COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (March 9, 2026) - USA Basketball announced today the teams set to compete at the 2026 FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup March 13-15 in Bangkok. The U.S. women will make their debut in the event’s second iteration, while the men competed in the event’s debut last year. The American teams qualified for the 3x3 Champions Cup by virtue of winning the 2025 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup last November in Leon, Mexico.
The 2026 USA 3x3 Women’s Champions Cup Team comprises Shakira Austin, Veronica Burton, Allisha Gray and Naz Hillmon, who played together and won the gold medal at the 2025 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup.
The 2026 USA 3x3 Men’s Champions Cup Team includes Riley Battin, James Parrott, Caden Pierce and Justin Pierce.
The women’s team features 2020 Olympic champion Gray, who made her return to the national team stage in November. She is joined by Burton, who is a 2022 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup silver medalist and 2022 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup bronze medalist. Austin, who has attended previous USA Basketball 3x3 development camps, and Hilmon made their USA 3x3 national team debuts at the 3x3 AmeriCup. All four have USA 5-on-5 experience with Austin winning a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup and Burton most recently participating in the December 2025 USA Women’s National Team training camp.
Parrott has extensive USA Basketball and 3x3 experience. He competed at this event last year after winning the 2024 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup. Last summer, Parrott was also a member of the USA’s squad at the 2025 FIBA 3x3 World Cup. Parrott, as a member of Team Miami last year, played in 11 FIBA 3x3 Men’s World Tour tournaments, winning two. Caden Pierce made his USA 3x3 debut by winning the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Nations League Americas Conference and, in 2025, represented the U.S. at the 2025 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup. Battin and Justin Pierce will make their USA Basketball national team debuts. They have competed with various teams on the World Tour and participated as practice players in various USA Basketball training camps.
Head coaches for the 2026 USA 3x3 AmeriCup Teams are Christina Batastini (women) and Kareem Maddox (men). Batastini coached the AmeriCup squad in Leon. She also led the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Nation League Team to an unbeaten 22-0 record and then won the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup. Additionally, Batastini has had USA coaching assignments on the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series. Maddox, a 3x3 World Cup, AmeriCup and Pan American Games champion as a player, coached the 2025 USA 3x3 Champions Cup Team. The 2024 3x3 Olympian has been part of the USA 3x3 program for more than a decade.
The women tip off Pool A on March 13 with Madagascar (10:20 a.m. ET) followed by matchups with Netherlands (7:30 a.m. ET) and Australia (9:30 a.m. ET) on March 14. The men have a pair of Pool B games on March 13 against Netherlands (7:30 a.m. ET) and Madagascar (9:30 a.m. ET), with their final pool contest vs. Australia on March 14 (10:30 a.m. ET). Following pool play, the top two teams from each of the two four-team pools advance to the semifinals. The women’s semis are scheduled for March 14 with the women’s finals and men’s semis and finals on March 15. The full schedule is here.
The 2026 FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup will stream live on YouTube.com/FIBA3x3.
The FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup features eight teams per gender, including continental champions, World Cup winners, top-ranked nations and hosts Thailand. The winners of the 2026 FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup will secure direct qualification to the 2027 FIBA 3x3 World Cup, 2027 FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup and the Cups-based Olympic Qualification Tournament in 2028.
FIBA is now accepting media accreditation applications for the 2026 FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup.
USA media inquiries may be directed to Renee Felton.