Bochum, Germany — When 3×3 wheelchair basketball tips off at the 2025 FISU World University Games, it won’t just mark the start of a tournament — it will represent a milestone for adaptive sport. For the first time in FISU history, a para-sport is included in the official competition program, and Team USA’s men’s and women’s squads are among the eight nations helping launch the discipline on the world stage.

The inclusion of 3×3 wheelchair basketball comes just three years after the sport’s international debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Developed by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), the format emphasizes pace, accessibility, and spectator engagement. Games are played on a half-court with a single hoop and a 12-second shot clock. Each team has three players on court and one substitute. After a made basket, the opposing team gains possession directly under the hoop and must clear the ball behind the arc before attempting to score. Games are won by the first team to reach 21 points, or by the team in the lead when 10 minutes expire. In overtime, the first team to score two points claims victory.

Team USA’s men’s squad will compete in Pool A alongside Brazil and Japan, while Pool B features Great Britain, Germany, Spain, and Bulgaria. On the women’s side, the tournament follows a four-team round-robin format with the United States facing Spain, Germany, and Brazil.

The U.S. roster features a mix of rising collegiate talent and international experience. On the men’s side, Martrell Stevens (Chicago, IL) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (Sherman, CT), teammates at the University of Illinois and members of the U.S. Men’s U23 National Team, return after helping the U.S. qualify for the 2025 IWBF U23 World Championship. They’re joined by Auburn University’s Jack Pierre (Edina, MN), a two-time NWBA All-Academic selection and professional player for RB Zwickau, and Joe Rafter (West Chester, PA), a sports journalism major who represented Team USA at the 2022 zonal qualifier in Brazil.

The women’s team features international veterans and promising young talent. Elizabeth “Lizzy” Becker (Charlotte, NC / Dallas, TX), a 2019 U25 world champion and professional player in Italy, anchors a squad that includes Marlee Wagstaff (Woods Cross, UT), a kinesiology graduate and former Illinois standout; Hannah Exline (Indianapolis, IN), an art major and small business owner from the University of Texas at Arlington; and Anesia Glascoe (Washington, D.C.), a CUNY student and social work major who began her athletic journey following a spinal injury in 2021.

Team USA is led by men’s head coach Ryan Martin, who directs the CUNY Adaptive Sports Program and helped launch New York City’s first collegiate adaptive team. Abby Dunkin, a 2016 Paralympic gold medalist and current NWBA player, takes the helm for the women’s squad. Adam Lindsay, a longtime youth coach and current CEO of Alpha Transport, serves as Team Leader for both teams.

All games will be played at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum from July 17–20, with pool play opening the tournament, followed by knockout rounds and medal matches. With 3×3 basketball already among the fastest-growing urban sports worldwide, its wheelchair counterpart promises the same energy and spectacle — and now has a global stage to match.

Team USA enters the competition with a deep bench of experience, athleticism, and ambition. The question remains: how will they match up against seasoned opponents like Germany and Brazil? And how will this debut shape the future of para-sport in university athletics?

Stay tuned for results and coverage as history unfolds in Bochum.