{"id":755124,"date":"2026-04-26T20:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T20:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/755124\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T20:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T20:35:15","slug":"aussies-aplenty-at-new-york-liberty-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/755124\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussies aplenty at New York Liberty training camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian head coach Sandy Brondello may have departed from the New York Liberty at the end of last season, but the team hasn\u2019t uprooted its Australian connections. In fact, the Liberty have brought in three Aussies and a star WNBL import for their 2026 training camp. Anneli Maley<\/a>, Alex Fowler<\/a> and Han Xu<\/a> are on training contracts, with the latter making up the import role. <\/p>\n

To paint the full Aussie picture, the team also has Rebecca Allen<\/a>. who has signed a one-year contract, and draft and stashed Manuela Puoch<\/a> with the 41st pick of the draft.<\/p>\n

WNBA fans are already familiar with the fluidity in Allen\u2019s game; where the intrigue for Australians may lie is with the others at training camp. Fowler, of the champion Townsville Fire, and Maley and Xu, of the runners-up Perth Lynx, all featured in the 2026 WNBL Grand Final series. Add in Miela Sowah<\/a> (Townsville) with the Golden State Valkyries and Ally Wilson<\/a> (Perth) on the Washington Mystics, and half of the total starters in the Grand Final are on WNBA training camp rosters.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a very green trend line for the Australian league and speaks to the ongoing exposure it receives. Fire head coach Shannon Seebohm spoke with The IX Basketball about how this exposure helped Fowler arrive in the Big Apple.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Alex, you know, New York were watching Han Xu and just happened to come across our team and our games and the coach really liked how we played.\u201d Seebohm said. \u201cSo he started watching more games of just us, and then that\u2019s obviously how he unearthed Alex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seebohm was all praise for his versatile wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlex is kind of the unsung hero, I think, a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cShe might have 11 points and nine rebounds and whatever else and contributes on the stat sheet. I think it goes way deeper than that. Her ability to impact winning is unlike many players that I\u2019ve ever coached before, to be honest, like she just has a knack for just defensively knowing where to be, she can guard one through five basically in the WNBL.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s only scratching the surface,\u201d Seebohm continued. \u201cNow, to be able to stay in that Opals program and obviously keep getting opportunities like the WNBA, she\u2019s kind of gone in a very short space of time, I guess, from being like a five who then plays the four to now being a four who\u2019s going to play the three. I think her versatility is just so valuable and she\u2019s a huge part of why we\u2019re able to do what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fowler herself also had some thoughts on how her style of play blends with New York\u2019s. She told The IX Basketball that incoming Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco \u201cloves the Australian hustle,\u201d and she can see how it will transition to New York. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou look at a lot of Aussies around the WNBA, we\u2019re all kind of role players,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be the star, but we\u2019re all kind of players that would just do what\u2019s told of us, and we do the hard hustle things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fowler talked further about how her game fits in New York and why she\u2019s excited to be there. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis has just been an experience and an opportunity that kind of popped up for me, and something I said yes to straight away,\u201d Fowler explained. \u201cI would love to just help out and whatever\u2019s been asked of me, I\u2019m really that player that you get told do something, I\u2019ll say yes, no matter what it is \u2026 Whatever I\u2019m being asked to do, I\u2019m a yes man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[Seebohm] is known for his success with the Fire for years, [and] he\u2019s insane with his development,\u201d Fowler continued. \u201cHe runs similar stuff to Chris in an offensive scheme. So that\u2019s made it easy for me transitioning to this a little bit, so that\u2019s helped a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to her impressive work with the Fire, Fowler has also quickly been proving herself at the highest level, earning Asia Cup MVP honors in 2025 and becoming a mainstay for the Australian Opals moving forward. Her variability that Seebohm spoke about is what the 24-year-old Fowler has hung her hat on in her young professional career. That versatility, plus her worth ethic and the potential longevity of her career, makes her both an accomplished and promising player.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

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Howard Megdal\u2019s newest book is here! \u201cBecoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar\u201d captures both the historic nature of Clark\u2019s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.<\/p>\n

Fowler\u2019s talent was on full display as she, along with Maley and Xu, combined for 41 points in the Liberty\u2019s preseason game against the Indiana Fever, with Xu accounting for 20 of these. Preseason numbers might not mean much for an individual, but as a whole, WNBL Grand Finalists made up 45% of the total scoring pie for New York, a positive and accurate reflection of the league. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love that woman, Han is so cool,\u201d Maley said about her current and former teammate. \u201cIf you ever have the opportunity of having a conversation with her, she\u2019s just a ray of sunshine \u2026 Coming out here, this is still a foreign country for me too, you know, so having people around me that are familiar and she\u2019s, gosh, she\u2019s just the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an unspoken understanding between Maley and Xu, both on and off the court. Their respect and friendship transcends how they play; they both made All-WNBL teams in the past season, but it\u2019s their off-court friendship that helps them rise to new challenges. <\/p>\n

Maley knows her experience in both the WNBL and the WNBA is about more than just basketball, which is why relationships matter to her. And that\u2019s especially relevant when it comes to her new head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201c[DeMarco] makes me feel like a person, not just a basketball player,\u201d Maley said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t make you feel like an asset, [he] makes you feel like a human. I really like that, and I really value that in coaches. He\u2019s a good communicator and when he asks questions, he asks to listen and hear the answer, not just to respond, which I think is a really invaluable thing in a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maley has grown impressively as a shooter over her past few seasons, which will be critical in her more supplementary role in the WNBA. She has the athleticism, grit and strength as a rebounder, and her three-point shot is growing. But for Maley her, she\u2019s focusing mostly on stripping it ball back, keeping it simple and getting those reps. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, you just shoot. Shooting with more self-belief,\u201d she said. \u201cYou get reps up, but it\u2019s when you believe it\u2019s going to go in then, then that probably. Everybody trains hard, everyone gets the reps up.\u201d<\/p>\n

That development and determination is what landed Maley back on a training camp contract in the WNBA. She is happy and eager in New York, and grounded by the presence of her Perth teammate Xu. The two of them, of course, are joined by fellow Aussie Fowler; the three together paint a pretty good picture of what WNBL stars can offer the WNBA. <\/p>\n

A 6\u201911 Xu draining a three while Fowler and Maley assist and possess around the glass could be a winning combination for the Liberty. While it\u2019s too early to tell who will stay in New York beyond training camp, the triad\u2019s early returns are positive. Other players like Leonie Fiebich<\/a> and Satou Sabally<\/a> and are still yet to arrive at in New York, and questions remain about who will make the final roster. But the Liberty plan to be a juggernaut once again, and the Aussies are working hard to be a big part of that picture.<\/p>\n

Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily<\/strong>
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\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian head coach Sandy Brondello may have departed from the New York Liberty at the end of last…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":755125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[49],"tags":[310570,310571,310572,190432,310573,234,16493,310574,310575,1520,10592,20021,310576,62,67,132,68,232,17274],"class_list":["post-755124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-alex-fowler","tag-ally-wilson","tag-anneli-maley","tag-chris-demarco","tag-han-xu","tag-indiana-fever","tag-leonie-fiebich","tag-manuela-puoch","tag-miela-sowah","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-rebecca-allen","tag-satou-sabally","tag-shannon-seebohm","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wnba","tag-wnbl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116472927303052204","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=755124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/755125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=755124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=755124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=755124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}