Had issues gone otherwise, we is perhaps speaking now about LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson and TCU’s Olivia Miles as a part of a robust rookie class within the WNBA this summer season. As an alternative, each guards — who had been eligible for April’s WNBA draft — opted to return to varsity. This week, they’re a part of the U.S. ladies’s basketball staff headed to the AmeriCup competitors in Santiago, Chile, from June 28 to July 6.
Johnson and Miles are amongst a number of prime ladies’s faculty gamers who’re competing for USA Basketball this summer season and sooner or later may very well be on the senior nationwide staff.
Ahead Sarah Sturdy, the 2025 consensus nationwide freshman of the 12 months who helped lead UConn to the nationwide championship, is at the moment enjoying within the FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Mongolia. That occasion, which began Monday, runs by June 29, with LSU’s Mikaylah Williams, Oklahoma’s Sahara Williams and 2025 Creighton graduate Morgan Maly becoming a member of Sturdy on the U.S. squad.
The AmeriCup is a 5-on-5 competitors that dates to 1993. It has further emphasis now as a qualifying occasion for the FIBA Girls’s World Cup in 2026, a senior nationwide staff occasion that’s held each 4 years. Will probably be in Berlin in September 2026.
The USA are in AmeriCup Group B and can face host nation Chile (June 28), adopted by Colombia (June 29), Puerto Rico (June 30) and Mexico (July 2) in group play. The video games might be watched on FIBA’s streaming service, Courtside 1891.
Here is a have a look at the staff that may go to Chile, which options 12 gamers and is coached by Duke’s Kara Lawson.
Seniors’ time to shine
Johnson and Miles are amongst six gamers on the staff coming into their remaining season in faculty. Oklahoma heart Raegan Beers, UCLA guard Gianna Kneepkens, Iowa ahead Hannah Stuelke and Michigan State ahead Grace VanSlooten are the others.
Reflecting the development now in faculty sports activities, solely two — Johnson and Stuelke — will play their whole faculty careers with the identical college. Beers spent her first two years at Oregon State, and VanSlooten performed two years at Oregon. Kneepkens was at Utah 4 years however performed simply eight video games in 2023-24 due to harm. She’s going to spend her remaining season with the Bruins.
Miles entered Notre Dame early within the second half of the 2020-21 pandemic-impacted season. She did not play in 2023-24 due to a knee harm and has a 12 months of eligibility left. This previous season, the Irish misplaced to TCU within the Candy 16 of the NCAA event, the staff Miles ended up becoming a member of.
Miles advised ESPN that she had been in Fort Price, Texas, a few weeks earlier than USA Basketball coaching camp in Colorado and is worked up about how she is going to slot in with the Horned Frogs. With TCU’s prime three scorers from final season gone, Miles shall be a really outstanding participant for them.
“It is an ideal system and nice match for me,” Miles mentioned. “I felt I may benefit from one other 12 months [in college] to raised myself. I do know I can enhance my management, setting the tone for my staff, studying the room and figuring out what to do when the vibes are low. It is actually necessary as some extent guard that you simply’re ready to try this at a excessive degree.”
Johnson mentioned she was minimize the primary time she tried out for a USA Basketball staff, and that caught along with her as motivation. When she was named to the AmeriCup staff final week, she bought a congratulatory textual content from LSU assistant coach and former Tigers and WNBA star Seimone Augustus, a three-time Olympic gold medalist.
“She simply advised me to remain constant; that is one of many issues we all the time discuss,” Johnson advised ESPN. “I am very excited. That is such a giant honor to be picked. I believe I had a bit of chip on my shoulder, not making the staff the final time, and I used to be decided to do it this time.”
Johnson additionally thinks one other 12 months of school will assist her, and he or she does not shrink back from what she hopes she will be able to do in 2025-26.
“I actually need to put within the work to indicate that I may very well be within the dialog for the No. 1 draft decide,” Johnson mentioned. “However greater than something, I need to attempt to win one other nationwide championship.”
