How women's college stars are powering USA Basketball's AmeriCup team

Had things gone differently, we mightiness beryllium talking present astir LSU's Flau'jae Johnson and TCU's Olivia Miles arsenic portion of a beardown rookie people successful the WNBA this summer. Instead, some guards -- who were eligible for April's WNBA draught -- opted to instrumentality to college. This week, they are portion of the U.S. women's hoops squad headed to the AmeriCup contention successful Santiago, Chile, from June 28 to July 6.

Johnson and Miles are among respective apical women's assemblage players who are competing for USA Basketball this summertime and 1 time could beryllium connected the elder nationalist team.

Forward Sarah Strong, the 2025 statement nationalist freshman of the twelvemonth who helped pb UConn to the nationalist championship, is presently playing successful the FIBA 3x3 World Cup successful Mongolia. That event, which started Monday, runs done June 29, with LSU's Mikaylah Williams, Oklahoma's Sahara Williams and 2025 Creighton postgraduate Morgan Maly joining Strong connected the U.S. squad.

The AmeriCup is simply a 5-on-5 contention that dates to 1993. It has other accent present arsenic a qualifying lawsuit for the FIBA Women's World Cup successful 2026, a elder nationalist squad lawsuit that is held each 4 years. It volition beryllium successful Berlin successful September 2026.

The United States are successful AmeriCup Group B and volition look big federation Chile (June 28), followed by Colombia (June 29), Puerto Rico (June 30) and Mexico (July 2) successful radical play. The games tin beryllium watched connected FIBA's streaming service, Courtside 1891.

Here's a look astatine the squad that volition spell to Chile, which features 12 players and is coached by Duke's Kara Lawson.

Seniors' clip to shine

Johnson and Miles are among six players connected the squad entering their last play successful college. Oklahoma halfway Raegan Beers, UCLA defender Gianna Kneepkens, Iowa guardant Hannah Stuelke and Michigan State guardant Grace VanSlooten are the others.

Reflecting the inclination present successful assemblage sports, lone 2 -- Johnson and Stuelke -- volition play their full assemblage careers with the aforesaid school. Beers spent her archetypal 2 years astatine Oregon State, and VanSlooten played 2 years astatine Oregon. Kneepkens was astatine Utah 4 years but played conscionable 8 games successful 2023-24 due to the fact that of injury. She volition walk her last play with the Bruins.

Miles entered Notre Dame aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional of the 2020-21 pandemic-impacted season. She didn't play successful 2023-24 due to the fact that of a genu wounded and has a twelvemonth of eligibility left. This past season, the Irish mislaid to TCU successful the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, the squad Miles ended up joining.

Miles told ESPN that she had been successful Fort Worth, Texas, a mates of weeks earlier USA Basketball grooming campy successful Colorado and is excited astir however she volition acceptable successful with the Horned Frogs. With TCU's apical 3 scorers from past play gone, Miles volition beryllium a precise salient subordinate for them.

"It's a large strategy and large acceptable for me," Miles said. "I felt I could payment from different twelvemonth [in college] to amended myself. I cognize I tin amended my leadership, mounting the code for my team, speechmaking the country and knowing what to bash erstwhile the vibes are low. It's truly important arsenic a constituent defender that you're capable to bash that astatine a precocious level."

Johnson said she was chopped the archetypal clip she tried retired for a USA Basketball team, and that stuck with her arsenic motivation. When she was named to the AmeriCup squad past week, she got a congratulatory substance from LSU adjunct manager and erstwhile Tigers and WNBA prima Seimone Augustus, a three-time Olympic golden medalist.

"She conscionable told maine to enactment consistent; that's 1 of the things we ever speech about," Johnson told ESPN. "I'm precise excited. This is specified a large grant to beryllium picked. I deliberation I had a small spot connected my shoulder, not making the squad the past time, and I was determined to bash it this time."

Johnson besides thinks different twelvemonth of assemblage volition assistance her, and she doesn't shy distant from what she hopes she tin bash successful 2025-26.

"I truly privation to enactment successful the enactment to amusement that I could beryllium successful the speech for the No. 1 draught pick," Johnson said. "But much than anything, I privation to effort to triumph different nationalist championship."

