This past weekend, USA Basketball Women’s National Team hosted training camp at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and 17 of the country’s top women’s basketball players participated. Players are currently battling for roster spots for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup, which will take place in September next year in Berlin.
Caitlin Clark and 14 WNBA stars attended USA Basketball camp — what’s next?
17 women’s basketball players gathered for USA Basketball Women’s National Team camp ahead of the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup. Roster decisions will be made in the coming months.
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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 was the full list of attendees at the Duke camp:
- Lauren Betts (UCLA Bruins)
- Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever)
- Cameron Brink (Los Angeles Sparks)
- Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings)
- Veronica Burton (Golden State Valkyries)
- Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics)
- Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)
- Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury)
- Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces)
- Dearica Hamby (Los Angeles Sparks)
- Kiki Iriafen (Washington Mystics)
- Rickea Jackson (Los Angeles Sparks)
- Brionna Jones (Atlanta Dream)
- Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks)
- Angel Reese (Chicago Sky)
- JuJu Watkins (USC Trojans)
- Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)
Ten of the 17 players were first-time senior camp participants: Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, Veronica Burton, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, Kiki Iriafen, Rickea Jackson, Lauren Betts, and JuJu Watkins. Watkins is out with an ACL tear, but remained a part of the weekend, while Betts marked the only active college player in participation.
Additionally, 7 senior camp returners participated in the weekend. Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young were all on the Paris Gold Medal team, while Dearica Hamby won a 3x3 bronze medal in Paris. Brionna Jones is a 2022 FIBA World Cup champion, while Aliyah Boston has participated in various junior and senior competitions.
Duke head coach Kara Lawson led training camp and was assisted by WNBA coaches Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury), and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever).
Throughout the weekend, USA Basketball shared scrimmage clips on social media, with the camp’s youngest players oftentimes matched up against the more veteran group.
Attending camp is not a prerequisite to competing in upcoming USA Basketball competitions. In fact, several near shoe-ins — like Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, and Napheesa Collier — were not in attendance due to other commitments, despite all being critical members of the Paris Olympics Gold Medal team. Several of the US’s top young players — like University of Connecticut stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong — were not invited. Final rosters are expected to be announced in the coming months.
While the national team camp is a precursor to World Cup competition, it also provides some insight into who could lace up for the US team in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The US women have won 8 straight Olympic Gold Medals and 4 straight World Championships.
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