Cavan Interest as Tolan and Staunton Head to Bulgaria

🏀Tolan & Staunton on the European stage!

There will be plenty of Cavan interest in the FIBA U20 Women's EuroBasket Division B, with Emma Tolan and Sophie Staunton both named in the Ireland squad for the tournament, which tips off in Samokov, Bulgaria, on 4 July.

⭐ EMMA TOLAN Emma goes to Bulgaria as joint captain of Ireland, alongside Brunell's Ava Walsh.

A broken thumb in a warm-up ruled her out of last year's Europeans days before tip-off. Now fully recovered, she's back as one of the team's leaders.

A product of Cavan Eagles & Virginia College, Emma made history last year as the first Irish player recruited to the University of Oklahoma women's programme, spending her freshman season in the SEC with a side that reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen (26–7).

⭐ SOPHIE STAUNTON Sophie was a key player for Eagles through 2025/26.

At last summer's FIBA U18 EuroBasket she averaged 11.9 pts, 3.3 reb & 2.0 ast across 7 games — including a huge 26-point, 7-assist game v Denmark. 🔥

That form helped earn her the Under-18 Irish Player of the Year award, and she'll be chasing a similar impact in Samokov. She's USA-bound too, committed to NCAA Division I side Saint Peter's University (New Jersey).

🗣️ Head Coach John Stephens: "To have two players with such strong links to Cavan Eagles representing Ireland at a European Championship is a fantastic achievement. Emma has worked incredibly hard to earn her place, and Sophie made a huge contribution to our season. We couldn't be prouder of them both."

Ireland are top seeds in Group A with Greece, Azerbaijan & Albania — knockout stages the target.

📅 GROUP A FIXTURES (Irish time) Sat 4 July — Ireland v Azerbaijan, 1:30pm

https://www.youtube.com/live/C0bs0-ZmFCU?si=SnRqdqt6cYQ9u19o

Sun 5 July — Greece v Ireland, 6:30pm Mon 6 July — Ireland v Albania, 6:30pm

Running July 4–12, with playoffs to follow.

📺 WATCH LIVE & FREE via FIBA's YouTube

Full schedule & games: https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-u20-womens-eurobasket-2026-division-b

Best of luck Emma, Sophie & the whole Irish squad! 💚🤍🧡