Trials for USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team Set to Begin With 152 Hopefuls
Trials for the 2019 USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team are set to begin at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on May 23 with 152 athletes. The complete trials roster, which includes 33 participants who were invited by the USA Basketball Women’s Development National Team Committee and 119 who were accepted as applicant athletes, is available online.
The trials will run through May 27, when finalists for the team are expected to be announced. Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens born on or after Jan. 1, 2003.
The finalists announced on May 27 will remain in Colorado Springs for training camp through May 31, when the official 12-member USA roster is expected to be announced. The selected team members will return for training camp June 5-13, and the 2019 U16 FIBA Americas Championship will be played June 16-22 in Puerto Aysen, Chile.
“We as a coaching staff are really anticipating the opportunity to work with a group of young people who are not only talented on the floor, but will also bring intangibles needed to represent our country on the USA U16 National Team,” said USA U16 head coach Mark Campbell (Union University). “The trials will provide all of us an opportunity to evaluate the level of talent and the level of character. As coaches, it will also give us the opportunity to teach, challenge and think through how we can best use the talent on this year's team. I am honored to represent our country in this way and consider it a privilege to work with Carol (Callan), Ruth (Sinn), Kelly (Carruthers) and the rest of our staff as we pursue excellence."
The USA’s assistant coaches are Kelly Carruthers (James Bowie H.S., Texas) and Ruth Sinn (University of St. Thomas, Minn.), and on hand to assist the coaching staff during trials will be court coaches G.P. Gromacki (Amherst College), Hilda Hankerson (Westlake H.S., Ga.), Andrea Robinson (DeSoto H.S., Texas) and Adrienne Shibles (Bowdoin College).
Fifty-two athletes are from the high school class of 2021, 74 will graduate high school in 2022 and 26 are members of the high school class of 2023.
Twenty-seven participants have taken part in at least one previous USA Basketball event, and 125 athletes will be new to USA Basketball.
Eight athletes took part in the 2019 USA Basketball 3x3 U18 National Championship, including Raegan Beers (Valor Christian H.S. Highlands Ranch, Colo.) as a member of Team Valor; Shay Bollin (Bridgewater-Raynham Regional H.S./Raynham, Mass.) as a member of WS Stealers; KK Bransford (Mount Notre Dame H.S./Cincinnati, Ohio), Amari DeBerry (Williamsville South H.S./Buffalo, N.Y.) and Ayanna Patterson (Homestead H.S./Fort Wayne, Ind.) as members of Her-ricanes; Kayla Cooper (Plano East H.S./Richardson, Texas) as a member of OTA Elite; Aaliyah Moore (Moore H.S./Moore, Okla.) as a member of Cyfair; and Payton Verhulst (Bishop Miege H.S./De Soto, Kan.) as a member of Blue Star 30 Stars.
DeBerry and Aliyah Moore also took part in the 2018 USA U17 World Cup Team trials, along with Janiah Barker (Tampa Bay Tech H.S./Panama City, Fla.), Isuneh Brady (Cathedral Catholic H.S./San Diego, Calif.), Katie Burton (Fishers H.S./Fishers, Ind.), Amiya Evans (Ransom M.S./Tampa, Fla.), Mia Fuller (St. John's Prep/Bronx, N.Y.), Timea Gardiner (Fremont H.S./Ogden, Utah), Camille Jackson (Butler College Prep/Chicago, Ill.), Jordan Jackson (Blue Valley H.S./Stilwell, Kan.), Raven Johnson (Westlake H.S./Atlanta, Ga.), Jada Malone (The Village School/Spring, Texas), Olivia Miles (Blair Academy/Phillipsburg, N.J.), Indya Nivar (Apex Friendship H.S./Apex, N.C.), Addison O'Grady (Grandview H.S./Centennial, Colo.), Mila Reynolds (Washington H.S./South Bend, Ind.), Kiki Rice (Sidwell Friends School/Bethesda, Md.), Sydney Standifer (Argyle H.S./Argyle, Texas) and Verhulst.
Taylor Bigby (Centennial H.S./Las Vegas, Nevada) participated in the 2018 USA U17 World Cup Team trials and the 2017 USA U16 National Team trials, and Bree Hall (Wayne H.S./Dayton, Ohio) was at the 2017 USA U16 National Team trials.
Finally, Lauren Betts (Grandview H.S./Centennial, Colo.) took part in the 2018 USA Basketball 3x3 U18 National Championship.
Listed on the ESPN HoopGurlz Terrific 25 for the class of 2021 are: No. 2 DeBerry; No. 3 Miles; No. 6 Okikiola Iriafen (Harvard-Westlake School/Woodland Hills, Calif.); No. 9 Aaliyah Moore; No. 10 Verhulst; No. 12 Sania Feagin (Forest Park H.S./Ellenwood, Ga.); No. 13 Aaronette Vonleh (West Linn H.S./West Linn, Ore.); No. 15 DeDe Hagemann (Detroit Edison Public School Academy/Mount Clemens, Mich.); No. 16 Hall; No. 19 Rori Harmon (Cypress Creek H.S./Houston, Texas); No. 20 Kayla McPherson (Madison County H.S./Hull, Ga.); No. 22 Jillian Hollinshead (Holy Innocents Episcopal School/Powder Springs, Ga.); and No. 24 Malone.
The ESPN HoopGurlz watch list for the class of 2022 features: Barker; Betts; Sydney Bowles (Woodward Academy/Lithonia, Ga.); Brady; Ysabella Fontleroy (Kickapoo H.S./Springfield, Mo.); Gardiner, Aaliyah Gayles (Spring Valley H.S./Las Vegas, Nev.); Nyla Harris (The First Academy/Orlando, Fla.); Camille Jackson; Tasia Johnson (Lee's Summit West H.S./Greenwood, Mo.); Londynn Jones (Santiago H.S./Riverside, Calif.); Caroline Lau (St. Luke's School/Westport. Conn.); Maya Nnaji (Hopkins H.S./Lakeville, Minn.); Patterson; Mila Reynolds; Rice; Ashlyn Watkins (Cardinal Newman School/Columbia, S.C.); and Amauri Williams (North Little Rock H.S./North Little Rock, Ark.).
Thirty-six states are represented on the trials roster, including: 21 athletes from Texas; 10 from New York; nine from California; seven from Florida, Georgia, Maryland and New Jersey; six from Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri; five from Indiana, Nevada and Washington; four from Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina and Pennsylvania; three from Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia; two from Arizona, Iowa, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Oregon; and one athlete from Connecticut, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
This is the eighth year in which USA Basketball has opened USA women’s U16 or U17 national team trials to applicant athletes, as well as athletes invited by the USA Basketball Women’s Developmental National Team Committee.
The USA Basketball Women’s Developmental National Team Committee is responsible for selecting the USA U16 athletes and coaches. Chaired by Carol Callan, USA Basketball Women’s National Team director, the committee includes: four-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup gold medalist Tamika Catchings and two-time Olympic and two-time World Cup gold medalist DeLisha Milton-Jones as athlete representatives; Kevin Lynch as the AAU representative; collegiate coaches Kirsten Moore (Westmont College) and Mia Smith (Illinois Wesleyan) as the at-large representatives; and Jill Schneider (Monterey H.S., Texas) as the NFHS representative.
