The countdown to the 2026 G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi season is gathering pace, and the opening stages of free agency have already delivered a mix of homecomings, established stars, international experience and championship pedigree.
For some clubs, the early work has centred on retaining the players who have helped shape their identity. For others, free agency has provided an opportunity to add proven performers from elsewhere in Tauihi or bring new talent into the competition.
Defending champions Tauranga Whai have retained several central figures from their back-to-back championship run while adding new pieces around them. Northern Kāhu have combined continuity with significant additions, headed by Tall Ferns captain Tayla Dalton, while Mainland Pouākai have brought back much of an established core and added Danish international Sarah Mortensen to a group determined to go one step further after reaching last season’s Grand Final.
Here is a closer look at the players revealed so far and what they could bring to the 2026 season.
The early stages of the Kāhu roster build have produced an intriguing combination of familiar and fresh faces.
Azure Anderson returns for a fifth consecutive season with the club, while Erin Bollmann will get the opportunity to play a full campaign after her brief 2025 stint. Megan Mullings also returns to Auckland following an outstanding season in the United Kingdom.
The headline as we currently stand, however, is Tall Fern Tayla Dalton, who crosses to Kāhu after helping to take the 2025 championship with the Whai and returns to the North Shore where her basketball journey began.
Few moves in this year’s free agency period carry as strong a homecoming element as Dalton joining Kāhu.
A North Harbour junior and Carmel College alumna, Dalton returns to Auckland seven years after leaving home to pursue her basketball career at the collegiate level. Since then, she has built an extensive résumé in New Zealand and abroad.
Her NCAA Division I career stretched across 143 games with Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga, the fourth-highest total by a New Zealand woman, while she accumulated 1,090 collegiate points. She has since developed into one of New Zealand basketball’s leading guards and now captains the Tall Ferns.
Dalton also arrives as a reigning Tauihi champion after being part of the Whai side that claimed the 2025 title.
Her role with Whai last season was not defined by volume scoring. Dalton's stats weren't massive across 11 Tauihi appearances but her impact on winning was. Dalton’s value comes through her ability to organise an offence, defend, make decisions and provide leadership at the point of attack.
The Kāhu are adding a guard who has played in high-level environments and understands how to contribute without needing to dominate possession.
Dalton gives the club a key organiser in the backcourt and, as a Tall Ferns captain, an established leader capable of setting standards away from the ball as much as with it.
Her familiarity with championship-level Tauihi basketball should also be important for a Kāhu group looking to climb back to the top of the standings after missing the post-season for the first time in 2025.
Dalton is a standout Kāhu signing. The combination of Tall Ferns leadership, championship experience and the storyline of returning to the North Shore makes her one of the most significant additions of the opening free agency period.
Erin Bollmann’s first stint with Kāhu in 2025 was more of a glimpse than a full season.
The Missouri native played just two Tauihi games before being released to take up an opportunity with the Adelaide Lightning in Australia’s WNBL. In that small sample she made an immediate impression, averaging 10.0 pts, 5.0 reb and 3.0 ast while shooting 50% from the field while lifting the level of play for a team that was searching for consistency.
She returns for 2026 following a dominant NBL1 North campaign with the Sunshine Coast Phoenix, where she averaged 22.8 pts per game and led the team across the major statistical categories.
That combination of scoring and playmaking gives Kāhu a proven offensive weapon as they look to start their season with a bang.
Unlike 2025, Kāhu are planning around Bollmann for the full Tauihi campaign.
Her brief appearance last year demonstrated her ability to score efficiently while also contributing as a rebounder and facilitator. Her subsequent production in Australia with NBL1 suggests a player capable of carrying considerably more offensive responsibility.
With Dalton providing control and leadership alongside her, Bollmann gives the Kāhu backcourt a different type of threat - a player capable of creating her own offence and putting sustained pressure on a defence.
Megan Mullings is another familiar face returning to the 09.
Her previous stint with the club in 2024 was disrupted by injury, but she comes back to Auckland after a bounceback season in the United Kingdom, where she impacted every aspect of the game.
Mullings is known as a dynamic and entertaining player who can bring athleticism and energy to both ends of the floor.
Mullings gives Kāhu athleticism, attacking intent and another player capable of changing the tempo of a game, but most importantly she brings a clean bill of health, ensuring fans will see a more impactful player then was revealed during her initial Tauihi stint.
