With the 2026 G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi season just one week away, the free agency picture is almost complete.
Across the league, the major roster foundations have already been laid. The stars are in place, the imports have arrived or are on their way, and the latest wave of signings is increasingly about depth, development and adding the final pieces before opening night.
The Southern Hoiho have completed their import group with vastly experienced former WNBA draftee Julie Wojta, while continuing to invest in local talent through Tia Pavihi and Alex Duff.
Defending champions Whai have added a mix of experience and versatility, including globetrotting guard Nici Gilday, German international Patricia Brossmann and Australian guard Carla Pitman, while Carly Ohia joins the club's development pathway.
Meanwhile, the Mainland Pouākai continue to balance experience with emerging New Zealand talent, bringing in Aussie-Kiwi guard Sari Mowbray while managing to retain two of the country's brightest young prospects in Emelia Ainley and Ava Jones.
With rosters close to complete, this week's signings offer a near last look at how each team plans to round out its rotation before the 2026 season begins.
The Southern Hoiho have continued to combine international experience with local development.
Julie Wojta completes the club's import group, bringing more than a decade of professional basketball experience to Dunedin, while Tia Pavihi and Alex Duff give the Hoiho two young Otago products continuing their development path on the Tauihi and Rapid League stage.
Few players entering Tauihi this season can match the breadth of Julie Wojta's professional career.
The American forward was selected with the 18th pick of the 2012 WNBA Draft, becoming the first University of Wisconsin-Green Bay player to be drafted. She was initially selected by Phoenix before joining Minnesota, and later playing for the San Antonio Silver Stars.
From there, Wojta built a lengthy European career spanning Belgium, Italy, Spain and France.
Most recently, she averaged 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for French champions Basket Landes during the 2025-26 season.
Her résumé also includes Defensive Player of the Year honours in Italy and Forward of the Year recognition in Spain.
Before turning professional, Wojta played four NCAA Division I seasons at UW-Green Bay, winning three Horizon League titles and finishing her career with programme records for career double-doubles and single-season steals.
Her experience will be key.
Wojta has played at virtually every level of the professional game and gives Hoiho another veteran capable of influencing both ends of the floor.
Her defensive résumé is particularly notable, while her ability to rebound and contribute without needing to dominate possession should fit well around the established pieces already retained in Dunedin.
Tia Pavihi returns for another season after making her first appearances with Hoiho in 2025.
The 191cm guard played three Tauihi games and seven Rapid League games last season, with a Rapid best of eight points against Mainland Pouākai.
Her strongest recent performances have come in the tertiary game.
Pavihi was selected to the All-Star Five at the 2026 National Tertiary Championships after averaging 18.6 points per game for silver-medallists Otago University.
She has previously represented New Zealand in age-group basketball, including at the 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships, where she averaged 7.2 points per game.
Pavihi offers an intriguing physical profile.
At 191cm with a guard skill set, she has the size to create difficult match-ups while continuing to develop as a perimeter player.
Another season inside the senior environment gives Pavihi the chance to translate strong age-group and tertiary production into a bigger Tauihi and Rapid League role.
Alex Duff represents another investment in the southern pathway.
The Dunedin guard has been around the Hoiho programme since 2023 and has made appearances in both Tauihi and Rapid League competition.
Her recent form at university level has been particularly impressive.
Duff averaged 20.4 points per game for Otago University at the 2026 National Tertiary Championships, earning selection to the All-Star Five.
She also led Columba College to its first Secondary Schools National Championships appearance in 2024, averaging a team-high 19.1 points during the tournament.
Duff gives the Hoiho another local guard with genuine scoring ability in the developing group.
Her opportunity now is to build on strong school and tertiary performances and become more comfortable operating against senior professionals in the Rapid League and the Tauihi level when called upon.
Keeping talented Otago players within the pathway also remains important for a club that has consistently emphasised its connection to the region.
Player to watch: Wojta is the standout Hoiho addition from this week's group. Her WNBA background and 14 seasons in Europe make her one of the most experienced imports entering Tauihi in 2026.
The defending champions continue to balance experience with upside.
