the Liberty, Raman helped coach a team featuring WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu to a 27-17 record. Before she was hired by the Storm, ESPN had reported that Raman was a candidate for the Liberty's head coaching position which had opened in September.

Originally from Framingham, Massachusetts, Raman made history as the first Indian American woman to coach in the NBA. Now she does so again as the first Indian head coach in the WNBA. She takes over a young Seattle team which features Dominique Malonga, who was the #2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft and a member of the 2025 WNBA All-Rookie Team.