USA 3x3 U23 Women's National Team Prepares for World Cup in Wuhan

MINNEAPOLIS – The next stop for one of USA Basketball’s rising 3x3 groups is Wuhan, and the stakes jump sharply from here.

Tori McKinney heads a familiar quartet as the USA 3x3 U23 Women’s National Team turns its attention to the 2026 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup, set for Sept. 15-19 in China. She’s joined again by McKinna Brackens, Dani Carnegie and Katie Fiso – the same four who tore through the 2026 FIBA 3x3 Nations League Americas North Conference in July in Ñuñoa, Chile.

They didn’t just survive that circuit. They won it. Now they carry that chemistry onto the World Cup stage.

A proven core, a familiar voice

Continuity is the strength of this group. The roster is unchanged, and so is the voice in the huddle.

Todd Monsey (Highland Park H.S., Texas) returns as head coach after guiding the team in Chile. He knows exactly what each player brings to the cramped, high-speed world of 3x3: the quick reads, the physical battles under a single rim, and the relentless shot clock that punishes hesitation.

That shared experience matters when every game can swing in a single minute.

Pool D: No easing into it

The Americans land in Pool D and dive straight into a demanding schedule.

They open their World Cup campaign on Sept. 16 against Japan at 2:50 a.m. CT, a test of both preparation and body clock. A few hours later, they’re back on court against Kenya at 7:50 a.m. CT, a classic 3x3 grind of recovery and reset.

Pool play resumes on Sept. 18 with two more significant hurdles: Slovenia at 4:30 a.m. CT and then Australia at 8:25 a.m. CT. Four games, four different styles, all crammed into two days.

There is no room to drift through the early stages. Every possession counts, every tiebreaker looms.

The path to the knockout rounds

The format is unforgiving. Each of the four pools features five teams. Only the top two from each pool advance to the quarterfinals on Sept. 19.

Eight spots. Twenty teams chasing them.

Once pool play wraps, the bracket will be finalized and an updated schedule released, but the equation for the USA is simple enough: finish top two in Pool D, or go home early.

For McKinney, Brackens, Carnegie and Fiso, the Nations League title in Chile proved they can handle pressure and travel and quick turnarounds. Now they step into a World Cup, with the same core, the same coach, and a bigger stage.

The times are set. The opponents are known. The only question left is whether this tight-knit group can turn regional dominance into a global statement in Wuhan.