The Tasmania Jewels have signed their first player as it prepares for its inaugural WNBL season, announcing local talent Nikki Parker as their foundation signing.

The 17-year-old guard from Tasmania’s north-west coast will join the Jewels as a development player for the 2026-27 season.

Parker’s basketball career began at age seven with Latrobe and Ulverstone, before joining the Tasmanian Future Development Program at 11.

She started playing senior women’s basketball at just 13 and has represented Tasmania nationally four times.

Parker began her basketball career at age seven with Latrobe and Ulverstone

Last year she was named in the Australian Women’s Under-17 Sapphires Squad.

Head Coach Claudia Brassard said signing a young Tasmanian first sent a clear message about the team’s identity.

The six-foot guard currently plays for Northern Force in the NBL1 competition

“The Jewels are a fiercely proud Tasmanian team and a team for every Tasmanian, so it is only fitting that our very first signing is local rising star Nikki Parker,” she said.

“She’s born and raised on Tasmania’s north west, a region that is famous for producing some of basketball’s best.”

Brassard said Parker’s potential and attitude was the major factor for the signing.

“She has raw talent in spades, she’s tough and gritty and plays both ends of the floor,” she said.

The 17-year-old guard will join the Jewels as a development player

Parker said the news was a dream come true.

“I love playing basketball, it’s all I’ve ever dreamed of doing,” she said.

“It was so lucky that I was sitting down when I got the call to say I was on the team, I was so shocked and excited.”

The six-foot guard currently plays for Northern Force in the NBL1.

The signing reflects the team’s commitment to developing local Tasmanian talent

Assistant General Manager Kayla Steindl said the team would consist of 10 rostered players and three development players.

The Jewels will begin their season in October, splitting home games between Hobart’s MyState Bank Arena and Launceston’s Silverdome.

Membership details for the club will be announced soon.