USA Basketball announced its 2026 World Cup roster on Thursday, and four of the 12 players named will be making their first appearance for the senior national team at a major international competition.
Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese fall into that group. The full roster also includes Napheesa Collier, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson, and Jackie Young. The tournament runs Sept. 4-13 in Berlin.
Seven of the 12 have never played in a World Cup. Boston, Bueckers, Clark, Collier, Howard, Reese, and Young are on that list. Collier and Young won gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024, and a title in Berlin would give each of them two major international championships in three years.
Between them, the 12 players own 14 Olympic gold medals. They have nine World Cup golds. Their WNBA résumés add up to 58 All-Star selections and 16 championships. Seven of the 12 have won Rookie of the Year. Stewart and Wilson have six MVP awards between them.
This USA team deserves a badass nickname. What are we calling them? 🤔🇺🇸
— FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWWC) August 6, 2026
📄 FULL LINEUP https://t.co/3qrDzd5gEV#FIBAWWC x #WeOwnTheGame pic.twitter.com/0fFu1YGpIb
Roster History and Returning Champions
Copper, Gray, Plum, Stewart, and Wilson were all on the team that won the 2022 World Cup in Sydney. Wilson took MVP honors at that tournament after averaging 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. Plum averaged 15.8 points, and Stewart averaged 12.8.
Berlin will be Stewart's fourth World Cup. Only Sue Bird, with five, and Diana Taurasi, with four, have appeared in that many for the United States. Eight of the players named Thursday won gold with USA Basketball at FIBA junior events earlier in their careers: Boston, Bueckers, Clark, Collier, Howard, Plum, Stewart, and Wilson.
A'ja Wilson always gives her all ❤️🔥🇺🇸
— FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWWC) August 4, 2026
📊 #FIBAWWC 2022: 17.2 PTS, 7.5 REB, 2.2 STL, 1.3 BLK pic.twitter.com/3ynCPjoKsN
The 2024 Olympic Team, Two Years Later
Seven players from the team that won gold in Paris are on this roster. Collier, Copper, Gray, Plum, Stewart, Wilson, and Young all made that trip and will make this one. Five did not. Taurasi retired before the 2025 season with six Olympic gold medals. Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, and Alyssa Thomas are all playing this WNBA season and are not on the roster.
Thomas leads the WNBA in assists at 8.4 per game. She is averaging 34.0 minutes, second in the league, and re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury in the offseason. Loyd signed a three-year contract with the Las Vegas Aces. Griner signed with the Connecticut Sun in free agency after one season with the Atlanta Dream.
Ionescu took part in the national team's training camp in Phoenix in April. She is averaging 16.3 points and 4.6 assists for the New York Liberty. Copper, Ionescu, and Thomas were the three Olympic first-timers on the Paris roster. Copper is the only one of the three going to Berlin.
The 2024 USA Basketball Women's Olympic Team. pic.twitter.com/1P7elGqXu5
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 20, 2024
Who Was Left Off
Seven of the players left off had been on either the Paris roster or the March qualifying roster. Griner, Ionescu, Loyd, and Thomas came out of Paris. Sonia Citron, Dearica Hamby, and Kiki Iriafen were on the qualifying team.
Kelsey Mitchell is second in the WNBA in scoring at 24.0 points per game. Her 88 3-pointers lead the league. The Indiana Fever guard has never played for the senior national team. Given how she already has proven chemistry with Clark and Boston, and how effective she is as a combo guard next to high-usage players, she could have been a strong complement to the roster.
Olivia Miles is eighth in the league in scoring at 19.7 points per game. The Minnesota Lynx guard is averaging 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 29 games. She is shooting 50.2% from the field, 38.0% from 3-point range, and 87.5% at the line. Miles was the second overall pick in the 2026 draft. She is currently in the MVP conversation and appears primed to be a superstar.
Other Snubs
One of Miles' teammates, All-Star starter Natasha Howard, was also left off. She is averaging 15.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists for Minnesota. She is shooting 58.3% from the field and averaging 1.8 steals. The versatility she brings, being able to play multiple positions, stands out as an appealing option to enhance a talented roster.
