The NCAA has built the foundation for the 2024 USA Basketball Women’s National Team. In college, these 12 players competed for national championships; now, they will chase an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal in the Paris Olympics.

The NCAA’s presence on Team USA will be massive – with former, current or incoming NCAA student-athletes making up 65% (385) of the 592 team members. Team USA women’s basketball boasts a roster of 100% former NCAA athletes, reinforcing how the college model serves as vital training grounds for Olympic athletes.

Team USA’s dynasty began at the NCAA with the 12 athletes hailing from nine colleges in four different conferences.

Diana Taurasi, three-time national champion and five-time gold medalist, cites her time in college as preparation for the Olympics.

“Looking back on my college career and the NCAA tournament, it prepares you,” she said. “It’s all the pressure in the world and it’s the same in the Olympics. I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from my college years.”

Sabrina Ionescu shares a similar sentiment about the NCAA tournament.

“I’ve built something at the University of Oregon that had never been done before,” Ionescu said. “The NCAA tournament has always been fun. It’s a lot of pressure but understanding those pressures has shaped who I am as a basketball player and an athlete.”

Meet the team

• Diana Taurasi, UConn
• Napheesa Collier, UConn
• Kahleah Copper, Rutgers
• Chelsea Gray, Duke
• Brittney Griner, Baylor
• Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
• Jewell Loyd, Notre Dame
• Kelsey Plum, Washington
• Breanna Stewart, UConn
• Alyssa Thomas, Maryland
• A’ja Wilson, South Carolina
• Jackie Young, Notre Dame

Meet the staff

• Cheryl Reeve
  • Former LaSalle University women’s basketball student-athlete, assistant coach at George Washington and LaSalle, head coach at Indiana State, current coach at Minnesota Lynx.
• Kara Lawson
  • Head coach at Duke, former University of Tennessee women’s basketball student-athlete.
• Joni Taylor
  • Head coach at Texas A&M University, former University of Alabama women’s basketball player.
• Mike Thibault
  • Former Saint Martin’s University men’s basketball player, current coach at Washington Mystics.

NCAA connections

This squad’s gold standard began in college.

Taurasi led her UConn Huskies to three consecutive national championships while earning Naismith Player of the Year twice. In her time at the NCAA, Taurasi secured Big East Player of the Year twice, All-American honors once and All-Big East First Team three times.

Stewart won four consecutive national championships and earned four consecutive Final Four Most Outstanding Performer.

South Carolina’s Wilson adds experience winning two national championships and a Player of the Year award. Griner, Young and Collier each add a national championship ring.

Oregon’s Ionescu holds the record for the NCAA as an all-time leader in career triple-doubles. Ionescu made NCAA history as the first athlete (male or female) to surpass 2,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists.

Griner, the most decorated Baylor athlete ever, won National Player of the Year twice and earned three-time All-American honors, three-time WBCA Defensive Player of the Year and three-time Big 12 Player of the Year. Thomas graduated as Maryland’s all-time leader in scoring with 2,356 career points and 1,235 career rebounds while earning All-American honors and three-time ACC Player of the Year. Chelsea Grey led Duke to Three Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles, two ACC?Tournament crowns.

Rutgers’ Copper, 2021 WNBA Champion and 2021 WNBA Finals MVP, spent her 2020-21 offseason working as an assistant coach for Purdue University Northwest’s women’s basketball team.

Olympic experience

The 12-person roster boasts 15 Olympic gold medals, 18 FIBA Women’s World Cup titles, eight WNBA champions, three WNBA MVPs and five WNBA Rookies of the Year.

Taurasi will become the first basketball player, male or female, to compete in her sixth straight Olympics game while chasing her sixth gold medal.

Collier, Gray, Griner, Loyd, Stewart, Taurasi and Wilson all return from their gold-medal performance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

In addition to the veterans, first-time 5×5 Olympians Ionescu, Plum, Thomas and Jackie Young all have earned either 3×3 Olympic gold or World Cup gold before the Paris games.

“There’s no greater stage than the Olympics. I always say we win medals for the whole country. For everyone who loves to hoop, that’s what we’re trying to represent when it comes to the Olympics,” Taurasi added. “It will be full circle to go to Paris and once again put on the jersey. For women’s basketball, an Olympic gold medal is high on the list, so it would be a dream come true.”

Tune-in

The USA Women’s Basketball begins its Paris Olympics in group play on July 29. It can be watched on NBC.

• Monday, July 29 (3:00 p.m. ET) – Japan
• Thursday, August 1 (3:00 p.m. ET) – Belgium
• Sunday, August 4 (11:15 a.m. ET) – Germany