Jai Fa'ale among six Centre of Excellence graduates for 2026

• Jai Fa'ale joins Melbourne United for NBL27 after averaging 21.19 points in NBL1 East
• Olivia Olechnowicz, Aspen Crase and Reece Anticevic pair WNBL clubs with US college plans
• Lily Mapp and Jade Sherrington are yet to confirm their next moves for 2027

Jai Fa'ale ($69,000) heads a class of six Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (CoE) graduates farewelled at a ceremony in Canberra on Wednesday night (November 11, 2026) with four of the six holding a confirmed next move.

Fa'ale joins Melbourne United ahead of NBL27 after leading the CoE's NBL1 East side at 21.19 points per game in 2026, and Basketball Australia singled out his scoring as a feature of the program's campaign. Reece Anticevic, Aspen Crase, Lily Mapp, Olivia Olechnowicz and Jade Sherrington complete the graduating group, which Basketball Australia announced on November 11.

Olechnowicz, a guard Basketball Australia described as one of the country's brightest prospects in 2026, has already joined the Bendigo Spirit roster in the WNBL and has a California college move planned for the 2027-28 NCAA season, where she will join Zara Russell, who graduated from the CoE in May 2026.

Her reputation was built at the defensive end. She played for the Sapphires at the FIBA U17 Women's World Cup and for the Gems at the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup, and at the World Cup she was nominated as Best Defensive Player and named in the All-Star Second Team while averaging 12.1 points and 3.3 steals a game.

Aspen Crase leaves after two years in the program with a dual pathway of her own. The South Australian, who capped her time at the CoE with gold alongside the Gems at the U18 Asia Cup, will join the Adelaide Lightning in the WNBL and pursue a college opportunity at Davidson in the United States.

Reece Anticevic follows a similar route after one season at the AIS. The West Australian heads home to join the Perth Lynx for the WNBL season and has committed to Oregon for the 2027-28 NCAA season, taking the championship experience she gained with the Gems at the U18 Asia Cup with her.

Lily Mapp gave the CoE an interior presence at both ends in NBL1 East, averaging 7.33 points and 8.48 rebounds a game, and added gold at the U18 Asia Cup and bronze at the U17 World Cup with Australia's junior national teams. Basketball Australia said her plans for 2027 are yet to be confirmed.

Jade Sherrington overcame injuries early in her time at the CoE to play 10 NBL1 East games in 2026, and earned junior national team selection with the gold medal-winning Gems at the U18 Asia Cup and the bronze medal Sapphires at the U17 World Cup. Like Mapp, her next move for 2027 is still to be determined, according to Basketball Australia.

Four of the six now have an NBL or WNBL club lined up, and three of them, Olechnowicz, Crase and Anticevic, also have a US college destination lined up.