Ireland U20 WNT squad announced for FIBA Youth EuroBasket 2026

Ireland U20 WNT head coach Karl Kilbride has included University of Texas and University of Oklahoma pair Grace Prenter and Emma Tolan in his final roster for thus summer's FIBA Youth EuroBasket in Bulgaria.

Brunell BC U20 women's captain Ava Walshe is the third player returning from the squad that reached the quarter-final stage a year ago. 

Two of Trinity Meteors' Domino's Women's Super League winning roster will travel to Bulgaria. Aisling Moran is an Irish senior international point-guard, while Helena Keane will be playing in her third FIBA Youth EuroBasket. 

Elsewhere 17 year-old Aoibheann Donnelly, who has also been selected to the Ireland U18 squad, will play up a grade and there are FIBA Youth EuroBasket debuts for Aimee O'Reilly from Kilkenny Stars and Niamh Smith, who plays in the NBL 1 in Australia with Manluy Warringah Sea Eagles. 

Kilbride's charges will face preparation games against Bulgaria, Czechia, Portugal and Sweden ahead of their opening game against Azerbaijan on Saturday, July 4th. 

Speaking about his announcement and prepartaion games, head coach Karl Kilbride said:

"We’ve been really lucky to work with this group over the last few months. Across 3 open trials and 5 training sessions, the level of commitment, competitiveness and energy from the players has been absolutely outstanding. They’ve made the whole process really enjoyable for us as a staff.

That also made getting down to 12 incredibly difficult. There’s a huge amount of talent in this age group and we’re unfortunately leaving behind players who are more than capable of representing Ireland. It’s a real testament to the work done by Paul and Tommy with the U16 and U18 programmes over the last few years, and to the groundwork laid by coaches in clubs and schools up and down the country each week.

We’ve got a really hectic few weeks ahead now. With the European Championships falling so early this year, we’ve very little preparation time before competition begins. Our prep games against Bulgaria, Portugal, Czechia and Sweden will be hugely important for us as we get ready for the summer ahead and for our first EuroBasket game against Azerbaijan on the 4th of July.

We couldn’t be more excited to continue working with the 12 players here. The bar has been set incredibly high by the groups that have gone before them, and we’re really looking forward to seeing this team embrace that challenge and put their own stamp on the summer ahead."

Group: 

Group A: Azerbaijan, Ireland, Greece.

Fixtures:

Ireland v Azerbaijan, Saturday, July 4th, Arena SamElyon, Samokov (BUL)

Greece v Ireland, Sunday, July 5th, Arena SamElyon, Samokov (BUL)

Ireland v Albania, Monday, July 6th, Arena SamElyon, Samokov (BUL)

Ireland squad:

Aimee O'Reilly (Kilkenny Stars), Aisling Moran, (Trinity Meteors), Aoibheann Donnelly (Cleveland Rockets), Ava Walshe (Brunell BC), Clara Boyce (Liffey Celtics), Emma Tolan (University of Oklahoma), Faye McDonnell (Glanmire BC), Grace Prenter (University of Texas), Helena Keane (Trinity Meteors), Niamh Smith (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles), Sarah Courtney (Killester BC), Sophie Staunton (McEvoy's Cavan Eagles).