U18 stars Byrne, Hocking earn U17 call-up

• Full Coverage of Junior Australian National Championships
• Every player at the 2026 Under-18 National Championships‍
• Victorious: Metro stars Madi Ryan and Ahmet Yahya Basaran land double gold

2026 Under-18 Australian Championships leading scorers Lucas Byrne and Daisy Hocking have been included in the 17-player 2026 FIBA Under-17 World Cup squads.

Victoria Country's Byrne won the men's scoring title with 22.8 points per game while South Australia Country's Hocking finished second at 18.4 points per game in Queensland last weekend.

The Crocs are building toward the World Cup in Türkiye between June 27 to July 5, 2026. Their camp will be from May 4 to 7 at the AIS in Canberra while Sapphires will head to Czechia between July 11 and 19 for 2026 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup.

The Sapphires camp is also at the AIS but a couple of days later – May 11 to 14, 2026. Both squads will be cut to 12.

2026 Under-17 Australian Sapphires World Cup Squad

• Annaliese Elliott (South Australia Metro)‍
• Daisy Hocking (South Australia Country)‍
• Eliza Ashby (Victoria Country)‍
• Eliza Shanahan (Victoria Metro)‍
• Isabel Smith (Queensland North)‍
• Jade Sherrington
• Jasmine Jones (Victoria Metro)
• Jay Sebasio (Queensland South)
• Jemyma Manyok (Queensland South)
• Lily Mapp (Queensland North)
• Maddison Reisinger (Queensland South)
• Madi Ryan (Victoria Metro)
• Marianela Fakalata (Victoria Metro)‍
• Olivia Olechnowicz (Queensland South)‍
• Sophie Richardson (Victoria Metro)‍
• Vanessa Tavete (Victoria Metro)‍
• Matilda Trout (Victoria Metro)

2026 Under-17 Australian Crocs World Cup Squad

• Ahmet Yahya Basaran (Victoria Metro)
• Alexander Edwards (Western Australia Metro)
• Alexander Mabbott (Victoria)‍
• Andrew Watene (Queensland South)‍
• Antonio Browne (New South Wales Metro)‍
• Awak Machar (South Australia Metro)‍
• Emin Joldic (New South Wales Metro)
• Isaiah Jorgenson (Queensland South)
• John Aryang (Western Australia Metro)
• Josh McCann (Victoria Metro)
• Keenan Lawrence-Williams (South Australia Metro)
• Lucas Byrne (Victoria Country)
• Luke Paul (Western Australia Metro)
• Riak Akhuar (Victoria Metro)
• Riley Saville (New South Wales Country)
• Tom Dammers (Victoria Metro)
• William Hamilton (Victoria Country)

Crocs prospects dominate Under-18 Nationals stat leaders

Australia’s U17 Crocs pipeline translated directly to production at the U18 Nationals, with multiple squad members leading or ranking across key categories.

Scoring leaders

• Lucas Byrne (Victoria Country) – 22.8 ppg (No. 1 overall)
• Isaiah Jorgenson (Queensland South) – 19.2 ppg (No. 2)

Rebounding

• Ahmet Yahya Basaran (Victoria Metro) – 9.6 rpg (No. 2)
• Lucas Byrne (Victoria Country) – 9.3 rpg (No. 3)

Playmaking impact

• Andrew Watene (Queensland South) – 5.8 apg (No. 1 overall)
• Luke Paul (Western Australia Metro) – 5.0 apg (No. 3)
• Antonio Browne (New South Wales Metro) – 4.8 apg (No. 5)

Defensive disruption

• Riley Saville (New South Wales Country) – 2.8 spg (No. 2)
• Lucas Byrne (Victoria Country) – 2.5 spg (No. 5)

Shooting efficiency

• Antonio Browne (New South Wales Metro) – 95.0% FT (No. 1 overall)
• Josh McCann (Victoria Metro) – 84.2% FT (No. 2)
• Andrew Watene (Queensland South) – 82.4% FT (No. 3)
• Luke Paul (Western Australia Metro) – 80.8% FT (No. 5)

Perimeter shooting

• Andrew Watene (Queensland South) – 47.6% 3PT (No. 1 overall)

Scoring volume

• Lucas Byrne (Victoria Country) – 137 total points (No. 1 overall)
• William Hamilton (Victoria Country) – 97 points (No. 4)
• Isaiah Jorgenson (Queensland South) – 96 points (No. 5)

Sapphires stamp authority across 2026 Under-18 Nationals leaderboards

Australia’s U17 Sapphires prospects weren’t just competing at the U18 Nationals — they were driving production across every major statistical category.

Scoring leaders

• Daisy Hocking (South Australia Country) – 18.4 ppg (No. 2 overall)
• Annaliese Elliott (South Australia Metro) – 17.0 ppg (No. 3)
• Lily Mapp (Queensland North) – 17.0 ppg (No. 4)

Rebounding

• Lily Mapp (Queensland North) – 12.2 rpg (No. 1 overall)
• Daisy Hocking (South Australia Country) – 9.6 rpg (No. 3)
• Matilda Trout (Victoria Metro) – 8.4 rpg (No. 4)
• Madison Ryan (Victoria Metro) – 8.0 rpg (No. 5)

Playmaking impact

• Isabel Smith (Queensland North) – 4.8 apg (No. 1 overall)
• Jay Sebasio (Queensland South) – 4.6 apg (No. 2)
• Olivia Olechnowicz (Queensland South) – 4.0 apg (No. 3)
• Daisy Hocking (South Australia Country) – 3.8 apg (No. 4)

Defensive disruption

• Daisy Hocking (South Australia Country) – 4.0 spg (No. 1 overall)
• Jasmine Jones (Victoria Metro) – 3.6 spg (No. 2)
• Madison Ryan (Victoria Metro) – 3.0 spg (No. 3)
• Matilda Trout (Victoria Metro) – 3.0 spg (No. 5)

Shooting efficiency

• Isabel Smith (Queensland North) – 83.3% FT (No. 1 overall)
• Lily Mapp (Queensland North) – 77.8% FT (No. 3)

Perimeter shooting

• Vanessa Tavete (Victoria Metro) – 51.3% 3PT (No. 1 overall)
• Marianela Fakalata (Victoria Metro) – 40.0% 3PT (No. 4)

Scoring volume

• Daisy Hocking (South Australia Country) – 92 total points (No. 2 overall)
• Annaliese Elliott (South Australia Metro) – 85 points (No. 3)
• Lily Mapp (Queensland North) – 85 points (No. 4)