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USA name coaching staff to lead women's AmeriCup team

MIAMI (United States) - USA Basketball announced that Washington State University women’s basketball head coach, Kamie Ethridge, will coach the USA’s Women’s AmeriCup team as they compete at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in Leon, Mexico from July 1-9.

Ethridge will be assisted by University of Cincinnati women’s basketball head coach Katrina Merriweather and South Dakota State University women’s basketball head coach Aaron Johnston.

The coaching trio succeeds Dawn Staley, Jennifer Rizzotti and Adia Barnes who coached USA to a gold medal in the 2021 edition of the Women’s AmeriCup that included players such as Aliyah Boston, Grace Berger, Rhyne Howard and Haley Jones who have all been drafted to the WNBA.

All three of Ethridge, Merriweather and Johnston each have previous USA Basketball coaching experience, and Ethridge also has experience playing – and winning – as a member of the 1988 Olympic gold medal winning team for the United States as well as winning gold at the 1986 Goodwill Games, 1986 World Championships and 1987 Pan American Games.


Merriweather, Ethridge and Johnston - USA Basketball

Previously part of USA Basketball as an assistant coach, Ethridge won gold at the 2016 FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship and silver at the 2017 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup. She was named the 2022-23 National Coach of the Year by The Athletic after winning Washington State’s first-ever Pac-12 Tournament title, setting a record for total wins at 23-10, and earning a bid to the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

The Women’s AmeriCup will be Merriweather’s first bench coaching assignment for Team USA, but she has experience as a court coach for the 2021 USA Women’s U19 National Team Trials. Merriweather was named Cincinnati head coach, her alma mater, after helping Memphis record its first 20-win season in over a decade and advancing to the 2023 WNIT Sweet 16.

Johnston served as an assistant coach for the 2021 USA U19 National Team that won gold at the FIBA U19 World Cup, and is the winningest women’s basketball coach in South Dakota State history. He secured an 11th NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament berth this season after the team tallied a 29-6 record and captured The Summit League Tournament title.

Team USA is looking to capture a fifth AmeriCup title, winning four since the event’s inception in 1993, including titles in the last two editions of the tournament in 2019 and 2021. Only Brazil has more titles, with five all-time.

USA's Howard was named MVP of the 2021 edition of the tournament, while Elissa Cunane was named to the All-Star Five.

Now-retired WNBA legend and Team USA forward Sylvia Fowles was named tournament MVP of the 2019 edition of the competition.

FIBA