Welcome back Darius Days for NBL27

Darius Days looks set to be coming 'home' to Wollongong. The Hawks have agreed terms with the power forward for NBL27, with the signing now subject to NBL approval.

Hawkheads will remember exactly how this story started. Days first showed up on the Hawks' radar the hard way, starring for the Shanghai Sharks against Illawarra in a pre-season hit out at the Snakepit in August 2024. He impressed enough that within weeks he was wearing red and black himself, signing with the Hawks in September 2024 as the final piece of the NBL25 championship roster.

What followed was one of the great seasons in the club's recent history. Days settled straight into the frontcourt alongside Sam Froling and Mason Peatling, and was part of the group that brought the NBL25 Championship home to Illawarra. Across the season he averaged 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, shooting a hot 33.3 per cent from three for a big man, and brought the kind of inside and outside touch that made him a genuine matchup problem all year.

Since Illawarra, Days has kept moving. He spent the back end of the 2024/25 season in Puerto Rico with Atléticos de San Germán, then headed to Japan for the 2025/26 season with San-en NeoPhoenix in the B1 League before a brief stint with Tropang in the Philippines. Now the plan is to bring that experience back to the WIN Entertainment Centre.

On top of the numbers, Days built a real connection with Hawkheads during his first stint. Big rebounder, bigger personality, and a knockdown shooter from the outside, he was one of the most popular figures in the championship squad. Fans who were in the building for that title run will know exactly what his return could mean for NBL27.

Hawks Chief Operations Officer, Basketball Mat Campbell said "You don't forget a player who helped deliver a championship. Darius gave us rebounding and outside shooting when we needed it most. Subject to NBL approval, we're looking forward to what he adds to this squad for NBL27."

BE ONE OF US TOO

Darius is back wearing red, black and white this season.

Sixteen home games, all season, right here in Wollongong.

However you follow the Hawks, there's a membership built for you.

• Full Season gets you into every one of those 16 nights.
• ‍Flexi 5 gets you into any 5, your call, whenever suits.

Be a Hawkhead, because there's no wrong way to show up, only a right one for you.

Preseason at The Snakepit | Hawks vs Saint Mary's Gaels (California)

Thursday 13th August. Doors 6:15pm. Tip-off 7:00pm.  

The Snakepit hosts the Illawarra Hawks against Saint Mary's Gaels of California, and this is more than a warm-up game. It's the first look at the roster that carries the red and black through NBL27, and it's a night stitched together by more Hawks connections than any preseason fixture we've hosted in years.

STRONGER. LOUDER. TOGETHER.