New UPSHOT League announces Yolanda Moore as inaugural Head Coach of the Nashville Vibe

The Nashville Vibe, the newest addition to the UPSHOT league, announced Yolanda Moore as the team’s first head coach on Wednesday, Oct. 7, in a press conference at the Nashville Vibe offices.

The UPSHOT League is a professional independent women’s basketball league that launched with four teams in 2026. The Jacksonville Waves, Savannah Steel, Greensboro Groove, and the first ever UPSHOT League champions, the Charlotte Crown.

Nashville was officially awarded its expansion franchise by the UPSHOT League on April 9, 2026, and they now have a head coach with much anticipation ahead of the team’s first season.

“We are building this team around three commitments: Joy, belonging, and basketball excellence,” Nancy VanReese, president and CEO of the Nashville Vibe, said.

For a city like Nashville that just missed out on being a WNBA expansion franchise, there can be obstacles in the way to in order to bring excitement that a WNBA team would, without actually having one.

“Joy is the excitement of a close game… belonging means when you come to a Nashville Vibe game, you know you have a place there… and basketball excellence is the standard that we will give and guide,” VanReese said.

The Deputy Commissioner of the UPSHOT League, Taj McWilliams-Franklin was next to the podium. A 15-year WNBA legend, a Hall of Famer, and the all-time offensive rebounds leader when she retired, McWilliams has ties to Moore. Both women were a part of the inaugural Orlando Miracle roster in 1999, and McWilliams-Franklin had nothing but praise for her former teammate and longtime friend.

“She’s experienced this game at the highest level and spent years coaching, mentoring, and pouring in[to] others,” McWilliams-Franklin said. “She’ll allow her players to grow, to compete, but she’ll challenge them to be better on and off the court.”

The UPSHOT League prides itself on giving the players who may not have been drafted to the WNBA that second chance that can spark something special. Nashville Vibe Head Coach Yolanda Moore shared her experience in this game and how she can relate to her players in that aspect.

“I know what it’s like to go from being a superstar in college, to sitting down by the cooler at the end of the bench,” Coach Moore said. “There are so many players who haven’t gotten an opportunity at the professional level, and this gives them an opportunity.”

Moore brings about as much experience as you could draw up for a brand new franchise. Her playing career brought three all-conference selections for the University of Mississippi, and was inducted to the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. She adds two WNBA championship rings to the resume, both with the Houston Comets.

Her coaching experience brings stints at the high school level, and more notably the college ranks, where she led LSU Eunice women’s basketball to a 26-3 record in just one season at the helm of the Lady Bengals. In that season, she led the team to its first-ever regular season conference title, and was named the 2013-2014 NJCAA Region 23 Coach of the Year.

VanReese was asked about the process of hiring a coach and how Moore was ultimately the final decision. She replied, “We did interview a handful of candidates. We were so overwhelmed with joy to find out that Yo[landa] was gonna be available that we leaned in as hard and as fast as we could.”

The inaugural season for the Vibe is set to begin sometime in late May and run through late August, according to VanReese. She also shared that the home games will be played in the historic Memorial Gymnasium at Vanderbilt University. For information about upcoming games, season tickets, and the UPSHOT League, visit nashvillevibe.com to learn more.

“I didn’t know that this is where I needed to be, but now that I’m here, I wouldn’t want to be any place else,” Moore said. “I am excited about what we are building and I’m ready to get started, so it’s up from here.”

Featured Image taken by Will Blackmon