June 16, 2025 

Zitina Aokuso signs with Canberra Capitals in WNBL, joining Jade Melbourne

Goriss: 'To be honest, Z was my one and only priority in our starting five spot'

Zitina Aokuso is coming home. The 26-year-old, who spent the last year playing with Ormanspor in the Turkish KBSL, has signed a one year deal with the Canberra Capitals in the WNBL. With Ormanspor, Aokuso averaged 13.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.2 stocks (steals plus blocks) in just 28 minutes a night as part of an egalitarian offense. Of the players who were active for the whole season with Ormanspor, Aokuso was third in scoring per contest, trailing team leading Manolya Kurtulmus by a point and a half. Aokuso was by far the biggest target on the inside and was hyper efficient, connecting on 60% of all two-point attempts.

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Preceding Aokuso’s stint in Turkey was a strong start to her professional career with the Townsville Fire. In Townsville, she steadily established herself as one of the league’s best bigs. In the 2023-24 WNBL season, she was fourth in scoring for the Fire in yet another spread scoring load. Again, she was also the main target on the inside. Aokuso averaged 12 points per night and shot 57% from the floor.

Her new head coach with the Canberra Capitals, Paul Goriss, spoke on Aokuso’s early career growth in a press conference with assembled media, sharing: “she’s someone that I’ve known a long time, felt comfortable with, trusted.

“Just talking with Z,” Goriss continued, “her level of maturity and growth over the years that she’s played, I think she’s in a good spot now where she’s ready to take on the role of being a go-to starter on a team, and a top four team at that.”

In joining Canberra for the 2025-26 season, Aokuso supplements Australia’s best playmaker in Jade Melbourne. “You want a great point guard, you want a great post player,” Goriss said, emphasizing how the two will make a dynamic duo. “I think we’ve got two of the best in Jade and Z in being able to play the pick and roll and the type of game we want to play.”

Goriss continued, “to be honest, Z was my one and only priority in our starting five spot.”

In her decision to join the Capitals, Aokuso credited her new head coach in the same press conference. “I mean, Gos, obviously,” Aokuso said, when asked why she chose to come to Canberra. “Gos has been a true mentor for me and he’s believed in me from the start. Gos knows my story but he’s pretty much the reason why I still play ball and is why I am where I am at the moment. He believed in me and gave me a scholarship to the AIS.”

In Goriss’ pursuit of landing Aokuso, she joked, “he was very, very annoying. It’s like he knew when I was on WhatsApp and he would call me, text me. I was like is he stalking me?

The relationship and chemistry between the two was palpable in the press conference. They’re able to joke at each other’s expense then recognize each other earnestly, within a matter of words.

Aokuso also shared in the press conference how she grew during her time playing in Turkey. “Playing overseas in Turkey was a lot,” she said. “Being away from family for the first time after playing seven years in Townsville was tough. I’ve learned a lot about leadership and believing in yourself when you’re far away from home. And a lot of physicality, because Turkey and Europe is very physical. So I think I bring a lot of that now, and a lot of experience and knowledge.”


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At 6’5, Aokuso has a striking physical presence, and her experience in Europe has helped her strengthen her gifts. And she’s just as excited as Goriss is to join Melbourne on the court and see what the two can create together.

“So exciting. That’s my cuz right there,” Aokuso said, using Australian slang to reference their closeness. “We played in Ballarat a couple seasons ago in the NBL1. I love Jade. I think we played really well together. I think we have that good balance. She knows that I’ll always give her a good screen and she knows that she will always have space to play her game. I’ll be there to pick up on o-boards, or I’ll be there on the roll if she needs. … Jade’s a great player. She’s killing it over there in the W, so I’m really looking forward to seeing her in Canberra.”

Melbourne feels similarly. “I’m super excited,” she told The Next. “It’s hard to come by a big like her. She’s 6’5 but she’s got guard like skills as well. She’s a really good passer. She was our number one target in free agency, and I’m so happy that coach Goriss was able to secure her. We’ve played with each other before and we have great chemistry. When you can bring in someone that you’ve already got a relationship, it’s just a bonus. She’s gonna be great for our team, I think Caps fans are going to be really excited to watch her.”

Melbourne added that she thinks Aokuso could land in the WNBA at some point in her career. “She could find herself on a team over here one day,” Melbourne said. “I think she’s only scratching the surface with what she can do. I really think the sky’s the limit for her, and I’m happy to be playing alongside her.”

She also agrees that her and Aokuso make a good fit on the court. “She’s just super smart,” Melbourne said. “She’s capable of shooting the three, so she knows what to do when they’re in a drop coverage. It really makes it easy for the point guard when the big is reading the defense as well. It’s not a matter of leading her into passes, instead, she’ll be in the right position at the right time.

“She’s a great presence inside,” Melbourne continued. “She’s also going to attract a lot of attention, … she’s a great passer. I’m excited to play with her and I think our games complement each other really well. When you can play with a good quality big it makes you look good and feel good as a point guard.”

Under coach Sydney Johnson, the Washington Mystics are establishing a play style that’s predicated on selflessness and defense, two traits Melbourne has in spades. She’s currently in her third active season in the WNBA and is seeing career highs across the board, aside from early free throw woes. She’s bringing herself to the court more and more every night, averaging 8.3 points on white hot 45.2% three point shooting.

As for Canberra, there’s a lot of talent, chemistry and mutual respect among the group. Their roster also contains the young talents of Monique Bobongie, Jayda Clark and 2024 WNBA draft first round pick Nyadiew Puoch, to go along with the newly formed deadly pick and roll duo.

The Capitals missed out on finals last year on a tiebreaker, and they haven’t had a winning season since 2021-22. This was a season in which a 19-year-old Melbourne lost in the semi-finals to a Perth Lynx team boasting Sami Whitcomb, Marina Mabrey and Jackie Young.

They’ve been trending upwards over the past few seasons, and Melbourne is likely to remain in Canberra as long as she’s playing. The addition of Aokuso will now address the team’s lack of experience and talent, and brings in offensive talent. This team could be eyeing regular postseason appearances starting next season.


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The Next’s Jenn Hatfield contributed reporting for this story.

Written by Lukas Petridis

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