Madina Okot Set to Round Out Tasmania Jewels’ Roster for WNBL27 / sportsearchers.com

The Tasmania Jewels have filled out their roster for the upcoming WNBL27 season, announcing that rising WNBA star Madina Okot has committed to the club — a move that’s pending official league approval, but one that already has fans excited about the fit.

A rookie season that’s already turning heads

Okot arrives in Tasmania fresh off a standout first year in the WNBA. Selected 13th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the 6-foot-6 center out of Kenya wasted little time establishing herself as one of the league’s most efficient interior scorers. Heading into the All-Star break, she was shooting an outstanding 60.9% from the field — the highest mark on Atlanta’s entire roster, ahead of established veterans like Naz Hillmon (46.2%) and Allisha Gray (45.5%). That kind of efficiency from a first-year center is a strong indicator that her offensive game translated immediately to the professional level, even while still adjusting to the size and physicality of WNBA competition.

Her development throughout the season has followed a clear upward trend as well. Rather than a rookie who flashed early and plateaued, Okot has shown steady, continuous improvement as the year has progressed — exactly the kind of trajectory that makes a team confident investing further in her growth, whether domestically or through an offseason opportunity like this one in Australia. The one area she’s still working to refine is ball security, with her coaching staff hoping continued reps and development will eventually make her trustworthy in high-leverage, late-game situations where her size and interior presence matter most.

A well-traveled path to this point

Okot’s path to the WNBA wasn’t a straight line. Born in Kenya in 2004, she began her college career at Mississippi State before transferring to South Carolina for her final season, where she played under head coach Dawn Staley. That move was widely covered at the time, and Okot herself cited both her admiration for Staley and South Carolina’s track record of developing top-tier WNBA talent as reasons behind the decision — a bet that paid off given how quickly she’s made an impact at the professional level.

What joining Tasmania means

For the Jewels, landing a center with Okot’s combination of size, efficiency and draft pedigree represents a genuine coup as the club rounds out its roster ahead of WNBL27. She joins a Tasmania squad already featuring experienced Australian talent like forward Keely Froling, under first-year head coach Claudia Brassard-Riebesehl, a Canadian bringing her own decorated WNBL coaching background — including a 2018 championship as head coach of the Townsville Fire — into her new role in Tasmania.

International offseason stints have become increasingly common for WNBA players looking to stay sharp, earn additional income, and continue developing against different styles of competition during the league’s break. For a still-developing player like Okot, spending WNBL27 playing significant minutes in Tasmania’s frontcourt could be exactly the kind of live-game repetition that helps address the turnover concerns her Atlanta coaching staff has flagged, while also giving her valuable additional experience operating as a focal point in the post.

Pending approval, but a signing worth watching

With the move still awaiting formal league sign-off, the final details of Okot’s Tasmania tenure — including exact role and expected workload — remain to be fully outlined. But given her rookie-season trajectory and the clear organizational excitement already surrounding the announcement, her arrival looks poised to be one of the more notable additions to the WNBL27 season once it’s officially confirmed.