Taipans reveal full 2025-26 roster
McVeigh joins a solid Cairns core of Sam Waardenburg, Kyrin Galloway, Alex Higgins-Titsha, Kyle Adnam and Kody Stattmann who will all return this season. The line-up will feature three new imports, with centre Marcus Lee signing up for his third NBL team while point guard Ashton Hagans and swingman Admiral Schofield make their league debuts. Reyne Smith and Mawot Mag return to Australia from college and will begin their professional careers in Cairns, like so many successful NBL rookies before them, under Head Coach Adam Forde.
Coach Forde reflected on an unusual off-season that has culminated in this year’s calculated roster build, while praising the front office and Board executive for their work behind-the-scenes.
“We needed to be patient with our recruiting this offseason, as we wanted to keep tradition with our ability to attract and develop young talent, while also landing some massive signatures. Balance is still key, and we feel like we’ve landed exactly where we wanted to,” he said.
"Reyne Smith and Mawot Mag start their pro career with us, alongside Kody Stattmann and Alex Higgins-Tisha who have both been elevated from development player status last season to fully contracted which is another huge success for our pathways.
“Acquiring Jack McVeigh is a massive coup for the Club and joins Sam Waardenburg in our front court. For a coach, it’s an exciting prospect having these two marquee-level locals that will complement each other on the court. Kyle Adnam and Kyrin Galloway round out our local group that obviously bring something unique to their role.
“All three imports come with a background of high character, hard work and leadership qualities. Marcus Lee knows the league well and has had so much success since arriving in Melbourne three seasons ago. Both new to Australia, Ashton Hagans and Admiral Schofield are NBA players who pride themselves on the defensive end that we’ll look to put in positions to capitalise on the offensive end, too.
“It’s been an incredible offseason for everyone involved, but what Mark [Beecroft] and Troy [Stone] have done extensively to get us into this position has gone unseen but needs to be acknowledged. All the credit belongs to them.”
TAIPANS 2025-26 ROSTER
Kyle Adnam will play his 13th season in the league this year, returning to Cairns for a second stint. The experienced point guard guided the team - including an NBA-bound Taran Armstrong - through an injury-laden 24-25 campaign with his natural leadership and basketball IQ. The Victorian reached 241 NBL games last season and is set to pass the 250-game milestone this October, wearing orange. Adnam began his career in Adelaide as a development player in 2013 and has since played with six of the 10 franchises, winning a Championship with United in 2018.
Kyrin Galloway and the Club exercised their mutual option in March, following a career-best campaign in Cairn. The promising power forward was elevated to the starting unit five times and scored in double-digits nine times in 24-25; while improving from seventh to fourth most blocks during the season despite averaging under 20 minutes per game. He spent this offseason in Japan’s B3 League, reaching the play-offs and averaging 11.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for Iwate. The American-Australian has also previously played with the 36ers and Breakers.
Alex Higgins-Titsha is another diamond in the rough that was discovered in Cairns, after earning a development player contract from the Taipans’ Open Gym in June last year. “AHT” made the most of his opportunities last season and was elevated to the starting unit in just his third game. His 11-point 11-board double-double against Brisbane earned him a starting role in a series of other games. He joined Coach Forde for Australia’s 3x3 tour of the Champions Cup, World Cup and Asia Cup and earned a training camp invite and Summer League stint with the Golden State Warriors (alongside former Taipans teammate Taran Armstrong) last month.
Ashton Hagans will be the Taipans’ starting point guard this season, bringing experience from multiple G League teams and most recently, a campaign in China with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. The fringe NBA floor general signed a two-way contract with Minnesota in 2020 and with Portland in February 2024, playing for the Raptors 905, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Greensboro Swarm and Rip City Remix in between. With Charlotte’s affiliate, Hagans post a triple-double including 22 assists in his first game for the Swarm, tied for second-most in G League history.
Marcus Lee becomes the first Taipans’ import since 2018 to be signed from another NBL team. The Californian has experience from across the world, playing in the G League as well as in Italy, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Spain, Poland with pre-season stints in Greece and Israel. He first joined the NBL with United in November 2022, before signing with the Jackjumpers the following year for the full season. The centre was part of their maiden Championship squad alongside Jack McVeigh and returned to Melbourne for 24-25, averaging 6.9 and 5.8 rebounds.
Jack McVeigh makes his highly anticipated return to Australia after signing a two-way deal with Houston, playing nine games for the Rockets and 35 games with their G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. McVeigh made his NBA debut against the San Antonio Spurs on 6 November 2024, becoming the first NBA player to wear the jersey number 58. He scored his first NBA points two days later with a three-pointer which secured him a series of appearances over the following month. He earned a callup with the Atlanta Hawks for 2025 NBA Summer League.
Mawot Mag chooses Cairns for his rookie campaign after completing his collegiate career at Rutgers University and Brigham Young University. The forward initially joined Rutger’s Scarlet Knights and worked his way from the bench in his freshman year to start every game in his junior year and reaching an average of 9.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in his last season at the college. Making the move to BYU for his final year, the versatile defender played a key role in the side reaching the NCAA tournament where they dispatched VCU and Wisconsin to reach the Sweet 16, before falling to the second-seeded Alabama.
Admiral Schofield has spent most of his career with Orlando, signing two 10-day contracts and two two-way contracts throughout 2021 and 2022 before he converted to a standard NBA contract with the Magic in February 2023. He was originally selected by Philadelphia in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft and was traded immediately to Washington. He signed a three-year deal and made history when he played a game for the Go-Go (G League) and the Wizards on the same day (December 4) that year. The small forward has also played with Greensboro Swarm and Lakeland Magic in the G League, and LDLC ASVEL in France.
Reyne Smith begins his career in Cairns, after stunning with the Australian Boomers for the 2025 Asia Cup. The Tasmanian attended the Centre of Excellence and went on to play for the College of Charleston, hitting 90 triples across his first season and breaking the school record for a freshman. Relocating to the University of Louisville for his senior year, the shooting guard led his new conference for made triples with an average of 3.5 per game. He was picked up by Denver for the 2025 NBA Summer League and joins Mag on the Taipans’ rookie list.
Kody Stattmann enters his fourth year in the league, following stints in Brisbane and South East Melbourne as a development player. During his time with Phoenix, the departure of an import saw the shooting guard elevated to the main roster, appearing in 16 games. Following the Taipans’ Open Gym, he signed on for his final year of DP eligibility with the commitment of a roster position in his second season. The Cairns local boasts an NCAA Championship with the University of Virgina and completed the 2025 NBL1 North season averaging 24 points at 46% from the field, eight rebounds and three assists per game.
Sam Waardenburg is back for his fourth season in orange, the longest serving Taipan on the roster. He was celebrated for his contributions with the Club’s MVP, Best Defensive and Fan’s MVP awards in February. The University of Miami graduate earned the inaugural Next Generation Award in his first season with the Club and has continued to improve year-on-year. He averaged 14.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 24-25, while this offseason, he led Mayaguez to the BSN Conference Finals. The New Zealander finished his time in Puerto Rico averaging 17.2 points, 7.3 boards, 2.4 assists while shooting at 55% from the field.
TAIPANS
PG: Ashton Hagans / Kyle Adnam
SG: Reyne Smith / Kody Stattmann
SF: Admiral Schofield / Alex Higgins-Titsha / Mawot Mag
PF: Jack McVeigh / Kyrin Galloway
C: Sam Waardenburg / Marcus Lee
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