Nici Gilday brings more than a decade of professional basketball experience, Patricia Brossmann adds physicality and elite rebounding, Carla Pitman offers two-way versatility after two seasons in the WNBL, and Carly Ohia becomes another promising New Zealand player entering the club's development pathway.
Together, they add depth and flexibility to a roster that will look considerably different from the one that won the 2025 championship to become the first back-to-back champs in the Tauihi history.
Nici Gilday brings one of the deepest résumés of any player joining Tauihi this season.
The American guard has spent the past decade playing professionally across Australia, Sweden, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Latvia, Bulgaria and Greece.
Most recently, she led Amyntas in the Greek A1 League with 18.3 points and 5.3 assists per game during the 2025-26 season.
Her scoring prowess dates back to Santa Clara University, where she averaged 19.1 points as a senior, earned First Team All-West Coast Conference honours and led NCAA Division I basketball in free-throw percentage at 94.5 percent.
Gilday provides experience, composure and another high-level decision-maker.
Head Coach Tane Bennett has identified her basketball IQ and ability to stay composed under pressure as key strengths.
For a Whai team integrating several new faces, having a veteran guard capable of organising the floor and generating offence should be particularly valuable..
Patricia Brossmann gives Whai a proven international frontcourt presence.
The 185cm German forward represented her country at the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament and has played professionally in Germany, France, Italy and Australia.
Her most recent season was an outstanding one with the Perth Redbacks in NBL1 West.
Brossmann averaged 19.3 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, leading the team on the glass while finishing second in scoring.
Before turning professional, she made 119 NCAA Division I appearances at the University of San Diego and finished eighth on the programme's all-time rebounding list.
Rebounding and physicality will be a key piece of here .
Brossmann gives Whai a forward who can control the glass, run the floor and help initiate transition offence after securing possession.
Her ability to space the floor also adds flexibility to a frontcourt that already contains considerable athleticism.
Carla Pitman enters Tauihi for the first time already having considerable professional experience at just 22 years of age.
The Australian guard has played two seasons in the WNBL with Sydney Flames, making 41 appearances, and followed that experience with an outstanding NBL1 South campaign for Mt Gambier.
Pitman averaged 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in 2026 and was named Mt Gambier's Defensive Player of the Year.
She has also demonstrated her ability to impact every part of the stat sheet, posting a 16-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double during the 2025 NBL1 season.
Versatility.
Pitman can create for herself, create for teammates, rebound from the guard position and defend multiple spots.
That makes her particularly valuable to Bennett, who has described her versatility as the "ultimate weapon" for the new-look Whai roster.
She also arrives with existing chemistry after playing alongside Whai forward Eva Langton at Mt Gambier, which should make the transition that much smoother.
Carly Ohia joins the Whai as another player whose résumé suggests significant potential yet to be tapped.
The 183cm forward has been a standout across the Waikato pathway and was selected to the All-Star Five at the 2026 National Tertiary Championships after averaging 19.6 points per game for champion Waikato University.
Her 3x3 résumé is equally strong.
Ohia represented New Zealand at the 2025 U23 3x3 World Cup in China and was named MVP of the 2025 Tertiary 3x3 National Championships before earning another tournament-team selection in 2026.
She also represented New Zealand at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup.
Ohia's appeal may lie in her versatility.
Bennett believes she has flown under the radar considering what she has already achieved, and sees a skill set capable of fitting multiple roles within Whai's roster.
As a developing player, she will have time to adjust to professional basketball while bringing size, experience and a competitive edge from day one.
Player to watch: Gilday enters Tauihi directly from an 18-point, five-assist season in Greece and brings a decade of professional experience. She could quickly become the key piece of the new-look Whai backcourt
Mainland Pouākai have added another perimeter threat while continuing to invest in two players who could become major figures in New Zealand basketball.
Sari Mowbray arrives after six seasons in Australia's NBL1 East system, while Emelia Ainley and Ava Jones return after standout junior international and domestic campaigns.
Sari Mowbray joins Pouākai as an Australian-developed guard with New Zealand eligibility and extensive NBL1 experience.
