Team USA announced the roster for the World Cup qualifiers in Puerto Rico today. The list includes plenty of veterans that you'd expect to see there, but also heavily features relative newcomers to the WNBA — a strong sign that Team USA is leaning toward focusing on the future of the sport.
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, who previously represented the US in junior and senior competitions and the 2024 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium, will also be on the team.
The group will be joined by Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, Caitlin Clark, Kiki Iriafen, and Angel Reese, who are all making their official senior debuts for Team USA. Breanna Stewart will also join the team in Miami for a pre-tournament training camp from May 7-8.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese highlight Team USA
Clark and Reese are standouts on a team that's made of standouts, and plenty of fans will be closely following the tournament as it progresses in Puerto Rico next month. Both will be back on the court after missing WNBA time due to injuries — Reese missed handful of games for the Chicago Sky toward the end of the 2025 season, and Clark missed most of the season due to a series of injuries that began with a tight left quad in the preseason.
Reese will also see a few of her Team USA teammates a little early in Miami, where she's joining the second season of Unrivaled for the Rose BC.
Team USA will be coached by Kara Lawson
Team USA will be helmed by Duke's head coach Kara Lawson, who has led the Blue Devils on a bit of a tear of late. Lawson will leave the event in Puerto Rico to return to Duke for March Madness, but her assistant coaches — Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), Nate Tibbets (Phoenix Mercury), and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever) — will be on hand to lead the squad.
Team USA enters qualifiers as the heavy favorite to win. The team, which will face off against Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand and Spain in the tournament, has already qualified for the World Cup in Berlin from September 4-13.
It should be noted that not everyone who will play in Puerto Rico will ultimately end up on the final roster for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 — but the experience is the first step toward making it to the Games eventually.