The 2026 G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi free agency picture has begun to clear, headlined by a blockbuster roster reveal from the Tokomanawa Queens with a home coming story for all.
While teams across the competition have continued to add differing mixes of experience, youth and returning talent, the Queens chose to unveil their squad in one fell swoop, and there was one name guaranteed to command attention.
Charlisse Leger-Walker will play her first Tauihi season after returning home from a historic collegiate career and her rookie WNBA campaign, joining sister Krystal on a Queens roster loaded with Tall Ferns, championship experience and international talent.
Elsewhere, the Kāhu have added Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Ella Fotu and rookie professional Olivia Williams, the Southern Hoiho retained major pieces of their 2025 team with their first reveals, the defending champion Whai continue to invest in young New Zealand talent, and the 25 runners-up Mainland Pouākai have added WNBA draftee Mikayla Pivec to an already deep roster.
Read on to get updates on those players and all the other player movement as we creep ever closer to the tipoff for Tauihi 2026.
After keeping their roster under wraps through the opening stages of free agency, the Queens have dropped a 13-player group featuring established Tauihi stars, returning Tall Ferns, international experience and what might be the biggest signing in league history.
Charlisse Leger-Walker headlines a deep roster that also includes her sister Krystal and a gaggle of returning Queens talent in Stella Beck and Penina Davidson, Briarley Rogers, Grace Hunter and Nahala Toeleiu.
New faces include former Pouākai sharpshooter Taylor Mikesell,Mimi Collins, Aria Cowley, Victoria Ikenasio, Alaska Rhebok and Hana Lacey-Rameka to nearly complete a group with a particularly intriguing blend of experience and emerging talent.
But there is no question where the biggest spotlight falls.
For the first time, one of New Zealand basketball's biggest names is coming to Tauihi.
Charlisse Leger-Walker joins the Queens after a collegiate career that placed her among the most accomplished New Zealand basketball players to compete in the NCAA.
Across five seasons at Washington State and UCLA, Leger-Walker started all 143 games she played, finishing with 2,061 points and 602 assists. Her scoring total is the most by any New Zealand player, male or female, in NCAA Division I history.
Four seasons at Washington State established her as one of the Pac-12's premier guards. She was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2021, earned All-Pac-12 honours in each of her four seasons with the Cougars and, in 2023, led Washington State to the programme's first Pac-12 championship while being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Her final collegiate season brought another major achievement, with UCLA winning the 2026 NCAA Championship.
Leger-Walker was subsequently selected 18th overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2026 WNBA Draft. She also brings extensive international experience despite still being only 24, having debuted for the Tall Ferns as a 16-year-old at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Now comes a first opportunity for New Zealand basketball audiences to watch her through a full domestic professional season.
Leger-Walker changes the ceiling of the Queens immediately.
She is capable of playing as both a scorer and creator, can operate on or off the basketball and has spent the majority of her senior career competing in high-pressure environments.
There is also a natural point of intrigue in seeing her alongside Krystal Leger-Walker. The sisters played together at Washington State, but have never previously shared a Tauihi court.
For the league itself, Charlisse's arrival is significant beyond what happens on the scoreboard. A current WNBA player and one of the most accomplished basketballers New Zealand has produced choosing to play Tauihi offers a higher level of profile to the competition.
If Leger-Walker provides the marquee name, Taylor Mikesell gives the Queens another proven high-level perimeter threat.
Mikesell switches from Mainland Pouākai after averaging 13.9 points per game in 2025, finishing among Tauihi's leading scorers while hitting 43 three-pointers across the season.
The American guard was selected 13th overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2023 WNBA Draft before appearing for the Atlanta Dream, and has also played professionally in Spain.
Her reputation as a shooter was established during an outstanding collegiate career at Maryland, Oregon and Ohio State. In her final college season she averaged 17.2 points while shooting 41.4 percent from three. The previous season she ranked second nationally in NCAA women's basketball at 47.5 percent from long range.
Spacing.
