USA Basketball has officially announced its FIBA World Cup roster, and the team is headlined by a slew of young talent that includes the last three Rookies of the Year — Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Paige Bueckers — as well as proven veterans and multi-time MVPs A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese headline USA World Cup team
The World Cup roster includes plenty of new faces, from Paige Bueckers to Aliyah Boston.
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Here is the full list of 12 WNBA players who will be competing in Berlin:
- Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever
- Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings
- Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
- Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
- Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury
- Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces
- Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
- Kelsey Plum, Phoenix Mercury
- Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream
- Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
- Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
The US Women’s Basketball team is pursuing its fifth straight gold medal. The team was selected by national team managing director Sue Bird.
“I’m so excited to announce the 2026 USA Basketball Women’s National Team,” Bird said in a statement. “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.”
The roster includes plenty of familiar faces: A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper represented USA at the 2022 World Cup. Plum, Stewart and Wilson were previously on the 2018 World Cup team.
Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Diana Taurasi, Jewell Loyd, and Alyssa Thomas are the five players who were on the 2024 US Olympic team but are not on the 2026 World Cup team — they’ve been replaced by Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Aliyah Boston, and Rhyne Howard. Boston, Bueckers, Clark, and Howard have all won gold with USA Basketball at FIBA junior competitions in the past.
Griner and Loyd are both playing at a lower level than earlier in their career, and Taurasi is long retired. But, Ionescu and Thomas both could have been viable options for the roster.
The team will be coached by Duke women’s basketball head coach Kara Lawson and three assistants: Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts, and Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White.
The U.S. faces China (September 4th), Italy (September 6th) and Czechia (September 7th) in group play. The tournament will run from September 4th to 13th, and the WNBA season will pause from August 31st to September 16th.
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