Her return also provides some organisational familiarity. She already knows the club and environment, but arrives in a different physical position and with additional professional experience behind her.
Azure Anderson is the connection from the Kāhu's championship past to their 2026 championship hopes.
Anderson will become the only player to have represented the club in all five seasons of Tauihi, giving her a unique place in club history.
She has also continued to grow through 3x3 basketball, representing New Zealand internationally, while establishing herself as a significant Rapid League contributor.
A Rapid League stalwart, the multi skilled player will look for a bigger role at the Tauihi level during the upcoming season.
Anderson provides something increasingly valuable as rosters change from year to year: continuity.
She understands the club, the league and the demands of Tauihi, while her 3x3 experience continues to sharpen the versatility, physicality and quick decision-making that can translate into the five-on-five game.
For a Kāhu roster adding several significant pieces, having a player who has been present throughout the club’s Tauihi journey gives the group an important link between its past and what it is building for 2026.
The defending champions have taken a different approach to much of the competition: keep much of what already works, then add selectively.
Laina Snyder and Emme Shearer, two of the most productive players in the 2025 championship side, are both back, as is long-time Whai guard Sophie Rogers. Young guard Shamar Broughton returns for her second season, while Ashlee Strawbridge and Emilee Tahata arrive as new additions.
That continuity is significant for a Whai side that finished the 2025 regular season 9-5 before lifting a level in the post-season to defeat Mainland Pouākai 93-66 in the Grand Final.
If there is one player who embodies the championship identity Whai have established, its Laina Snyder.
The American has become a major figure in the club’s recent success, providing scoring, rebounding, playmaking and leadership across multiple roles.
Her 2025 season demonstrated the breadth of that influence. Snyder averaged 15.6 pts, 10.1 reb and 3.5 ast per game while shooting 44% from the field, 37% from three and 87% at the foul line.
She was one of only a handful of players to produce a 30-point game during the season, scoring 30 against Pouākai in October, and recorded five games with at least 10 rebounds.
Then came her defining performance of here Tauihi career.
In the 2025 Grand Final, Snyder produced 14 points, six assists and three steals while collecting a Tauihi Grand Final-record 20 rebounds as she and the Whai completed back-to-back championships.
Snyder’s greatest strength may be that Whai do not have to define her role by one position or area of responsibility.
She can score, rebound, facilitate and defend, and her basketball IQ allows her to adapt to what a particular game requires. Head Coach Tane Bennett describes her as the spark behind Whai’s recent success and a player capable of magnifying the strengths of those around her.
That makes her particularly valuable as the personnel around Whai changes.
Snyder remains the player around whom much of Whai’s championship identity revolves. After averaging a double-double and then producing a historic Grand Final performance, she enters 2026 with a compelling case as one of the competition’s most complete players.
Emme Shearer enters 2026 having firmly established herself among the premier New Zealand guards in Tauihi.
She was one of Whai’s most consistent offensive players during their championship season, averaging 15.5 pts, 4.6 reb and 2.1 ast while shooting 45% from the field, 38% from three and 83% from the foul line.
Shearer was particularly dangerous late in the campaign. She scored 26 points against Southern Hoiho in November and matched that total against Tokomanawa Queens in December.
Her combination of perimeter shooting and the ability to attack off the bounce gives Whai a scorer capable of working both with and without the basketball.
The value of Shearer’s return goes beyond retaining 15.5 points per game.
Whai keep a guard who already knows how to operate alongside Snyder and within Bennett’s system, who has experienced the pressure of a championship run, and who has demonstrated the ability to produce in important moments.
She enters 2026 with an opportunity to take another step as one of the league’s leading local guards.
Ashlee Strawbridge provides one of the genuine new faces in the Whai roster.
A Tall Ferns squad member with experience in New Mexico and Australia, Strawbridge arrives with a reputation for athleticism, versatility and competitiveness.
Her ability to contribute across positions appears to be central to the fit. Bennett has highlighted both her athleticism and versatility, qualities that should allow Whai to use her in different line-ups and defensive assignments.
Strawbridge’s appeal is clear: she adds athleticism and an experienced New Zealand player to an already established championship group.
Her international programme experience should also help a team whose culture has been built around players understanding and embracing their roles.