With Leger-Walker and others capable of getting into the paint and creating defensive rotations, Mikesell provides a player opponents simply cannot afford to leave. With premium ball handlers putting pressure on the back line of defense, the gravity of Mikesell will force defences to pick their poison. Do they pack the paint to cut off drives and give the bigs less room to maneuver or do they stretch themselves to the perimeter to keep the 3 point chances limited, opening up the paint for penetration, post ups and offensive rebounds.
One of the Queens' most important pieces from 2025 is back.
Penina Davidson produced an outstanding first season with Tokomanawa, earning a place in the Tauihi All-Star Five after averaging 15.9 points and a league-best 10.2 rebounds per game.
Those numbers placed her fifth in the competition in scoring and first in rebounding, while continuing a Tauihi career that has made Davidson the league's all-time leading rebounder entering the 2026 season.
The Tall Fern brings extensive experience from Australia, Asia and Europe, including 117 WNBL appearances and a championship with the Melbourne Boomers.
Davidson gives the Queens their interior foundation.
Her ability to rebound, finish around the basket and provide size defensively becomes even more valuable surrounded by the amount of perimeter creation and shooting possessed by the wider roster.
Stella Beck remains the defining player of the Queens era.
The two-time reigning Tauihi Defensive Player of the Year averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and a league-best 2.2 steals per game in 2025. She is also the Queens' all-time leader in appearances, points, assists, steals and blocks.
Beck was key in the inaugural 2022 Queens championship team and adds another experienced Tall Fern to a roster already filled with international reps.
Every successful team needs players capable of influencing a game without demanding shots.
Beck can guard across positions, handle the ball, rebound, make connective plays and even fill up the net if she so chooses. On a roster with significant offensive talent, her ability to provide whatever a particular match-up requires may become even more valuable.
The other half of one of the season's most anticipated combinations arrives after four years with Kāhu.
Krystal Leger-Walker has played 42 Tauihi games and enters 2026 among the competition's all-time assist leaders. Her extensive career also includes 142 NCAA Division I appearances, 1,032 points and 621 assists across Northern Colorado and Washington State.
In 2023 she was part of Townsville Fire's WNBL championship before helping steer the Kāhu to their inaugural Tauihi title and has represented the Tall Ferns since debuting as a 16-year-old in 2014.
Krystal adds another genuine organiser to a Queens backcourt that will have no shortage of options.
Her passing and feel for the game should complement Charlisse rather than duplicate her, giving the Queens freedom to move either Leger-Walker on and off the basketball. Defensively her instincts will put pressure on passing lanes while giving Tokomanawa another versatile defensive option to pair with Beck.
And naturally, seeing the sisters reunited will be one of the season's major storylines.
Amira "Mimi" Collins brings considerable international and collegiate experience into her first Tauihi season.
The 190cm forward has already played professionally in Spain, Slovakia, Mexico and Japan, averaging 7.1 points and 4.3 rebounds for Aishin Wings in 2025-26.
Before turning professional she completed a five-year NCAA Division I career across Tennessee, Maryland and North Carolina State. In her final season with NC State she started 36 of 37 games and averaged 10.6 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Collins adds length and international experience to the Queens frontcourt.
Alongside Davidson, she gives Tokomanawa another experienced bigger body while still possessing the mobility and skill to fit alongside the club's perimeter weapons.
Briarley Rogers' development continues after a 2025 campaign in which she emerged as one of Rapid League's standout players.
Rogers averaged 8.5 points across all 12 Rapid games and was selected to the Rapid League All-Star Five.
Her progression continued overseas with North Adelaide in NBL1 Central, where she averaged 9.2 points and converted 20 of her 41 three-point attempts at 48.8 percent. She then made her Tall Ferns debut against Spain during the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament.
Rogers gives the Queens another capable shooter and versatile perimeter option who appears ready for a larger role.
Hana Lacey-Rameka crosses from Mainland Pouākai after an impressive Australian winter.
The 21-year-old played 19 games for the Southwest Slammers in NBL1 West and led the team in both scoring at 15.1 points per game and rebounding at 8.3 per game.
She has also represented New Zealand at the FIBA U17 World Cup and was MVP when Canterbury won the 2024 U20 National Championship.
