Former Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner, who announced her retirement in March, has been named the head coach of the Canada senior women’s national team.

An Olympic gold medalist, FIBA world champion, former WNBA coach and executive, Fortner assumes her new role effective immediately, as announced by Canada Basketball on Monday.

Fortner is the winningest coach in USA Basketball women’s history, with a 101-14 record, including gold medals at the 1998 FIBA World Championship and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She also served as the first coach and general manager of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and guided three NCAA programs — Purdue, Auburn and Georgia Tech — to national tournament appearances, earning coach of the year honors in three different conferences.

She led Georgia Tech to only its second-ever Sweet 16 in 2021.

“I’m honored to join Canada Basketball and help lead this next chapter for the Senior Women’s National Team,” Fortner said in a release. “I’ve followed the rise of this program for years and have great respect for the culture the organization and players are building. This is a special group with the talent, toughness and togetherness and they have the ability to achieve something great – I’m excited to get to work.”

Canada’s senior women’s national team will compete this summer at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.

Canada is ranked No. 7 in the latest FIBA World Rankings.

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