The USA Basketball Foundation today announced the inaugural Torch Leadership in Sport Mentoring cohort. A fully funded program, Torch Leadership will run from September 2022 to May 2023.

Torch Leadership provides opportunities for minority students to be mentored by USA Basketball executive staff with the goal of empowering the next generation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) leaders in sport by introducing them to opportunities at USA Basketball and other sports-related entities. 

"It gives me great pleasure to announce these students as mentees for the inaugural year of the Torch Leadership in Sport Mentoring program,” said Jennifer Lynne Williams, chief development officer, USA Basketball Foundation. “The applicant pool was extremely competitive, filled with talented students from minority-serving institutions from across the country. 

“We are excited to welcome each of the mentees into the USA Basketball family and look forward to being resources to them as they pursue their careers in sport."

The 2022-23 Torch Leadership cohort includes: 

“This is exactly the kind of program we envisioned when we established the USA Basketball Foundation” said Gen. (R) Martin E. Dempsey, chair, USA Basketball Board of Directors. “USA Basketball is committed to diversity and inclusion, and to encouraging, developing and empowering young people to become future leaders in our sport.”  

In addition to virtual mentoring opportunities with their designated USA Basketball mentor, students will hear from other industry leaders and have additional learning opportunities over the duration of the program. 

Applicants were asked to provide a resume, cover letter and letter of recommendation, and had to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher to be considered for the program. For more information on Torch Leadership, visit usabfoundation.com.