COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (Feb. 24, 2026) – USA Basketball announced today the 2026 USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team coaching staffs ahead of the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup and FIBA U18 AmeriCup this summer.
Leading the 2026 USA Women’s U18 National Team will be Niele Ivey (University of Notre Dame). She will be assisted by Robyn Fralick (Michigan State University) and Charmin Smith (University of California, Berkeley).
The head coach of the 2026 USA Women’s U17 National Team is Steve Gomez (Lubbock Christian University, TX) and supporting him are assistants Brittanny Johnson (Evanston Township High School, IL) and Krystle Johnson (Hoover High School, AL).
Coaching selections for the U18 national team were made by the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee, while the USA Basketball Women’s Developmental National Team Committee selected the U17 coaching staff. All selections were approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.
Ivey, Fralick and Smith will lead the USA at the 2026 FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup, set for June 8-14 (location TBA). The USA will look to capture their 12th straight gold medal and 13th overall since the tournament’s inception in 1988.
“I am truly honored to serve as the next Women’s U18 National Team Head Coach and grateful to the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee for this incredible opportunity to represent our country and be part of such a prestigious program,” Ivey said. “I look forward to leading this team as we compete for a gold medal and represent USA Basketball with pride.”
Ivey will make her head coaching debut with USA Basketball after capturing gold as an assistant coach at the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup and 2024 FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup. In her sixth season as the head coach of the Fighting Irish, she has led the team to four consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. During the 2024-25 season, Notre Dame went 28-6 and earned a share of the ACC regular season title for the second time in three years, reaching No. 1 in the AP Poll for the first time in six seasons.
Fralick is in her third season at the helm for the Spartans. She has led the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in her first two seasons, becoming the first head coach in program history to do so. This season, Michigan State has reached as high as No. 12 in the AP Poll, their highest mark in 15 seasons. Prior, she served as head coach at Bowling Green State University from 2018 to 2023 and at Ashland University from 2015 to 2018 following various assistant coaching stints. She is set to make her USA Basketball assistant coaching debut after serving as a court coach at the 2025 USA Women’s AmeriCup Team trials.
Smith, who will make her bench coaching debut with USA Basketball, has coached the Golden Bears for seven seasons. In 2024-25, she guided Cal to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018-19, their first 25-win season since the 2012-13 season and their first AP Top 25 ranking since 2018-19. Previously, Smith served as an assistant coach for the New York Liberty following stints as associate head coach and assistant coach in Berkeley and assistant coach roles at Stanford University and Boston College. She returns to USA Basketball after serving as a court coach for the 2024 USA Women’s U18 National Team trials.
Gomez, Brittanny Johnson and Krystle Johnson will lead the U.S. at the 2026 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup from July 11-19 in Brno, Czechia. The trio coached the 2025 USA Women’s U16 National Team to a gold medal at the 2025 FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup in Juarez, Mexico.
The FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup has been held biennially since 2010 with the U.S. winning gold in six of the seven tournaments.
Gomez will assume his second head coaching position with USA Basketball after capturing gold last summer. He was also an assistant coach at the 2018 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup and 2017 FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship. Additionally, he has served as a court coach for the 2025 April Women’s Junior National Team minicamp and 2016 Women’s U17 World Championship Team trials. Gomez has spent 23 seasons at the helm at LCU, leading the Lady Chaps to three NCAA Division II Championships (2021, 2019, 2016).
“It is a tremendous blessing to have the opportunity to work with USA Basketball again this summer,” Gomez said. “Working with the support staff and coaches who make up the strongest international basketball organization, and building a team comprised of the most talented players in the world is a humbling and exciting responsibility.”
Brittanny Johnson makes her third appearance as an assistant coach with USA Basketball. She also helped the USA to gold at the 2022 FIBA Women's U17 World Cup. She served as a court coach at the 2025 April Women’s Junior National Team minicamp and 2021 U16 Women’s National Team trials. She is currently the head basketball coach and assistant athletic director at Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois.
Krystle Johnson returns to USA Basketball for her second assistant coaching stint. She served as a court coach at the 2025 April Women’s Junior National Team minicamp and 2024 U17 Women’s National Team trials. As head coach at Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama, she has led the Lady Bucs to five consecutive state titles.