Head Coach

On December 4, 2024, the Connecticut Sun announced Rachid Meziane as the franchise's seventh head coach. Meziane, a native of Clermont-Ferrand, France, brings a wealth of basketball knowledge to Connecticut, having enjoyed great success as a head coach in the French women’s basketball sphere, as well as a head coach for Belgium Women’s Basketball in FIBA competition.

Since the 2019 season, Meziane has served at the head coach of successful French women’s basketball club, Villeneuve d’Ascq, where he most recently led the team to a Ligue Feminine de Basketball (LFB) Championship and a EuroLeague runner up finish during the 2023-24 season. The squad finished with a 19-3 record during the regular season and a 6-0 playoff run in LFB competition, with an average margin of victory of 17.7 points per game. Villeneuve also led the league in points per game (86.0), 2FG% (55.0), 3FG% (38.6), and rebounds (36.2), and were second in assists (20.9) and opponent 2FG% (43.9). With the team, he’s coached the likes of New York Liberty’s Kennedy Burke, former WNBA Most Improved Player and WNBA Champion Shavonte Zellous, and the ninth overall pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft, Carla Leite. Prior to Villeneuve d’Ascq, Meziane served as the head coach for French clubs, Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomération (BLMA) (2017-2018) and Cavigal Nice Basket (2012-2017).

Meziane has also found immense achievement on the international basketball stage, having served as the Belgium Women’s Basketball National Team Head Coach since November 2022. Meziane led Belgium to it’s first-ever FIBA European Women’s Championship (EuroBasket) Gold Medal in 2023, with an undefeated 6-0 record in the tournament, knocking off France in the semifinals and defeating Spain in the championship matchup. The team’s average margin of victory during their EuroBasket run was 25.0 points per game; the dominating success earning Meziane the Belgian Sports Coach of the Year honor in 2023.

Meziane also led the Belgian Women’s National team, which included the talents of WNBA Champion and two-time WNBA All-Star Emma Meesseman and Washington Mystics rookie guard Julie Vanloo, to an impressive fourth place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics, falling just short to Australia in the bronze medal game. Prior to his time with the Belgian team, Meziane was an assistant coach with the France Women’s Basketball National Team from 2014-2021 and helped guide the French to silver medals at the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 European Championships and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Meziane currently resides in Chereng, France with his wife, Stephanie Meziane (Dubois), his son, Tinahel, and his daughter, Imahia.