Caitlin Clark began training camp ahead of the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Puerto Rico on Friday alongside the rest of Team USA. In interviews with reporters, Clark admitted she's a little nervous heading into the tournament, which will be her first time back on the basketball court in front of fans since she injured her groin and foot last season.
Team USA will play Senegal on March 11, and the game will be Clark's first in nearly eight months. Her last game for the Indiana Fever was on July 15. Clark began the 2025 WNBA season dealing with a quad strain, then injured her groin, and then injured her foot. She averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and five rebounds per game in 13 games for the team.
Next week's tournament gives Clark a chance to show fans what she's been working on during the offseason, but it's also a big deal for a player who never missed a college or professional game until last year.
Though she expressed some nerves, Clark also noted that December's training camp was a great reset that allowed her to feel more confident heading into tournament play. “I think the first USA camp was a great checkpoint for me and I felt really great,” she told reporters this weekend. “Honestly, I was impressed with how with it I felt. Sometimes, I thought maybe it would take me a day or two to really get my first step back. But I felt like myself out there … just remind myself of who I am, what I’ve been and I didn’t lose that.”
Team USA will face plenty of opponents in Puerto Rico
In addition to their first match against Senegal, Team USA has a full slate of games ahead of them once they arrive in Puerto Rico. The Americans have already qualified for the World Cup in Berlin in September. Though the roster heading into Puerto Rico is stacked with a lot of the league's young talent, it's possible that the squad in Berlin will include a few different faces — and the roster for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles has not been set.
In addition to Clark, the full roster includes 2024 Olympic gold medalists Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, as well as WNBA vets Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard. Aliyah Boston and Sonia Citron were also named to the squad but bowed out ahead of training camp due to injuries sustained during Unrivaled's second season. The group will also be joined by Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and Kiki Iriafen.