'Successful from the start': Tassie already eyeing WNBL debut

• Tasmania were announced as the ninth team to join the WNBL for the 2026-27 season
• WNBL great says "it's about time" for league to return to Tasmania
• 2025-26 WNBL Team Lists and Roster Tracker

While the entire WNBL descended on Townsville to measure themselves against the rest of the league, a keen onlooker was also in the building as the league's newest expansion franchise prepares for their long-awaited debut.

Although the Tasmanian WNBL team is a year away from joining the league, they were close observers of the action with the club's assistant general manager for basketball, Kayla Steindl, and JackJumpers chief operating officer, Darren Smith getting a feel for the league, scouting players and coaches, and preparing for what’s to come in late 2026.

Steindl, a former WNBL player herself, knows the Tasmanian community is ready to welcome a WNBL team, and said the club was already working hard behind the scenes.

“Being in the in the Jackie's office, it's quite an exciting atmosphere anyway, everyone's so passionate about their job and with bringing in a women's team, everyone in the office is just as excited about this,” she told basketball.com.au.

“I know the marketing, the sponsorships and that sort of thing is going really well – people are keen to jump on board.

“People are excited about basketball in general in Tasmania. I think it's been a long time coming and it’ll be great.”

Having last played in the WNBL in 2020 with the Perth Lynx, Steindl joked she wished she was five years younger to still be out there today with the exciting direction the league is headed in. Instead, she’ll be helping to lead Tasmania from the front office.

“Just having this preseason tournament with all the teams here, every player is here, so I think the professionalism has just gone up to another level,” she said.

“Australian basketball is some of the best basketball in the world, so to see it flourishing like this is just awesome.

“I wish I was five years younger, I wish I was still playing.”

Steindl wants the team to be successful from the start, just as the JackJumpers were, with two championship series appearances in their first three years, including winning the 2023-24 NBL Championship. She knows success starts with resources, and a key part of that will be opening their high performance centre, which will be ready to go for the team’s first preseason.

“We just want to be successful from the start, so building those resources around the team and making sure that the team is well taken care of outside of basketball [is a priority],” she said.

“Ideally, you want to win on the court, but if the things off the court aren't taken care of, we won't be able to find success, so building up all the resources around the players is the main thing.

“We'll get to move into the high performance centre for the start of preseason and it will just be awesome to see both the men's brand and our brand next to each other on the building.”

Speaking of the brand, Steindl noted the team name was a work in progress, with the Tasmanian community involved in the process.

“We put it out to the community in Tassie to put in their vote for a team name, so that's being built behind the scenes,” she said.

“Hopefully it's voted upon with a solid name that Tassie can be proud of, the hard working-class that we are down there.”

Speaking about the WNBL Townsville Tip Off preseason tournament, Steindl was impressed by the level of talent on show and was understandably tight-lipped on players that caught her eye.

“It's been a great tournament,” she said.

“I know as being a previous player it's quite good to get a hit out against players other than your own teammates. It's been really good to see, really refreshing and a good chance for us to come and see all the talent.

“There’s lots of players that we're definitely interested in, but it's just been good to be able to see everyone and get a feel for what sort of programs there are around the country.”

With teams levelling up around the country for season 2025-26, you get the sense the following year with Tasmania – a franchise already locked in on making a statement from day one – joining the league, the WNBL is only going to get more competitive and more exciting.

About the Author

Hayley Wildes is passionate about all things Australian women’s basketball and loves to highlight the stories of players from all levels and competitions across the globe. From our own backyard in the WNBL, to the WNBA and the Opals, and everything in between, Hayley has you covered.