{"id":605768,"date":"2026-04-14T07:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/605768\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T07:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:23:10","slug":"shiels-hassett-dunn-and-puoch-all-taken-in-w-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/605768\/","title":{"rendered":"Shiels, Hassett, Dunn and Puoch all taken in ‘W’ Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four Australians selected in 2026 WNBA Draft, headlined by Saffron Shiels to Toronto Tempo.<\/p>\n

Four Australian women\u2019s basketballers \u2013\u00a0Saffron Shiels, Amelia Hassett, Charlise Dunn, and Manuela Puoch \u2013\u00a0were selected in today\u2019s 2026 WNBA<\/a> Draft in Manhattan, New York.<\/p>\n

Australian representative Shiels, 19, went at pick 26 to Opals head coach Sandy Brondello<\/a>\u2019s Toronto Tempo<\/a>. Kentucky Wildcats star Hassett<\/a> followed at 35 to the Los Angeles Sparks. Just one pick later, at 36, Davidson\u2019s Dunn<\/a> joined the Tempo. Rounding out the group, the New York Liberty selected Puoch with pick 41.<\/p>\n

Both Hassett and Dunn just finished outstanding NCAA careers, while Shiels and Puoch have proven themselves at FIBA under-aged<\/a> tournaments.<\/p>\n

It caps an extraordinary 72 hours for Australian women\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n

Saffron Shiels \u2013\u00a0Toronto Tempo (Selected 26th)\"\"<\/p>\n

Date of Birth: January 18, 2006 (20 years old)
\u200dHeight: 188 cm
\u200dNationality: Australia
\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa National Team: Australian Youth Teams<\/p>\n

Player SnapshotVersatile 188 cm forward with a strong rebounding presenceProven performer across multiple FIBA youth tournamentsImpacted games across scoring, boards and playmakingCareer Averages (FIBA Youth)<\/p>\n

Points: 10.2 \u2502 Rebounds: 6.0 \u2502 Assists: 3.2 \u2502 Efficiency: 12.6<\/p>\n

Best Tournament<\/p>\n

2024 \u2013 FIBA U18 Women\u2019s Asia Cup (Division A)
18.0 PPG \u2502 11.6 RPG \u2502 3.8 APG \u2502 22.8 EFF<\/p>\n

Named All-Star FiveLed Australia to a gold medalInternational ResumeGold \u2013 2024 U18 Asia Cup (Division A)Gold \u2013 2023 U17 Oceania ChampionshipGold \u2013 2022 U18 Asia Championship (Division A)Gold \u2013 2022 U16 Asia Championship (Division A)5th \u2013 2022 U17 World Cup9th \u2013 2023 U19 World CupPlaying ProfileStrong inside-out forward with rebounding instinctsCapable secondary playmaker (3.2 APG career youth average)Physical presence around the rim on both endsAmelia Hassett \u2013\u00a0Los Angeles Sparks (Selected 35th)\"\"<\/p>\n

Position: Forward
\u200dHeight: 190 cm
\u200dHometown: Albury, NSW
\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfaCollege: Kentucky (SEC)
\u200dClass: Senior<\/p>\n

Player SnapshotStretch forward with high-volume perimeter shooting.Reliable two-way contributor with rebounding presenceDurable starter \u2013 67 games, 67 starts across two seasons2025\u201326 Season (Senior)<\/p>\n

Games: 36 \u2502 Minutes: 32.5 \u2502 Points: 10.5 \u2502 Rebounds: 5.3 \u2502 Assists: 1.6 \u2502 FG: 39.7% \u2502 3PT: 36.1% \u2502 FT: 85.7% \u2502 eFG: 55.6% \u2502 PER: 17.7 \u2502 Win Shares: 5.1<\/p>\n

Career (Kentucky)<\/p>\n

Games: 67 \u2502 Minutes: 32.8 \u2502 Points: 9.6 \u2502 Rebounds: 6.5 \u2502 Assists: 1.7 \u2502 FG: 40.0% \u2502 3PT: 34.8% \u2502 FT: 83.8% \u2502 eFG: 54.1% \u2502 PER: 17.1 \u2502 Win Shares: 9.3<\/p>\n