The 22-year-old brings extensive NBL1 East experience after six seasons with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. During the 2026 campaign, Mowbray averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while knocking down 2.5 three-pointers per contest, highlighting the perimeter threat she brings to the Pouākai backcourt. She was also part of Manly’s 2025 championship-winning side.
Mowbray's perimeter shooting is central to her appeal, with an ability to spread the floor punishing defenses who linger in the paint while opening space when the defensive attention gets too focused on limiting her perimeter opportunities.
Perimeter gravity..
Pouākai already have multiple players capable of breaking down defences and creating opportunities for others. Adding another guard who can punish rotations from beyond the arc should create even more room for that group to operate.
Her years in NBL1 also mean she arrives with considerably more senior experience than a typical 22-year-old Tauihi rookie.
Few New Zealand prospects enter the 2026 season with more momentum than Emelia Ainley.
The 195cm centre is still only 16 but has already produced at national, international and Tauihi development level.
Ainley made three Tauihi appearances for Pouākai last season and also played five Rapid League games, including a 14-rebound performance that set a Pouākai Rapid League record.
Her international campaign was even more impressive.
At the 2026 FIBA U17 Women's World Cup, Ainley led New Zealand in both scoring at 11.9 points per game and rebounding at 10.3 per game as the Junior Tall Ferns produced a historic fifth-place finish.
She shot a tournament-best 56.9 percent from the field and ranked third among all players in rebounding.
Ainley also averaged 15.0 points for Canterbury's championship-winning team at the 2026 U20 Nationals and had previously been selected to the All-Star Five at the 2025 FIBA U16 Asia Cup after averaging a double-double.
Ainley's size already stands out, but it is the production that goes with it that makes her especially intriguing as a prospect.
At 195cm she provides genuine interior presence, yet her efficiency and rebounding suggest a player already beginning to master how to use that size effectively against strong competition.
The Pouākai do not need to rush her. The opportunity to learn behind an experienced frontcourt while continuing to earn minutes could be ideal for her development.
Ava Jones returns after a year in which her reputation as one of the country's premier young forwards continued to grow.
The 17-year-old appeared in six Tauihi games and eight Rapid League contests for Pouākai in 2025 before enjoying an outstanding 2026 age-group campaign.
Jones played all seven games for New Zealand at the FIBA U17 Women's World Cup, shooting 41 percent from three, the third-highest percentage among all players at the tournament.
She then starred domestically, earning MVP honours at the 2026 U20 National Championships after averaging a team-high 16.4 points per game for champion Canterbury.
That follows an already impressive junior résumé which includes 8.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for New Zealand at the 2025 FIBA U16 Asia Cup and a 32-point, 15-rebound performance in the 2024 Secondary Schools National Championship final.
Jones is also set to continue her basketball career in the United States, having committed to Santa Clara University.
Jones gives Pouākai size, shooting and another player capable of growing into a much larger role.
Her 41 percent shooting at the U17 World Cup is particularly encouraging for a 184cm forward, giving Pouākai another potential floor spacer who can play around more experienced frontcourt players.
The challenge in 2026 will be turning dominant age-group production into increasingly consistent senior minutes.
Player to watch: Of the young Pouākai group, Ainley is difficult to ignore. Leading New Zealand in points and rebounds at a World Cup while shooting better than 56 percent from the floor suggests a player with enormous upside.
With tip-off only a week away, Tauihi free agency is now less about constructing rosters and more about applying the finishing touches.
Hoiho have completed their import group with the experience of Wojta while continuing to invest in local players such as Pavihi and Duff.
Whai have added four very different pieces. Gilday provides veteran backcourt leadership, Brossmann brings elite rebounding and physicality, Pitman offers significant two-way versatility, and Ohia becomes another young New Zealand player entering the professional pathway.
Pouākai continue to balance immediate ambition with long-term development. Mowbray adds perimeter shooting, while Ainley and Jones represent two of the brightest prospects in the domestic game.
The early days of free agency brought the headline names.
Now, with opening night almost here, the focus shifts to how all of those pieces will fit together.
The rosters are close to set, and the time is almost upon us to WATCH HER GAME.
