The gymnasium where Sabrina Ionescu never lost a home game is now named after her.
Miramonte High School in Orinda officially christened the Sabrina Ionescu Gymnasium on Friday, June 26, during a "Celebrating a Champion" event that drew former teammates, local officials, and young players hoping to follow in her footsteps. The Acalanes Union High School District Governing Board had approved the renaming unanimously at its November 2025 meeting, making it the first time the district has named a facility after a former student rather than a coach or staff member.
Ionescu, a 2016 Miramonte graduate who went on to become the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, a four-time All-Star, and a 2024 Olympic gold medalist with Team USA, wore a black letterman jacket stitched with artistic recreations of her most memorable Miramonte moments. Several of her former Matador teammates surprised her by showing up.
"I couldn't have imagined when I was going to school here as a student athlete, that this would ever be an opportunity that I would have, knowing that I'm standing up here now in front of so many young girls and young boys, hopefully just being that mentor and that role model that they can look up to and say I can do this one day as well," Ionescu told the crowd.
Before the official naming, Ionescu and her former coach Kelly Sopak ran a youth basketball clinic. Current members of the Miramonte girls basketball team helped run drills alongside the WNBA star. Sopak, who coached every game Ionescu played in high school and is now head coach at the University of Nevada, noted that Ionescu went undefeated in home games at the gym formerly known as the Matadome.
Ionescu's high school record at Miramonte was 119 wins and 9 losses. As a senior, she averaged 25.3 points, 8.8 assists, 7.6 rebounds, 4.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game, leading the Matadors to a 32-1 record. She was named USA Today's girls basketball player of the year and earned McDonald's All-American honors.
AUHSD Superintendent John Nickerson said at the ceremony that few athletic facilities in the country are named after a woman. "Excellence is excellence. As a community, we recognize that," Nickerson said.
Orinda Mayor Brandyn Iverson made the official proclamation at the event. Principal Ben Campopiano also spoke, calling Ionescu an embodiment of the school's community spirit.
Lauren Sopak, Kelly Sopak's daughter and a former Miramonte teammate of Ionescu, initiated the drive to get the gym renamed, according to the Lamorinda Weekly.
Alongside the renaming, the school launched a Gymnasium Modernization Campaign through ONE Orinda, a local education nonprofit. Planned upgrades include a new gym floor, bleachers, scoreboards, murals, and sports banners. Donors contributing $2,500 or more will be recognized on a donor wall. Residents can find donation information at oneorinda.org.
