USA Basketball has been forced to make two late changes to its roster ahead of the upcoming FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifiers after injuries ruled out Aliyah Boston and Sonia Citron.
Both players picked up injuries while competing in the Unrivaled league and will miss the team’s training camp in Miami as well as the qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico. To fill the vacancies, the national team has called up forward Monique Billings and guard Rae Burrell.
Boston had been preparing for her second appearance with the senior national team after previously becoming the youngest member of the U.S. squad during the 2024 Olympic qualifying event in Belgium. Citron, meanwhile, had been set to make her first senior-team appearance. Billings and Burrell will now step in and are also expected to earn their senior team debuts.
The adjustments leave the U.S. frontcourt relatively inexperienced. Star players A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart were not included on the roster, although Stewart is expected to attend the training camp. Another key forward, Napheesa Collier, remains sidelined after suffering an injury during the 2025 WNBA Finals and undergoing surgery on both ankles in January.
With Billings and Burrell added, six members of the squad are now poised to make their senior five-on-five debuts, including highly anticipated young stars Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers.
The U.S. team will hold its pre-tournament camp in Miami before heading to Puerto Rico, where it opens the qualifiers against Senegal on March 11. The Americans are also scheduled to face Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand, and Spain during the competition. Although the United States has already secured a spot at the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin this September, participation in the qualifiers remains mandatory.
The tournament will also mark the first outing for new head coach Kara Lawson at the helm of the senior national team. Lawson, appointed in September 2025 for the 2028 Olympic cycle, previously won Olympic gold as a player with the U.S. in 2008 Summer Olympics and later coached the American 3×3 team to gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She has served as an assistant with the senior squad since 2022, including during the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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