Lacey-Rameka's size at 186cm and ability to contribute both inside and outside makes her one of the more interesting young additions to the roster.
Alaska Rhebok will make her Tauihi debut after building considerable experience in Western Australia's NBL1 competition.
The 21-year-old guard has already played five NBL1 West seasons and averaged 9.3 points per game with the Perth Redbacks. She was named the competition's Youth Player of the Year in 2025 and holds a New Zealand passport.
She gives the Queens another young perimeter player accustomed to senior basketball.
Aria Cowley is another Tauihi rookie with a strong domestic résumé.
The Waikato guard averaged a team-best 18.4 points per game as Waikato won the 2025 Tertiary National Championship and has previously represented New Zealand at U18 level.
With the depth in front of her, Cowley's first Tauihi campaign presents an opportunity to learn within one of the league's most experienced backcourts while plying her trade in Rapid League.
Victoria Ikenasio joins the Queens for her first Tauihi season after completing a five-year collegiate career in the United States.
The 185cm forward played NCAA Division I basketball at St Peter's before completing her college career at Texas at Tyler and Valdosta State. She most recently played for Diamond Valley Eagles in NBL1 South.
Grace Hunter returns to the Queens after not appearing in the main Tauihi competition in 2025.
A member of Tokomanawa's inaugural 2022 championship team, Hunter has represented the Tall Ferns and previously played NCAA Division I basketball at Florida International and CSU Bakersfield.
Her experience and familiarity with the organisation strengthens the depth of the Queens' guard rotation.
At the opposite end of the experience spectrum sits one of New Zealand basketball's most exciting young talents.
Nahala Toeleiu was part of the New Zealand team that produced a historic fifth-place finish at the 2026 FIBA U17 World Cup and averaged 17.5 points for Wellington at this year's U20 National Championships.
Still at school, her inclusion on a roster alongside WNBA, Tall Ferns and NCAA experience provides an outstanding development environment.
Player to watch: It could hardly be anyone else. Leger-Walker is not simply the Queens' biggest signing. She is the headline signing of the entire 2026 free agency period.
Kāhu's commitment to bringing leading talent home continues, with Ella Fotu joining the club alongside dual-citizen Olivia Williams.
Both arrive with significant international experience behind them, although at different stages of their careers.
Ella Fotu returns to the North Shore fresh from helping New Zealand claim bronze at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Raised in the Harbour basketball system alongside brothers Isaac and Dan, Fotu has taken her career well beyond Auckland through both traditional five-on-five and 3x3 basketball.
Her return gives Kāhu another player with strong local ties and senior international experience.
Fotu's defensive versatility, physicality and experience should fit naturally into a Kāhu roster that has already added Tall Fern Tayla Dalton.
She also brings another player accustomed to international basketball and high-pressure environments, while the opportunity to represent her home region provides additional intrigue.
Olivia Williams will begin her professional career with Kāhu following 101 NCAA Division I appearances.
Williams spent three seasons at UC Irvine, earning Big West All-Freshman Team honours during an impressive debut year, before transferring to the University of San Francisco for her senior season.
She also arrives with a fascinating family connection to New Zealand sport. Her great-grandfather Jack Sullivan represented the All Blacks from 1936 to 1938, while her grandfather Ron "Fritz" Williams played eight NBA seasons after being selected ninth overall in the 1968 NBA Draft.
Williams is more of an unknown at the professional level, but the talent is tantalising.
The Kāhu are getting an NCAA-tested player beginning her professional journey, with the opportunity to develop alongside established internationals Dalton, Fotu and the other experienced members of the roster.
Player to watch: Fotu gets the nod from this group. Her homecoming, international pedigree and recent Commonwealth Games medal give Kāhu another established New Zealand talent for 2026.
Hoiho's opening announcements have been built around continuity, with Zoe Richards, Paige Bradley and Rebecca Pizzey all recommitting after a run to the postseason in 2025.
Each brings something different, but together they provide the club with leadership at point guard, size and versatility in the frontcourt, and significant familiarity with the Hoiho environment.
Few players arrive in Tauihi in better form than Paige Bradley.