Emilee Tahata joins Whai as a versatile forward with a reputation for defensive impact, court awareness and playmaking.
The club sees her as a player capable of connecting different parts of its line-up rather than simply filling one traditional positional role.
Bennett has specifically pointed to her versatility and athleticism as a fit for the way Whai want to play.
Tahata might be best viewed as a depth and versatility addition whose defensive ability could allow Whai to vary their line-ups.
Her return to New Zealand also adds another player motivated by both development and the opportunity to compete for a championship.
There are few players in Tauihi with greater continuity at one club than Sophie Rogers.
Rogers returns for a fifth season with Whai, where she has become known for her perimeter shooting, fitness and willingness to defend.
Her main Tauihi opportunities in 2025 were limited, but she again had a significant role in the Rapid League, starting all 12 games and averaging 5.4 pts while converting 81% at the free-throw line.
Rogers knows exactly what Whai expect.
She provides shooting that can stretch the floor, defensive effort and continuity within a club that has placed considerable value on maintaining its culture.
That ability to understand and execute a role is particularly valuable around higher-usage players such as Snyder and Shearer.
Shamar Broughton returns for her second Tauihi season as one of the younger players to watch in the competition.
The Mount Maunganui guard is regarded as a high-level playmaker with excellent court awareness and an ability to use the dribble to create advantages for teammates.
Her first senior campaign offered a glimpse of that potential. In five Rapid League appearances Broughton averaged 5.8 pts, 1.4 reb and 1.2 ast, while shooting 39% from beyond the arc.
For Broughton, 2026 is as much about development as immediate production.
Bennett has highlighted her growing point guard leadership and decision-making, and another season surrounded by experienced players gives her an opportunity to turn flashes of potential into a more consistent senior contribution.
Whai already know what their established stars can do. Broughton represents some of the upside still to be unlocked.
Few teams have been as deliberate about continuity as Mainland Pouākai.
Morgan Yaeger and McKenna Dale return after helping the club reach the 2025 Grand Final, while Esra McGoldrick comes back after stepping away from basketball following the birth of her son, Nikau.
The major addition is Danish international Sarah Mortensen, whose combination of professional experience, size and recent NBL1 production gives Pouākai another established frontcourt weapon.
There is also considerable existing chemistry within the group. Mortensen and Dale recently played together for East Perth in NBL1 West, while Yaeger is entering a third season working with Head Coach Alex Stojkovic and another year alongside Dale.
Sarah Mortensen brings one of the most extensive international résumés of any signing announced so far.
The 6'1" Danish forward has played professionally in Germany, Spain, Iceland, Poland, Greece and Australia and has represented Denmark internationally, including in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers.
Her most recent Australian campaign underlines the production accompanying that experience.
Playing for the East Perth Eagles in NBL1 West, Mortensen averaged 19.6 pts and 11.7 reb per game and was named to the All-NBL1 West Second Team.
She also shared the floor at East Perth with fellow Pouākai forward McKenna Dale, giving the club an existing connection to build on before the season tips off.
Mortensen immediately adds size, rebounding and proven scoring to the Pouākai frontcourt.
A forward capable of producing nearly 20 points and 12 rebounds per game in NBL1 gives Stojkovic another player who can influence a game without the offence having to depend entirely on the perimeter.
Her experience across multiple professional leagues and international basketball should also be important for a team whose ambition is no longer simply reaching the championship game.
Mortensen is the most significant new face in the Pouākai roster. Her production, international experience and existing chemistry with Dale make her a particularly intriguing addition to a team already carrying considerable returning talent.
Morgan Yaeger enters her second season with Pouākai carrying unfinished business.
The Australian guard already has a major place in Tauihi history after being named 2024 Finals MVP, and her first season in Christchurch produced another strong campaign.
Yaeger averaged 12.3 pts, 3.0 reb and 3.8 ast over 13 games in 2025. Her ability to get downhill and create was evident throughout the campaign, including a 25-point performance against Whai.
She has subsequently taken that form into NBL1 North, averaging 19.4 pts and 4.9 reb while helping her team reach the Finals.
Stojkovic considers Yaeger one of Tauihi’s most explosive guards, and it is easy to see why. Her ability to beat the first defender forces help, opening opportunities not only for herself but for the shooters and finishers around her.