Shakira Austin won a gold medal with the national team at the 2022 World Cup in Sydney and is not on the roster for the follow-up. The Washington Mystics center is averaging 15.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 28 games. She is shooting 47.2% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range, and she is averaging 1.3 blocks. Austin was the AP Comeback Player of the Year in 2025 and won gold with the USA 3x3 team at the 2025 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup.
The Mystics had a few notable players left off in addition to Austin. Citron is averaging 17.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 26 games for Washington. She is shooting 45.3% from the field and 26.4% from 3-point range. Iriafen is averaging 15.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 26 games. She is shooting 49.2% from the field.
Another veteran frontcourt option that was left off the list that stands out is Hamby. She is averaging 15.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 29 games for the Sparks. She is shooting 54.7% from the field and averaging 1.6 steals.
Changes From the March Qualifying Roster
The 12 named Thursday differ in three spots from the group USA Basketball took to the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in March. Citron, Hamby, and Iriafen were on that roster. Collier, Stewart, and Wilson were not, and all three are on this one. Stewart worked with that team at a pre-competition camp in Miami on March 7-8 without playing in San Juan.
Collier had surgery on both ankles in the offseason and was ruled out for four to six months. Her right ankle was repaired on New Year's Day, and her left in March, which ruled her out of the qualifying tournament along with Unrivaled and Lynx training camp. She missed the first 27 games of Minnesota's season and returned July 22 at Seattle, scoring 24 points with 10 rebounds in 22 minutes.
Collier averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 33 games last season. She finished second in MVP voting for the second year in a row.
The United States had already clinched its World Cup berth by winning the 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup and entered the qualifying tournament anyway.
Bird selected the roster in her role as USA Basketball Women's National Team managing director, and the USA Basketball Board of Directors approved it.
"I'm so excited to announce the 2026 USA Basketball Women's National Team," Bird said. "This is an incredibly talented group that has earned the opportunity to compete in Berlin. Wearing a USA jersey is a privilege, and I know these 12 players will embrace that responsibility as we go after another gold medal. I can't wait to see what this team accomplishes together."
IT’S OFFICIAL. CAITLIN CLARK IS YOUR TISSOT MVP. 🌟#FIBAWWC x #WeOwnTheGame pic.twitter.com/QNONqdifSq
— FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWWC) March 18, 2026
Kara Lawson's Coaching Staff
Lawson, the head coach at Duke University, will lead the team in Berlin. Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts, and Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White will serve as her assistants. All three were on the staff in San Juan and worked as court coaches at the December 2025 and April 2026 national team training camps.
Dallas Wings coach Jose Fernandez and Duke assistant Tia Jackson will work as scout coaches. Fernandez filled the same role at the qualifying tournament in March. He was an assistant coach for the USA teams that won gold at the 2025 Women's U19 and 2024 Women's U18 events, and he spent 25 seasons at the University of South Florida, where his teams reached the postseason 19 times.
Jackson played for the Phoenix Mercury and was a scout coach at the 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup. Duke went to a second consecutive Elite Eight last season and won the ACC regular season and tournament titles.
"It's great to have a team and to have a roster," Lawson said. "It's been a long process to whittle it down to 12 players, and I think that speaks to just the talent we have in our country across the board. These 12 have earned it through their play and their consistency. I couldn't be more excited about working with each of them, and I've had good experience with each of them. I think that's what makes it even more special is the relationships that you have, and having worked with them in different capacities. I know what they're capable of, and I know that this is a group that's ready for the challenges that are ahead."
Group Play in Berlin
The United States opens against China on Sept. 4, plays Italy on Sept. 6, and closes group play against Czechia on Sept. 7.
Italy and the United States have not met at a World Cup since 1979, when the Americans won 66-64. The series stands at 1-1. The United States is 8-0 all-time against China and beat the Chinese 83-61 in the 2022 final. The Americans are 2-0 against Czechia, most recently an 89-69 win in 2010.
Berlin is the first World Cup with 16 teams, up from 12 in Sydney. The four group winners go straight to the quarterfinals on Sept. 10, and the next eight teams play in the next round on Sept. 8 and Sept. 9. The semifinals are Sept. 12 and the final is Sept. 13.
A gold medal would be the fifth in a row for the United States and the 12th overall.
The WNBA pauses its regular season from Aug. 31 through Sept. 16 for the tournament.