Juniors acceptable to lead

Three rising juniors volition beryllium connected the U.S. squad: Texas guardant Madison Booker, Iowa State halfway Audi Crooks and Notre Dame defender Hannah Hidalgo. It's the archetypal USA Basketball squad for Crooks, who led the Big 12 successful scoring (23.4 points per game) and tract extremity percent (60.5) past season.

Booker and Hidalgo person played unneurotic connected 2 erstwhile U.S. inferior teams that won golden astatine tournaments successful 2022 and 2023. This past season, they were players of the twelvemonth successful their respective conferences, the SEC and ACC. Booker besides led Texas to its archetypal Final Four since 2003. Texas mislaid to South Carolina successful the nationalist semifinals.

"It meant a batch to the program, due to the fact that it had been a while, and besides to manager [Vic] Schaefer," Booker told ESPN. "It was large being capable to get him different milestone successful his career. It was bittersweet we came up abbreviated astatine the Final Four, but you can't bent your head. You person to beryllium arrogant of yourself; we were 1 of the past teams standing."

Sophomores acceptable for their encore

Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes, the SEC freshman of the year, is 1 of 3 rising sophomores connected the AmeriCup team. She's joined by South Carolina's Joyce Edwards -- who was connected the SEC's all-freshman squad with Blakes -- and USC's Kennedy Smith, who made the Big Ten's all-freshman team.

"I deliberation seeing however good the freshmen people earlier america played helped unfastened the doorway and pave the mode for us," Blakes said astir the likes of USC's JuJu Watkins, Hidalgo, Booker, Crooks, etc. "I deliberation arsenic young hoopers, we person that borderline to us: We privation to beryllium great, and our property doesn't matter. We're going to play whoever we person to play and bash what we bash best. You can't beryllium scared."

Blakes was a nationalist sensation past play for her scoring prowess: She topped 50 points successful a crippled doubly and was the SEC's second-leading scorer astatine 23.3 points per game. Blakes had 53 points connected Jan. 30 astatine Florida, which was the SEC freshman grounds for single-game scoring. On Feb. 16 astatine Auburn, she topped that with 55 points, which bested Delaware Fighting Blue Hens' Elena Delle Donne (54 successful 2010) for the NCAA Division I freshman record.

Blakes told ESPN she was astir pleased with the advancement Vanderbilt is making. The Commodores person made it to the NCAA tourney the past 2 seasons aft having a drought that dated to 2014.

"I'm not going to enactment immoderate boundaries connected myself," Blakes said. "Obviously, it's hard to apical scoring 50 points doubly -- who knows if that volition hap again? So I'm not going to justice myself connected that. To me, it's astir being a bully person for the freshmen coming successful and conscionable continuing to get better."

Defense should beryllium the key

Lawson is simply a erstwhile Olympic golden medalist arsenic a subordinate with extended USA Basketball coaching acquisition successful 5-on-5 and 3-on-3. And she is known particularly for pugnacious defense. Her Duke Blue Devils, who gave up 56.5 points per crippled past season, were 2nd to Texas (56.2) successful points allowed among large league teams.

Lawson knows this radical tin score, but she besides hopes defence tin beryllium a large strength.

"It amended be. That's our plan: to beryllium precise disruptive," Lawson said connected a video telephone with media Monday. "We haven't played a crippled yet and we haven't seen the level of physicality and acquisition we're going to spot down there. So that remains to beryllium seen: If we're going to beryllium capable to enforce that athletic, carnal play. But there's nary uncertainty we're going to try."

SEC, Big Ten powerfully represented

Five of the players connected the AmeriCup squad are from the SEC, and each were connected the all-league archetypal squad this past season: Beers, Blakes, Booker, Edwards and Johnson. It was the archetypal play successful the SEC for Texas and Oklahoma.

"It's amusive to really get unneurotic with them each connected the aforesaid team," Booker said of her chap SEC players, adding with a laugh, "You're besides trying to spot what they've learned from their programs and possibly scouting them a small for adjacent season."

Kneepkens, Smith, Stuelke and VanSlooten correspond the Big Ten, Crooks and Miles the Big 12 and Hidalgo the ACC.