USA Basketball announced Monday the 18-player roster for a February minicamp at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Among the athletes selected are 2023 WNBA Finals MVP A'ja Wilson and three other members from the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces: Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young. Young was the only member of the Aces quartet to participate in the October camp and exhibition games.
Regular-season MVP Breanna Stewart will join Liberty teammates Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Sabrina Ionescu at camp next month. The latter two Liberty players participated in the fall camp, while Stewart did not.
"With less than 200 days until the 2024 Olympic Summer Games, we are excited to bring together a group of athletes who aspire to represent the United States not only in Antwerp, but ultimately Paris," USA Basketball women's national team committee chair. Jennifer Rizzoti said in a press release.
The February 2024 🇺🇸 #USABWNT training camp roster is here!
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) January 22, 2024
18 athletes, including 11 Olympians, return to the national team for a three day camp in Brooklyn, NY. pic.twitter.com/elvlGuP5Fc
The U.S. women's national team has already qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but will still participate in the 2024 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium next month. They will compete alongside Nigeria, Senegal and host nation Belgium. Three additional qualifiers will take place in China, Hungary and Brazil between Feb. 8-11.
Summer Olympics host France is the only additional nation that has already qualified for the field of 12 heading to Paris this summer. An additional 10 teams will officially punch their ticket via the four qualifying tournaments next month.
The players invited to USA Basketball's February minicamp will be competing to make the 12-player roster for the qualifying tournament, and thus the final Olympic roster.
"Not only will the training camp be tremendously valuable but the qualifying tournament in Belgium will offer a meaningful opportunity to compete against world-class talent as we get one step closer to selecting the 2024 USA Women's National Team," Rizzoti said.
The minicamp will include 11 Olympians, led by five-time gold medalist Diana Taurasi, and nine members of the 2022 FIBA World Cup championship team. Aliyah Boston, Rhyne Howard, and Arike Ogunbowale are the only camp members who have yet to earn a medal in competition with the senior women's team. The trio are among the six WNBA players selected for the 2024 Player Marketing Agreement (PMA) cohort.
Head coach Cheryl Reeve will be joined by fellow current WNBA head coaches Tanisha Wright (Atlanta Dream), Curt Miller (Los Angeles Sparks) and Washington Mystics general manager Mike Thibault.
Next month continues USAB's quest for an unprecedented eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal. The United States will automatically qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles.