The American point guard returns for her fourth season with Hoiho fresh from winning the 2026 NBL1 South MVP award and helping the Knox Raiders capture the NBL1 National Championship.
Bradley has been of Tauihi's elite facilitators since joining the competition 4 years ago, and averaged 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and a remarkable 7.7 assists per game while starting all 13 games in 2025.
Bradley's influence begins with her ability to run a team as a pure point guard.
Returning the same point guard for a fourth season gives Hoiho considerable stability, and she comes back having enjoyed an outstanding Australian campaign.
Bec Pizzey returns after establishing herself as one of Tauihi's premier two-way frontcourt players.
The Tall Fern averaged 13.5 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting an outstanding 56 percent from the field in 2025.
She has subsequently been named the 2026 NBL1 South Women's Defensive Player of the Year while captaining the Eltham Wildcats.
Pizzey provides interior efficiency, rebounding and defence.
With Bradley controlling the game from the perimeter, keeping Pizzey gives Hoiho an established inside/outside presence and a player whose impact reaches across both ends of the floor.
Few players are more closely connected to their club than Zoe Richards.
The hometown forward has been a Hoiho since Tauihi's inaugural season in 2022 and returns for a fifth campaign.
Richards played all 13 games in 2025, averaging 3.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in a bench role.
Her broader Tauihi career includes 85 appearances and demonstrates the experience she provides to the group from the south.
Richards provides leadership, size and an understanding of exactly what representing the Hoiho means. Her professionalism and effort will always be on display and her return gives the Hoiho a great option down low or on the perimeter.
Player to watch: Bradley's NBL1 MVP season makes her Hoiho's standout signing from this group. If that form carries into Tauihi, she could again be one of the league's most influential guards.
After retaining much of the championship core in the opening stages of free agency, Whai's latest announcements have focused heavily on emerging New Zealand talent from the wider Tauranga area.
Sisters Shamar and Charis Broughton return for their second seasons, Eva Langton returns to a club she helped win the 2024 championship, and Maya Taingahue comes back after overcoming a significant injury.
Charis Broughton enters her second season carrying momentum from a historic international campaign.
The Mount Maunganui guard was part of the New Zealand team that finished fifth at the 2026 FIBA U17 Women's World Cup in Czechia, the country's best result at the tournament.
Her first Rapid League campaign provided encouraging signs, with Broughton averaging 6.6 points while shooting 40 percent from the floor, 36 percent from three and 90 percent at the foul line.
Broughton's shooting is an obvious weapon.
Head Coach Tane Bennett believes she possesses one of the best perimeter shooting games in New Zealand age-group basketball, and the next step is translating that ability into a more significant role at this level.
If given opportunity, she may prove to be one of the league's most interesting development players in 2026.
Shamar Broughton also returns after receiving her first taste of the professional environment last season.
The young point guard averaged 5.8 points in five Rapid League appearances while shooting 39 percent from three.
Bennett has praised her ability to use the dribble to create advantages for others, with point guard leadership and decision-making identified as the next areas of growth.
Shamar provides playmaking upside behind Whai's established senior players.
Another season in a championship environment should give her the opportunity to turn natural court vision and ball skills into greater control of games.
Eva Langton returns to Tauranga after previously contributing to Whai's 2024 championship.
Since then, Langton has added to her résumé by helping New Zealand win bronze in 3x3 basketball at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
She spent 2025 with Southern Hoiho, appearing regularly in both Tauihi and Rapid League competition.
Coach Bennett knows exactly what Langton provides.
Her combination of defensive length, floor spacing and basketball IQ fits a Whai programme built around versatility and players understanding their roles.
The 3x3 environment should only have strengthened the quick decision-making and defensive adaptability she already possessed.
Maya Taingahue returns to Whai following a lengthy injury recovery.
A New Zealand combo guard who has represented the national U23 3x3 programme, Taingahue previously played for Whai in 2024.
Bennett believes the physical tools have always been there and has been impressed by the work she has put into her skill set during her time away.
For Taingahue, the immediate victory is getting back onto the floor.
If she can remain healthy, Whai are adding another athletic, high-energy guard with defensive intensity and the ability to play across the backcourt.
