Ariel Atkins named to U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Former University of Texas star Ariel Atkins has been selected to the 2020 U.S. Women's Olympic Team, USA Basketball announced Monday morning. The XXXII Olympic Games women's basketball competition is scheduled for July 26-Aug. 8 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Team selections for the six-time defending Olympic gold medalists USA were made by the USA Basketball Women's National Team Player Selection Committee and pending approval by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

"I am very excited and honored to be a part of the U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team," Atkins said. "This is such a surreal moment and while I am extremely thankful, I honestly don't think it has really hit me yet."

Atkins will become the fourth Longhorn to compete as a player for Team USA in the Olympic Games, joining Clarissa Davis (1992, bronze medal), Kamie Ethridge (1988, gold medal) and Andrea Lloyd (1988, gold medal). Nell Fortner also served as head coach for Team USA in 2000 and led the Americans to the gold medal in Sydney.

The seventh overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft, Atkins is in her fourth season with the Washington Mystics. A key contributor in the team's run to the 2019 WNBA Championship, Atkins has earned WNBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and was chosen to the WNBA All-Rookie Team in 2018.

Atkins took part in the 2019-20 USA Basketball National Team expanded training program and helped Team USA post a 17-1 record. She currently is averaging a career best in numerous categories for the Mystics this season, including points per game (19.0 ppg), rebounds per game (3.0 rpg), field goal percentage (.468), three-point field goal percentage (.452) and free throw percentage (.887).

A two-time Honorable Mention All-American (2017 WBCA, 2018 AP) and three-time All-Big 12 Conference selection, Atkins played in 121 career games (100 starts) during her four seasons with the Longhorns (2015-18). She recorded 1,497 career points (No. 20 in school history) and reached double figures in scoring 81 times. Her 83.1-percent career free throw percentage ranks fourth in school history, while her 37.3-percent career three-point field goal percentage is sixth in program history.

The American women will open Olympic preliminary round play on July 26 against 2019 FIBA Africa champion Nigeria at 11:40 p.m. Central. Team USA will then face host and 2019 FIBA Asia gold medalist Japan on July 29 at 11:40 p.m. Central and will cap the first round with a contest against 2019 FIBA Europe silver medalist France on Aug. 1 at 11:30 p.m. Central.

Teams will be seeded following the preliminary round, and the top two teams from each of these three groups and the two best third-place teams, according to FIBA's placement rules, will qualify for the medal round. In the medal round, teams will compete in a knockout bracket, with winners advancing from the Aug. 4 quarterfinal to the Aug. 6 semifinals. The bronze medal game will be played on Aug. 7 (2:30 a.m. Central), and the gold medal game will be contested on Aug. 7 (9:30 p.m. Central) on the morning of the 2020 closing ceremony.

Team USA, which owns an all-time record of 66-3 in Olympic play, enters the Tokyo Olympics riding a 49-game winning streak in Olympic competition. The streak began with the 1992 bronze medal game and includes a record six-straight gold medals.

2020 U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team

Name	Pos.	College / WNBA Team
Ariel Atkins	G	TEXAS / Washington Mystics
Sue Bird	G	Connecticut / Seattle Storm
Tina Charles	C	Connecticut / Washington Mystics
Napheesa Collier	G/F	Connecticut / Minnesota Lynx
Skylar Diggins-Smith	G	Notre Dame / Phoenix Mercury
Sylvia Fowles	C	LSU / Minnesota Lynx
Chelsea Gray	G	Duke / Las Vegas Aces
Brittney Griner	C	Baylor / Phoenix Mercury
Jewell Loyd	G	Notre Dame / Seattle Storm
Breanna Stewart	F/C	Connecticut / Seattle Storm
Diana Turasi	G	Connecticut / Phoenix Mercury
A'ja Wilson	F	South Carolina / Las Vegas Aces

Head Coach: Dawn Staley (South Carolina)

Assistant Coach: Dan Hughes (Seattle Storm)

Assistant Coach: Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx)

Assistant Coach: Jennifer Rizzotti (Connecticut Sun)

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics

Ariel Atkins named to U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team