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Caitlin Clark named to 14-player U.S. national team training camp roster
Caitlin Clark will have some sort of basketball-related activities on the weekend of the NCAA women's Final Four, whether Iowa makes it or not.
USA Basketball has included Clark on its 14-player roster for the team's training camp in Cleveland, which will be held from April 3-5. That briefly overlaps with the Final Four of the women's tournament, which is also in Cleveland, as the national semifinal games are on April 5 and the title game is on April 7. So Clark's participation in the camp is contingent upon whether Iowa returns to the Final Four for a second straight season.
Clark is the only college player included on the 14-player roster, a possible sign that she could make the final 12-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Women's national team committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti told reporters in February that they were looking to invite college players to the upcoming camp in April, although she also indicated that an invite doesn't mean that a player is a lock to make the Olympic roster.
"When we invite people to be part of USA Basketball training camp, sometimes it's with an eye to the future," Rizzotti said. "I can remember when Aliyah Boston was at her first mini-camp. I can remember when Breanna Stewart was at her first national team camp. I can remember when many players have come to camp when they were in college or maybe just finishing college, and some made Olympic teams and some of them did not. I think it's about giving them that exposure.
"We want to always be looking for the very best of the best, and we know that there's a huge jump from college to the WNBA, so this might be an opportunity to help them prepare to see what it's like. But if we're inviting them, we're confident they're a player that can be part of USA Basketball at some point."
Clark, the NCAA's Division I all-time scoring leader, already has international experience. She has earned three gold medals with USA Basketball junior teams, most recently as a member of the 2021 under-19 squad.
The Iowa star's play and popularity have only grown since then. She has been a ratings boon for college basketball, with nearly five million people watching the Hawkeyes' second-round game against West Virginia last Saturday.
Clark has led the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16 for a second straight season. The No. 1 seed in the second Albany region will take on Colorado on Saturday. If Iowa wins that game, the Hawkeyes will face either UCLA or LSU in the Elite Eight as they aim to make the Final Four for a second straight season. Iowa lost to LSU in the title game last year.
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Shortly after the Final Four, Clark will begin her professional career. The Indiana Fever are expected to make her the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 15. In addition, the Big3 confirmed that it has also made Clark an offer to join its league this summer and allow her to also play in the WNBA.
As for the rest of the training camp roster, five-time Olympic champion Diana Taurasi is one of nine former Olympians who will participate in the camp. The others are Ariel Atkins, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young.
Former WNBA Rookie of the Year winners Aliyah Boston and Rhyne Howard also will participate, along with Sabrina Ionescu and Shakira Austin.
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The U.S. went 3-0 last month in a FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgium. The Americans beat the host nation 81-79 on a last-second shot by Stewart. They went on to beat Nigeria and Senegal.
The Americans have won the gold in every Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games. They will face Belgium again in pool play at the Olympics. The U.S. team will also play Japan in a rematch from the gold-medal game of the Tokyo Olympics, as well as Germany.
The U.S. is expected to name its roster later this spring.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
