{"id":399609,"date":"2026-08-06T20:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T20:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/399609\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T20:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T20:58:11","slug":"once-again-former-uconn-womens-players-to-play-major-roles-in-top-international-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/399609\/","title":{"rendered":"Once again, former UConn women’s players to play major roles in top international tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three former UConn women\u2019s basketball players have been named to the USA women\u2019s national team<\/a> to play in the FIBA Women\u2019s Basketball World Cup<\/a>, which will take place Sept. 4-13 in Berlin.<\/p>\n

Paige Bueckers, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart<\/a> were three of the 12 players chosen to play for the national team.<\/a><\/p>\n

The selection marks Buecker\u2019s<\/a> first appearance for the national team at a major international competition (World Cup or Olympic Games). She had previously won gold at FIBA junior world competitions.<\/p>\n

Sue Bird,<\/a> USA Basketball\u2019s national team managing director who chose the team, said she was excited to announce the roster Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe makeup of the roster is pretty straightforward,\u201d Bird said Thursday. \u201cI talked about this in some of the camps about wanting to have a good mixture of people with experience and people with youth \u2013 obviously that sets us up for the future as well \u2013 but it\u2019s also a team that complements each other and can go on the court and win the gold and that\u2019s always the North Star in these decisions I\u2019ve made \u2013 putting together a roster that has cohesiveness, can play (national team coach) Kara (Lawson)\u2019s style and can go out and get a gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team roster includes Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, A\u2019ja Wilson and Jackie Young.<\/p>\n

Stewart was on the team that won the 2022 FIBA World Cup title and she and Collier were on the Olympic gold medal-winning team in Paris in 2024. It will be Stewart\u2019s fourth World Cup appearance; only two other players \u2013 Bird (5) and Diana Taurasi (4) \u2013 have played in at least four World Cups.<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark will also make her first appearance at a World Cup; in 2024, a public outcry ensued after the popular Clark \u2013 then a WNBA rookie \u2013 was left off the Olympic team.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BreannaBreanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty speaks to the media during the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2026 Practice at Obama Presidential Center on July 24, 2026 in Chicago. (Geoff Stellfox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Bird, who was named the national team\u2019s managing director last year, said the team was difficult to choose because of the glut of talent in the WNBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can all agree, the hardest part \u2013 which I would never trade \u2013 is that we have so much talent,\u201d she said. \u201cThe beauty of that is almost all players are wanting to be on this team, willing to be on this team. It\u2019s a good problem to have but makes it difficult trying to piece it all together.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoster construction to me is not about looking at one player in the silo. It\u2019s about looking at the full breadth of each player and how they\u2019re going to make things work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FILELynx forward Napheesa Collier moves the ball during the first half of Game 2 in the first round of the WNBA basketball playoffs against the Golden State Valkyries, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo\/Godofredo A. V\u00e1squez, File)<\/p>\n

At the 2022 FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup in Australia, Wilson led the USA with 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds and was named the MVP, while Plum and Stewart contributed 15.8 and 12.8 points.<\/p>\n

The WNBA will pause from Aug. 30-Sept. 17 so the players can compete in the World Cup. The U.S., which is going for its fifth consecutive World Cup title, will play China in its first game Sept. 4, followed by a game against Italy Sept. 6 and Czechia Sept. 7.<\/p>\n

The U.S. team has not lost a game at the World Cup or the Olympics since losing to Russia in the 2006 FIBA Women\u2019s Basketball Cup in Brazil.<\/p>\n

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