Yaeger gives the Pouākai offence needed penetration and creation.
While other players on the roster provide shooting, size and versatility, Yaeger can distort a defence simply by getting into the paint. Her 3.8 assists per game were second on the team only to Dale’s 4.1, highlighting that she is as capable of creating for others as she is of looking for her own shot.
Her growing leadership may be equally important. After falling short in the Grand Final, Yaeger has made her 2026 objective straightforward: win.
McKenna Dale has rapidly become one of the foundations of the Pouākai programme.
The Tall Fern enters 2026 as Tauihi’s second all-time leading scorer and the highest-ranked New Zealand player on that list, but her value extends well beyond scoring.
Dale averaged 12.4 pts, 7.3 reb and 4.1 ast in 2025, while also collecting 18 steals and 17 blocked shots across 14 games.
She showed the range of that impact throughout the season, recording a 15-rebound game against Whai and an eight-assist performance in another meeting between the teams.
Her influence was recognised internally as well, with Dale earning the club’s Hustle Player of the Year award and sharing Co-Teammate of the Year honours.
Dale’s greatest value may be that there are very few situations in which she cannot help.
She can score, facilitate, rebound and defend multiple types of players. That allows Stojkovic to build different line-ups around her without fundamentally changing what Pouākai want to do.
Her leadership and familiarity with Yaeger and McGoldrick, combined with her existing relationship with Mortensen from NBL1 West, also gives Pouākai a strong foundation of chemistry before the season begins.
Esra McGoldrick’s return carries significance well beyond another familiar name appearing on the roster sheet.
The Tall Fern is entering her fourth season with Pouākai and fifth in Tauihi after stepping back from basketball following the birth of her son, Nikau.
Before taking that break, McGoldrick remained one of the competition’s most effective two-way forwards.
She averaged 11.3 pts and 6.1 reb in 10 games during the 2025 season, shooting 49% from the field and 40% from three. She also provided a major presence around the rim, with 17 blocked shots across those 10 appearances.
The combination of size, floor spacing and rim protection gives McGoldrick a particularly valuable skill set.
The Pouākai can use McGoldrick in multiple ways.
Her shooting allows her to stretch opposing frontcourts away from the basket, while her length and defensive instincts give the team protection at the other end. Alongside Mortensen and Dale, she also gives Stojkovic the potential to use bigger line-ups without sacrificing skill.
Her return also restores one of the club’s longest-serving players and an important leader to a group trying to build on last season’s run to the Grand Final.
The Queens are yet to announce their opening free agency signings, with their first announcements still on the horizon. Who will the perennial title chaser reveal first?
Southern Hoiho are also yet to unveil their first players from the 2026 free agency period, with announcements expected to start rolling in before the end of the month.
After a competitive 2025 campaign, their recruitment will be another important piece of the league-wide free agency picture but the question remains who will be the first to be announced?
Even before every club has entered the market publicly, the opening stages of Tauihi free agency have already revealed several of the major themes that will shape 2026.
The defending champion Whai have placed a premium on continuity, retaining the core of a group that knows how to win and adding versatility around it. Snyder and Shearer return as two of the competition’s most productive players, while Strawbridge and Tahata provide new options.
Kāhu have made one of the most significant moves of the period by bringing Tall Ferns captain Tayla Dalton home to the North Shore. Alongside the returning Bollmann, Mullings and Anderson, her arrival gives the club a combination of leadership, international experience and offensive potential.
Pouākai, meanwhile, have largely kept together the group that reached last season’s championship game. Yaeger, Dale and McGoldrick provide continuity and proven Tauihi production, while Mortensen arrives with a résumé spanning professional leagues across Europe and Australia as well as international basketball with Denmark.
There is already plenty of familiarity across the league, but many of the most intriguing storylines come from familiar players entering different circumstances.
How much does Dalton’s role expand after moving from Whai to Kāhu? What can a full season of Bollmann look like? Can Snyder and Shearer lead Whai to a third consecutive championship? How much does Mortensen change an already experienced Pouākai frontcourt? And can Yaeger and Dale turn the disappointment of last season’s Grand Final into another championship push?
With Queens and Hoiho still to reveal their hands, the full picture is yet to emerge.
But the early signs point towards a 2026 Tauihi season loaded with established stars, returning champions, international experience and plenty of players with something still to prove.