By the Numbers154 made threes across two seasons36.1% from three on 7.6 attempts per game (2025\u201326)85.7% from the line \u2013 elite efficiency+1.9 PPG jump from junior to senior seasonPathwayAustralian product (Tumut \/ Albury region)JUCO development (2022\u201324) before stepping into the SEC starting roleImmediate impact at Kentucky with back-to-back full starting seasonsCharlise Dunn \u2013\u00a0Toronto Tempo (Selected 36th)\"\"<\/p>\n

Position: Guard
\u200dHeight: 188 cm
\u200dHometown: Victoria, Australia
\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfaCollege: Davidson (A-10) | Virginia Tech (ACC)
\u200dClass: Senior<\/p>\n

Player SnapshotTall, versatile guard with strong rebounding impactThree-time All-A-10 selectionHigh-usage scorer with consistent two-way production2025\u201326 Season (Senior \u2013 Davidson)<\/p>\n

Games: 33 \u2502 Minutes: 33.6 \u2502 Points: 15.3 \u2502 Rebounds: 7.4 \u2502 Assists: 1.9 \u2502 FG: 40.8% \u2502 3PT: 30.9% \u2502 FT: 83.5% \u2502 eFG: 48.0% \u2502 PER: 23.4 \u2502 Win Shares: 5.6<\/p>\n

Career (NCAA)<\/p>\n

Games: 95 \u2502 Minutes: 28.1 \u2502 Points: 12.1 \u2502 Rebounds: 5.9 \u2502 Assists: 1.6 \u2502 FG: 39.4% \u2502 3PT: 30.9% \u2502 FT: 82.1% \u2502 eFG: 47.1% \u2502 PER: 23.0 \u2502 Win Shares: 13.4<\/p>\n

Davidson Career (3 Seasons)<\/p>\n

Points: 13.5 \u2502 Rebounds: 6.6 \u2502 Assists: 1.8<\/p>\n

84 games, 74 startsPrimary scoring option by senior yearBy the Numbers+3.3 PPG jump from junior to senior season7.4 RPG as a guard in 2025\u20132683.5% FT \u2013 reliable late-game option23.4 PER \u2013 elite impact at A-10 levelPathwayDeveloped at Lake Ginninderra College (ACT system)Began at Virginia Tech before transferring to DavidsonEmerged as a featured A-10 performer and team leaderManuela Puoch \u2013 New York Liberty (Selected 41st)\"\"<\/p>\n

Position: Forward
\u200dHeight: 184 cm
\u200dDate of Birth: October 5, 2006 (19 years old)
\u200dState: Victoria
\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfaWNBL Team: Southside Flyers<\/p>\n

Player SnapshotEmerging forward with strong rebounding instinctsActive two-way contributor at the international youth levelDeveloping perimeter threat with inside scoring touch2025 Season (Southside Flyers)<\/p>\n

Games: 23 \u2502 Points: 4.43 \u2502 Rebounds: 1.26 \u2502 Assists: 0.35 \u2502 FG: 39.5% \u2502 3PT: 34.1% (15\/44) \u2502 FT: 67.6%<\/p>\n

Career (WNBL)<\/p>\n

Games: 34 \u2502 Points: 4.6 \u2502 Rebounds: 1.7 \u2502 Assists: 0.5 \u2502 FG: 41.2% \u2502 3PT: 33.8% \u2502 FT: 78.8%<\/p>\n

International \u2013 2025 U19 World Cup (Silver Medal)<\/p>\n

Points: 9.5 \u2502 Rebounds: 6.8 \u2502 Assists: 2.8<\/p>\n

Top-10 rebounder in tournament (6.8 RPG)80.0% from the free throw lineKey quarter-final performance vs Hungary:
12 pts \u2502 9 reb \u2502 2 ast (29 mins)By the Numbers+5.1 RPG gap between WNBL and international play (role expansion)5.5 defensive rebounds per game at the U19 level33.3% from three internationally on low volumeConsistent across all categories: scoring, boards, and playmakingPathwayVictorian product progressing through the national team system.Silver medallist \u2013 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four Australians selected in 2026 WNBA Draft, headlined by Saffron Shiels to Toronto Tempo. Four Australian women\u2019s basketballers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-605768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}