Player to watch: Langton's Commonwealth Games experience and previous championship connection to Whai make her a standout addition in this group.
Mainland Pouākai look to be assembling one of the deepest and most experienced rosters in the competition.
After retaining Morgan Yaeger, McKenna Dale and Esra McGoldrick and adding Danish international Sarah Mortensen, the latest announcements bring back Maddy Timms and introduce American guard Mikayla Pivec.
Mikayla Pivec arrives in Christchurch with an extensive professional résumé and one of the most eye-catching statistical lines of the offseason.
The American guard was selected 25th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2020 WNBA Draft and has since played professionally in Spain, Puerto Rico, Turkey, Ireland and Australia.
Most recently, Pivec starred for Mandurah Magic in NBL1 West, averaging 17.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game while earning All-NBL1 West First Team honours.
Those numbers reveal why Head Coach Alex Stojkovic views her as such an important addition.
Pivec is not simply a scorer. She rebounds at a level rarely seen from a guard, can organise an offence and spent much of her NBL1 campaign threatening triple-doubles.
Creation may be the most important element.
Pouākai already have considerable scoring around the roster, including Yaeger, Dale, Mortensen and McGoldrick. Pivec gives them another player who can put those scorers in advantageous positions.
Her rebounding also allows Pouākai to initiate offence immediately after gaining possession rather than relying on an outlet to a traditional point guard.
With Yaeger capable of breaking down defenders and Pivec capable of controlling the overall shape of an offence, Stojkovic has multiple ways to generate opportunities.
Maddy Timms' return has been a long time coming.
The 22-year-old first represented Pouākai in 2023 and had been due to return last season before an ACL injury ruled her out.
She spent 2025 playing alongside former Pouākai forward Haliegh Reinoehl with Mt Gambier Pioneers in NBL1, averaging 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds across 18 appearances before her injury setback.
Timms also brings 3x3 experience, having represented New Zealand in the FIBA 3x3 Nations League.
Sitting in the 3/4 position, Timms offers positional flexibility and another potential perimeter shooter.
The immediate priority will understandably be managing her return after a year away, but Stojkovic believes she has the ability to push for Tauihi minutes.
With an experienced roster, Pouākai do not need Timms to carry a major workload immediately. That should provide an ideal environment for her to rebuild confidence, compete and contribute where required.
Player to watch: Pivec becomes one of Pouākai's most intriguing additions. A guard coming off 17.9 points, 11 rebounds and nearly eight assists per game is difficult to overlook.
The second wave of free agency has provided a much clearer picture of what the 2026 Tauihi season could look like.
Tokomanawa have made the biggest splash. Bringing Charlisse Leger-Walker into the competition would have been significant on its own, but surrounding her with WNBA draftee Taylor Mikesell, Tall Ferns Penina Davidson, Stella Beck and Krystal Leger-Walker, alongside a deep group of emerging players, gives the Queens one of the most fascinating (and current the fullest) rosters assembled in Tauihi.
Pouākai have answered with significant international quality of their own. Mikayla Pivec joining a group already containing Morgan Yaeger, Sarah Mortensen, McKenna Dale and Esra McGoldrick, giving last season's runners-up multiple players capable of creating, scoring and rebounding as they push for postseason success again.
Kāhu continue to build around high-level New Zealand talent with Ella Fotu returning home and Olivia Williams beginning her professional career alongside a group that already includes Tall Ferns captain Tayla Dalton.
Hoiho's early approach has been based around continuity, following a '25 season that brought them back to the postseason party. Paige Bradley returns off an MVP-winning NBL1 campaign, Bec Pizzey arrives as the reigning NBL1 South Defensive Player of the Year, and Zoe Richards remains the hometown constant.
And in Tauranga, the defending champions continue to balance established winners with development. Charis and Shamar Broughton represent two of the country's most exciting young guards, while Eva Langton brings championship familiarity and fresh Commonwealth Games success.
There are still more pieces to come and the complexion of the league can change quickly.
And with Charlisse Leger-Walker now officially part of it, the 2026 Tauihi season has landed its biggest storyline yet.
