USA Basketball will convene one of its deepest and most versatile rosters in recent memory when the Women’s National Team gathers for a three-day training camp from Dec. 12–14 at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
The 18-player group blends Olympic champions, World Cup veterans, and a wave of young talent stepping into the senior team environment for the first time as the program begins early preparations for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin.
Proven Core Returns to Anchor Competitive Camp
The roster includes five members of the 2024 Olympic gold-medal team — Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young. Dearica Hamby, who claimed a 3×3 bronze medal in Paris, also joins the camp after continuing to expand her USA Basketball résumé.
Several players arrive with extensive World Cup experience. Brionna Jones won gold at the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup, while Copper and Gray were also part of that title run. Plum and Griner each own two World Cup championships, underscoring the level of continuity and veteran presence expected in Durham.
Aliyah Boston, whose USA Basketball career spans multiple youth and senior-level events, is also slated to participate.
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Next Wave of USA Basketball Talent Steps Forward
Ten players will make their senior national team camp debuts: Lauren Betts, Cameron Brink, Paige Bueckers, Veronica Burton, Sonia Citron, Caitlin Clark, Kiki Iriafen, Rickea Jackson, Angel Reese, and JuJu Watkins. For many, it represents the next natural progression from decorated youth careers into the senior pool.
Betts, Boston, Burton, Jackson, and Reese have all competed at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup. Meanwhile, Betts, Boston, Brink, Bueckers, Citron, Clark, and Watkins collectively carry an impressive collection of gold medals from various junior competitions. Iriafen will make her USA Basketball debut in Durham, adding yet another dimension of frontcourt depth.
A strong 3×3 background is also represented across the camp roster. Plum and Young earned Olympic 3×3 gold in 2021, Hamby secured bronze in Paris, and Brink claimed World Cup gold in 2023. Burton, Hamby, and Jones hold AmeriCup medals in the discipline, while Boston, Bueckers, and Jackson previously competed in junior-level 3×3 events.
The 🇺🇸 #USABWNT Is Back‼️
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) November 24, 2025
18 athletes will attend training camp Dec. 12-14 in Durham, North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/qp4lK9rOXq
Kara Lawson Takes Lead as USA Basketball Evaluates Path to 2026
Newly appointed Women’s National Team head coach Kara Lawson, who leads Duke’s program, will run the camp. She will be joined by court coaches Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury), and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever) — a group representing some of the league’s most accomplished recent coaching success.
White, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year, returns after serving as a court coach at the April 2024 training camp. Tibbetts comes off a WNBA Finals appearance with Phoenix, while Nakase, the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year, makes her USA Basketball debut after guiding the Valkyries to the playoffs in their inaugural season.
USA Women’s National Team managing director Sue Bird will oversee evaluations ahead of final roster selections. The United States will aim for its fifth consecutive World Cup gold medal when the 2026 tournament tips off Sept. 4–13 in Berlin.
The December camp marks one of the program’s earliest steps toward building that roster — and the competition for those spots will begin in earnest on the floor in Durham.
