The WNBL \u2013 Australia\u2019s longest-running elite domestic women\u2019s sports competition \u2013 has seen eight teams compete in the league since the 2016-17 season. Some licences have changed hands and some clubs have been rebranded, but the split of teams across the league \u2013 including three Victorian-based clubs \u2013 has remained the same.<\/p>\n
But that will change from the 2026-27 season, with Tasmania officially awarded the ninth WNBL license. It\u2019ll be the first time the league has featured a Tassie-based team since 1996 when the Hobart islanders\u2019 10-year stint ended.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWith the new energy, investment, and passion in the WNBL, it is the right time for Tasmania to return to the league,\u201d WNBL chief executive Jennie Sager said.<\/p>\n
A ninth WNBL team will be based in Tasmania. Picture: Steve Bell\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank the Jack Jumpers for believing in our vision and backing the future of women\u2019s basketball. With one in five girls playing basketball in this country, this new team helps increase opportunities and inspire a new generation of girls to dream big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tasmania\u2019s WNBL team will feature a new brand, including a unique name and logo. Ten new roster spots for WNBL players will open up, as well as opportunities in coaching, support staff and leadership positions.<\/p>\n
The club will reveal its inaugural season plans in the coming months, but has called for Tassie community input and engagement to help drive the rollout strategy. <\/p>\n
Kayla Steindl, a former WNBA and WNBL player, has already beein appointed Tasmania\u2019s WNBL assistant general manager, while not-for-profit organisation St Lukes has been confirmed as the foundation principal partner.<\/p>\n
It comes off the successful launch of the Tasmania JackJumpers, who made the grand final series in their first NBL season (2021-22), won the championship two seasons later then sold out every home game across their 2024-25 campaign.<\/p>\n
JackJumpers chief executive Christine Finnegan, who\u2019d led the WNBL expansion effort, said it was \u201can incredibly proud day for this club and for the state of Tasmania\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are so proud to expand the club to now have an inspirational and aspirational pathway for both girls and boys,\u201d Finnegan said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe are thrilled to have secured the first expansion license and to now begin to build a successful and sustainable women\u2019s program, leveraging from the strong foundations that have already been established and expand our footprint and impact on the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen what the JackJumpers have done for the community and how the community have embraced the team. Now we\u2019ll have a women\u2019s team that brings that same spirit, pride and passion to the women\u2019s game at the highest national level.\u201d<\/p>\n
The league on Tuesday also called for expressions of interest amid a desire to add a 10th team for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n
While an open invitation has been sent to all corners of the country, the league has a \u201cstrong ambition\u201d to see the 10th license awarded to the Brisbane or Gold Coast market, expecially ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.<\/p>\n
Teams like the South East Queensland Stars, Logan Thunder and Brisbane Blazers have all featured at various stages during the WNBL\u2019s existence. But the only Queensland-based team in the league at the moment is the highly-successful Townsville Fire, who\u2019ve won four of the past 11 championships.<\/p>\n
A ninth WNBL team will be based in Tasmania. Picture: Steve Bell\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is significant interest from investors and stakeholders who are excited by the growth they are seeing in women\u2019s basketball and it\u2019s a powerful reminder that the appetite for the game has never been stronger,\u201d Sager said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not just looking for a new team \u2013 we\u2019re looking for a partner who will help us build a league that is strong, sustainable and a source of pride for decades to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 10th team means more court time for elite players, more pathways for the stars of tomorrow, and more moments that inspire young girls to pick up a basketball and know they have a place in our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
WNBL owner Victoria Denholm of the Wollemi Capital Group said the talent pool for Australian women\u2019s basketball had \u201cnever been deeper\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to provide more local playing opportunities for our elite players and expanding the league is a key way to do that,\u201d Denholm said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are incredible people right across the country who feel just as passionate about the growth of the WNBL as we are. The addition of a 10th team is a rare opportunity to join us and build on our vision to create a strong, sustainable league.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to hear exactly why you should have a team and join us in providing more women the opportunity to pursue their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2025-26 WNBL season will begin in just over two months, with Round 1 to take place across the weekend of October 18-19. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s understood the league is close to confirming a TV broadcast rights deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WNBL has declared its desire to capitalise on an \u201cunprecedented global surge in women\u2019s basketball\u201d as it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[1724,64,63,689,60123,60121,726,3423,11387,512,60120,9239,60125,800,60119,60116,60117,2105,60134,60128,18619,54318,60132,60127,677,60124,29453,701,60130,85,60118,60133,11087,2801,60126,60131,60129,60122],"class_list":["post-78745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-hoops","tag-australian-women","tag-basketball","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-chief-executive","tag-china","tag-christine-finnegan","tag-eastern-asia","tag-elite-players","tag-espn-inc","tag-expansion-effort","tag-expansion-license","tag-expansion-plans","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grand-final-series","tag-helps-increase-opportunities","tag-home-game","tag-inaugural-season","tag-jennie-sager","tag-longest-running-domestic-women","tag-oceania","tag-playing-opportunities","tag-professional-game","tag-queensland","tag-rollout-strategy","tag-sports","tag-sports-competition","tag-steve-bell","tag-talent-pool","tag-tasmania","tag-team-helps-increase","tag-unprecedented-global-surge","tag-victoria-denholm","tag-wollemi-capital-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78745","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=78745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}