Juniors prepared to guide
Three rising juniors shall be on the U.S. squad: Texas ahead Madison Booker, Iowa State heart Audi Crooks and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo. It is the primary USA Basketball staff for Crooks, who led the Huge 12 in scoring (23.4 factors per recreation) and subject aim share (60.5) final season.
Booker and Hidalgo have performed collectively on two earlier U.S. junior groups that received gold at tournaments in 2022 and 2023. This previous season, they had been gamers of the 12 months of their respective conferences, the SEC and ACC. Booker additionally led Texas to its first Ultimate 4 since 2003. Texas misplaced to South Carolina within the nationwide semifinals.
“It meant lots to this system, as a result of it had been some time, and in addition to educate [Vic] Schaefer,” Booker advised ESPN. “It was nice having the ability to get him one other milestone in his profession. It was unhappy we got here up brief on the Ultimate 4, however you may’t hold your head. You need to be pleased with your self; we had been one of many final groups standing.”
Sophomores prepared for his or her encore
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, the SEC freshman of the 12 months, is considered one of three rising sophomores on the AmeriCup staff. She’s joined by South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards — who was on the SEC’s all-freshman staff with Blakes — and USC’s Kennedy Smith, who made the Huge Ten’s all-freshman staff.
“I believe seeing how effectively the freshmen class earlier than us performed helped open the door and pave the best way for us,” Blakes mentioned concerning the likes of USC’s JuJu Watkins, Hidalgo, Booker, Crooks, and many others. “I believe as younger hoopers, we now have that edge to us: We need to be nice, and our age does not matter. We’ll play whoever we now have to play and do what we do finest. You’ll be able to’t be scared.”
Blakes was a nationwide sensation final season for her scoring prowess: She topped 50 factors in a recreation twice and was the SEC’s second-leading scorer at 23.3 factors per recreation. Blakes had 53 factors on Jan. 30 at Florida, which was the SEC freshman file for single-game scoring. On Feb. 16 at Auburn, she topped that with 55 factors, which bested Delaware Combating Blue Hens’ Elena Delle Donne (54 in 2010) for the NCAA Division I freshman file.
Blakes advised ESPN she was most happy with the progress Vanderbilt is making. The Commodores have made it to the NCAA event the previous two seasons after having a drought that dated to 2014.
“I am not going to place any boundaries on myself,” Blakes mentioned. “Clearly, it is onerous to prime scoring 50 factors twice — who is aware of if that may occur once more? So I am not going to evaluate myself on that. To me, it is about being an excellent chief for the freshmen coming in and simply persevering with to get higher.”
Protection ought to be the important thing
Lawson is a former Olympic gold medalist as a participant with in depth USA Basketball teaching expertise in 5-on-5 and 3-on-3. And she or he is thought particularly for robust protection. Her Duke Blue Devils, who gave up 56.5 factors per recreation final season, had been second to Texas (56.2) in factors allowed amongst main convention groups.
Lawson is aware of this group can rating, however she additionally hopes protection could be a huge power.
“It higher be. That is our plan: to be very disruptive,” Lawson mentioned on a video name with media Monday. “We’ve not performed a recreation but and we have not seen the extent of physicality and expertise we will see down there. So that is still to be seen: If we’re going to have the ability to impose that athletic, bodily play. However there isn’t any doubt we will strive.”
SEC, Huge Ten strongly represented
5 of the gamers on the AmeriCup staff are from the SEC, and all had been on the all-league first staff this previous season: Beers, Blakes, Booker, Edwards and Johnson. It was the primary season within the SEC for Texas and Oklahoma.
“It is enjoyable to really get along with all of them on the identical staff,” Booker mentioned of her fellow SEC gamers, including with fun, “You are additionally making an attempt to see what they’ve discovered from their packages and perhaps scouting them a bit of for subsequent season.”
Kneepkens, Smith, Stuelke and VanSlooten symbolize the Huge Ten, Crooks and Miles the Huge 12 and Hidalgo the ACC.
