GOAT praises Fagan and Russell's 'Excellence'

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Australian junior basketballers Sitaya Fagan and Zara Russell have been given the highest of praise from The GOAT ahead of the 2025-26 WNBL season.

"It is such an exciting time for women's basketball," WNBA and WNBL champion Lauren Jackson said.

"My top three future WNBL stars or people that I wanna look out for, I would say, everyone's talking about Sitaya Fagan at the moment (and) Zara Russell.

"I watched her play in the NBL1 finals against Albury, she was incredible. I'm very excited to watch her develop."

Fagan, 17, is one of the most sought after Class of 2026 Freshman in Australian history. She received 26 US college offers and has now narrowed her choices to three: USC; Texas; and South Carolina.

“It’s going to be a big decision,” Fagan told basketball.com.au earlier this year.

“Louisville was my first official offer, and I was almost screaming. I was like no freaking way and then they just kept coming.

“My mum is a teacher, so I'm big on 50-50 with basketball and education.

"Having offers from those top programs that are also top in education, it’s just really good.”

While Russell, a highly-rated 18-year-old, is considering offers from Cal Berkeley, Louisville, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas A&M, Utah, and Wake Forest.

"I can't wait to go to college, it will be such a new experience and I get to play a different sort of game over there which will definitely expand my skillset,” Russell told basketball.com.au.

“I've been really lucky that I've got some good schools offering [scholarships]."

Jackson didn't name a third player, opting to call out the "millions of kids" chasing their basketball dreams.

"With She Hoops, we get out and about and I see a lot of kids that are vying for the next CoA positions and scholarships," she said.

"There are so many talented kids coming through, it is such an exciting time for women's basketball and they all want it bad

"They want it so bad cause they can see it, so I I'm just gonna say there's a million kids in that one spot because they're all incredible."

Both Fagan and Russell won silver with the Australian Gems at the 2025 FIBA Under-19 Women's World Cup in July.

World Cup Snapshots

#8 Zara Russell

Date of Birth: June 23, 2007
Height: 185 cm (6'1")
Position: Forward
Club: Centre of Excellence (Australia)

Best Game: vs Canada (July 19, 2025 - Semi-Final)

• Minutes: 21
• Points: 14
• FG: 5/8 (62.5%)
• 3PT: 2/5 (40.0%)
• FT: 3/3 (100%)
• Rebounds: 0
• Assists: 1
• Steals: 0
• Blocks: 0
• Efficiency: 10

Tournament snapshot

• Averaged 7.2 points per game across 6 appearances, ranking 56th in scoring.
• Efficient shooter: 53.1% FG, 50.0% on 2PT, and an impressive 60.0% from three.
• Limited rebounding impact with just 1.5 rebounds per game despite her size.
• Averaged 1 assist and 0.2 steals per game, with minimal defensive presence.
• Shot 50% from the free-throw line (3/6 overall).
• Scored in double figures twice, including 14 points vs Canada and 12 vs Argentina.
• Best utilised as a floor spacer and scoring option, particularly from beyond the arc.

#12 Sitaya Fagan

Date of Birth: March 24, 2008
Height: 189 cm (6'2")
Position: Forward
Club: Centre of Excellence (Australia)

Best Game: vs Hungary (July 18, 2025 - Quarter-Final)

• Minutes: 25
• Points: 9
• FG: 2/4 (50.0%)
• 3PT: 0/2 (0.0%)
• FT: 5/6 (83.3%)
• Rebounds: 8
• Assists: 2
• Steals: 4
• Blocks: 2
• Efficiency: 20

Tournament snapshot

• Averaged 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds (24th overall), and 1.3 assists across 6 games.
• Scored in double figures in 5 of 6 games, with a tournament-high 14 points vs Canada.
• Shot 44.3% from the field, 47.6% on 2PT FG, and 36.8% from three.
• Strong at the free-throw line, converting 86.7% (13/15).
• Provided defensive impact with 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
• Notably versatile: scored, rebounded, and defended well, particularly evident in her quarter-final all-round display.
• Logged consistent minutes (~24 per game), contributing on both ends of the floor throughout the tournament.