Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese named in Kara Lawson’s initial Team USA training camp lineup

U.S. Women’s National Basketball Team Training Camp

The U.S. women’s national basketball team is set to gather at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, next month for the first training camp under head coach Carla Lawson.

On Monday, Team USA revealed its 18-player roster for the training camp scheduled from December 12-14. This group features some emerging stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Backers, although it notably excludes veterans such as A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu, who had strong performances in the WNBA playoffs.

The full roster includes:

Carlea Copper (Phoenix Mercury)

Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces)

Brittney Greiner (Atlanta Dream)

Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks)

Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)

Dearika Hamby (Los Angeles Sparks)

Breonna Jones (Atlanta Dream)

Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever)

Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)

Angel Reese (Chicago Sky)

Cameron Brink (Los Angeles Sparks)

Veronica Barton (Golden State Valkyries)

Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics)

Kiki Iriafen (Washington Mystics)

Rekea Jackson (Los Angeles Sparks)

Lauren Betts (UCLA)

JuJu Watkins (USC)

Among them, Betts stands out as the only active college player and is anticipated to be in the running for National Player of the Year and a high pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft. Interestingly, UCLA does not have games scheduled during the camp.

Watkins is seen as a significant prospect for Team USA’s future, especially with the 2028 Olympics planned for Los Angeles; however, she is currently out for the season as she recovers from an ACL injury sustained last NCAA Tournament.

Looking at the roster, Copper, Greiner, Plum, Young, and Gray—the only former Duke players—are all experienced members of Team USA that clinched gold in 2024. Moreover, Hamby and Plum also hold gold medals from 3×3 competitions that were coached by Lawson in 2021.

This training camp will also be the first major appearance for Brink, Bueckers, Burton, Citron, Clark, Iriafen, Jackson, and Reese on the senior varsity stage.

Lawson will have the support of three WNBA head coaches for her inaugural camp: Natalie Nakase from Golden State, Stephanie White from Indiana, and Nate Tibbetts from Phoenix.

This event conveniently coincides with a break for Duke, which faces Virginia Tech in the ACC on December 7 and South Dakota State on December 18 after an 11-day hiatus. This follows a somewhat shaky start to their season, as they’ve recorded a 3-3 record, with losses to Baylor, West Virginia, and South Florida, which is surprising given they were the No. 1 pick in the ACC preseason poll.

Recently, Lawson expressed some challenges in balancing her commitments at Duke with her national team goals. “It takes two great staff members,” she mentioned, acknowledging the experience level of her Duke staff. “When you have U.S. commitments, you can get pulled a little bit, and vice versa.”

She further noted the importance of selecting a cohesive national team staff, stating, “We know we have that at Duke. Obviously, we’ll be building that Team USA staff in the coming months.”

Hired by Sue Bird, Lawson was appointed as Team USA’s head coach in September. Previously, she served as an assistant on Cheryl Reeve’s 2024 staff, famously coached the gold medal-winning 3×3 team in 2021, and earned her own gold medal as an athlete in 2008.