(AP) – Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will team up on the U.S. women’s basketball World Cup qualifying roster that will play next month in Puerto Rico.
The two young stars headline the 12-player team that has a mix of veterans and youth. Clark and Reese have helped the rise of women’s basketball over the past few years, starting with their memorable meeting in the NCAA championship game in 2023 that LSU won.
They’ll be joined by 2024 Olympic gold medalists Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard won the 3×3 bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Games.
Also making their national team debut will be Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. Aliyah Boston, who played for the U.S. at the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2024, rounds out the squad.
Clark only played in 13 WNBA games last season while dealing with a host of injuries. She participated in a USA camp in December and said she was healthy.
Three-time Olympic and world champion Breanna Stewart will train with the team in Miami on March 7-8, but won’t play in the tournament.
U.S. Olympic coach Kara Lawson will lead the team in San Juan for the first part of the tournament before returning to Duke to prepare the Blue Devils for the NCAA Tournament. She’ll be assisted by Natalie Nakase, Nate Tibbets and Stephanie White. The trio were court coaches at that U.S. training camp in December.
The U.S. will face Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand and Spain in the tournament. The Americans have already qualified for the World Cup in Berlin from Sept. 4-13.
The Americans are looking for a fifth consecutive World Cup championship.
___
