American women’s basketball is heading to Poland with momentum, a battle-tested roster, and a rising star from Columbia, South Carolina ready to shine on the sport’s biggest 3×3 stage.
USA Basketball officially announced the 2026 USA Men’s and Women’s 3×3 National Teams set to compete at the 2026 FIBA 3×3 World Cup, running June 1-7 in Warsaw, Poland. For the women’s program, the announcement confirmed what the international 3×3 circuit had already been suggesting for weeks: this group is built to win.
The Roster and What It Means
The 2026 USA 3×3 Women’s National Team features Joyce Edwards, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Mikaylah Williams, and Sahara Williams — a quartet with a wealth of USA Basketball experience that has already won two events together on the 2026 FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series. The team was selected by USA Basketball 3×3 Women’s National Team managing director Elena Delle Donne.
That selection process matters. Delle Donne, one of the most decorated players in the history of American women’s basketball, didn’t assemble a roster of recognizable names and hope for the best. She identified a group with genuine chemistry and competitive track record — a team that had already proven it could handle the compact, high-pressure format of 3×3 competition before the World Cup even tipped off.
The résumés within the group are striking. Mikaylah Williams has three FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup gold medals and MVP honors, winning titles consecutively from 2021 through 2023, in addition to being a member of both a previous USA 3×3 World Cup team and the 2024 3×3 Nations League team. Sahara Williams played alongside her on two of those gold-medal U18 squads.
Joyce Edwards: The Gamecock on a National Stage
The most compelling individual story heading into Warsaw belongs to South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards, whose ascent through the USA Basketball pipeline has been quietly remarkable.
The selection marks Edwards’ seventh across all USA Basketball events, dating back to her first call-up in 2023. She has collected three gold medals in 5×5 competition — the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup, the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup, and the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup. For a player still in her collegiate career, that’s a body of international work that rivals most players twice her age.
Her 3×3 development has been swift and purposeful. This is the second consecutive summer Edwards has played 3×3 for Team USA. Last summer was her introduction to the format. This summer, she arrived as one of its most productive players. Edwards and Fulwiley were part of USA Basketball’s 3×3 Nations League team last summer, going 14-2 and winning the Americas Conference title.
The qualifying run heading into Warsaw further illustrated her value. In two qualifying games against Germany and Poland, Edwards scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds as the United States secured both victories and punched their ticket to the World Cup. At the Manila stop, her performance was even more complete — she was the second-leading scorer at the first stop in Chengdu, and finished third in player value rating across both events.
The Path to a Medal in Warsaw
The format of the tournament will reward exactly the kind of composure and efficiency this team has demonstrated. The 20-nation field is divided into four five-team pools, with round-robin play beginning June 1. Knockout rounds begin June 5, quarterfinals follow on June 6, and medal games are staged June 7.
The U.S. women open Pool B play on June 2 against Hungary at 12:55 p.m. ET, followed immediately by Australia at 2:45 p.m. ET. Pool play continues June 4 with Mongolia at 12:30 p.m. ET and concludes against Spain at 2:20 p.m. ET.
The opening two matchups — Hungary and Australia — are winnable games that could set a confident tone before the Americans face Spain, typically one of the more competitive European programs in this format. Surviving pool play with a strong record would set up a favorable bracket position heading into knockout rounds.
All games will stream live on YouTube.com/FIBA3x3.
The Bigger Picture
What makes this USA Women’s 3×3 team worth watching extends beyond the tournament itself. The roster represents a generation of college basketball talent — players from South Carolina, LSU, and Oklahoma — operating together on an international platform during the offseason, sharpening skills and building chemistry that will carry back into their respective programs.
For Edwards specifically, each USA Basketball appearance adds another layer to an already-impressive profile. The USA Women’s U18 3×3 program has won gold at eight of the eleven World Cup editions held, establishing a standard of dominance that the senior program now aspires to match.
The women arrive in Warsaw not as hopefuls, but as a unit that has already done the work. The World Cup begins June 2. America is ready.
