University Southern California Trojans
USC’s JuJu Watkins, Kiki Iriafen Selected To USA Basketball Women’s National Team Training Camp Roster
November 24, 2025 | Women's Basketball
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USC's Juju Watkins and Kiki Iriafen have been selected to participate in the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp, set for Dec. 12-14 at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Trojans Watkins and Iriafen capped landmark seasons with major national honors in 2025. Both earned spots on the WBCA Coaches' All-America Team, underscoring their dominance in leading USC to a No. 2 national ranking and its first regular-season conference title since 1994.
Iriafen, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and USC's highest selection since 1997, delivered a standout senior season in her first year as a Trojan. A unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honoree, she averaged 18.0 points and 8.4 rebounds with 12 double-doubles, ranking among national leaders in offensive rebounds and free throws made. She elevated her game against top-10 opponents — shooting over 91 percent at the line while averaging 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists — and collected a long list of national award nods, including spots on the Wade, Naismith and Wooden watch lists.
Watkins, despite a season-ending injury in the NCAA Second Round, swept the nation's top awards, claiming the Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year and USBWA National Player of the Year. The Big Ten Player of the Year and the Wooden Award winner, Watkins posted elite production across the board, including 26.2 points and 7.3 rebounds against top-10 teams. She also delivered one of the season's signature performances with 38 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks and five assists in USC's win over No. 1 UCLA — the first such stat line at the Division I, WNBA or NBA level since 2000.
Watkins previously won gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup (was named MVP) and the 2021 FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Iriafen however, will make her USA Basketball debut in Durham next month.
ABOUT THE USA BASKETBALL WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM TRAINING CAMP
2025-28 USA Basketball Women's National Team head coach Kara Lawson (Duke University) will lead training camp. She will be assisted by court coaches Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury) and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever). White, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year, was a court coach at the April 2024 Women's National Team's Training Camp and also played for the USA at the 1997 Jones Cup and the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival. During the 2025 season, White led the Fever to a franchise-best 24 wins. Tibbetts, who made it to the WNBA Finals in 2025 with Phoenix, was the head coach of the USA Basketball Men's Pan American Games Team that finished third place in 2011. Nakase, the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year, will make her USA Basketball debut. The first-year head coach helped the Valkyries become the first-ever expansion franchise to make the playoffs in their first season.
USA Women's National Team managing director Sue Bird will evaluate players prior to naming a team for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup, which will take place from Sept. 4-13, 2026 in Berlin. The USA will seek their fifth consecutive World Cup gold medal.
Trojans Watkins and Iriafen capped landmark seasons with major national honors in 2025. Both earned spots on the WBCA Coaches' All-America Team, underscoring their dominance in leading USC to a No. 2 national ranking and its first regular-season conference title since 1994.
Iriafen, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and USC's highest selection since 1997, delivered a standout senior season in her first year as a Trojan. A unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honoree, she averaged 18.0 points and 8.4 rebounds with 12 double-doubles, ranking among national leaders in offensive rebounds and free throws made. She elevated her game against top-10 opponents — shooting over 91 percent at the line while averaging 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists — and collected a long list of national award nods, including spots on the Wade, Naismith and Wooden watch lists.
Watkins, despite a season-ending injury in the NCAA Second Round, swept the nation's top awards, claiming the Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year and USBWA National Player of the Year. The Big Ten Player of the Year and the Wooden Award winner, Watkins posted elite production across the board, including 26.2 points and 7.3 rebounds against top-10 teams. She also delivered one of the season's signature performances with 38 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks and five assists in USC's win over No. 1 UCLA — the first such stat line at the Division I, WNBA or NBA level since 2000.
Watkins previously won gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup (was named MVP) and the 2021 FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Iriafen however, will make her USA Basketball debut in Durham next month.
ABOUT THE USA BASKETBALL WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM TRAINING CAMP
2025-28 USA Basketball Women's National Team head coach Kara Lawson (Duke University) will lead training camp. She will be assisted by court coaches Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury) and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever). White, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year, was a court coach at the April 2024 Women's National Team's Training Camp and also played for the USA at the 1997 Jones Cup and the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival. During the 2025 season, White led the Fever to a franchise-best 24 wins. Tibbetts, who made it to the WNBA Finals in 2025 with Phoenix, was the head coach of the USA Basketball Men's Pan American Games Team that finished third place in 2011. Nakase, the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year, will make her USA Basketball debut. The first-year head coach helped the Valkyries become the first-ever expansion franchise to make the playoffs in their first season.
USA Women's National Team managing director Sue Bird will evaluate players prior to naming a team for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup, which will take place from Sept. 4-13, 2026 in Berlin. The USA will seek their fifth consecutive World Cup gold medal.
Players Mentioned
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