UConn women’s basketball incoming freshmen Amari DeBerry, Azzi Fudd, 2022 commit Ayanna Patterson invited to U19 World Cup Team trials
UConn women’s basketball incoming freshmen Amari DeBerry and Azzi Fudd are two of 27 players to accept invites to the 2021 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Cup Team trials in Denver May 14-16.
2022 UConn commit Ayanna Patterson also earned a spot at the tryouts, one of two high school juniors to do so.
Players eligible for the team must be U.S. citizens born on or after Jan. 1, 2002. The 12-member team will be lead by UCLA head coach Cori Close.
“As we saw in college basketball this season, the young players in our country are fierce and competitive,” Jennifer Rizzotti, chair of the selection committee and Connecticut Sun president, said in a statement. “We are always looking for great talent, but we also need to find the players who understand what it means to put on a USA jersey and play for something bigger than themselves.
“That’s the first lesson in learning what it takes to be an Olympian. The FIBA U19 World Cup is one of the hardest competitions to win so our goal is to give Cori Close and her staff a deep, balanced and well-equipped team.”
DeBerry and Fudd, who will enroll in UConn in June, are previous gold medalists with Team USA youth teams. DeBerry with the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship team and Fudd with the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup squads.
The 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup is slated for Aug. 7-15 in Hungary. The USA is in Group A with Australia, Egypt and Italy for the preliminary round.
USA U19 World Cup Team Trials Invitees
Lauren Betts (Grandview H.S./ Centennial, Colo.); Sonia Citron (Notre Dame/Scarsdale, N.Y.); Caitlin Clark (Iowa/West Des Moines, Iowa); Amari DeBerry (UConn/Buffalo, N.Y.); Brooke Demetre (Stanford/Foothill Ranch, Calif.)
Alexis Donarski (Iowa State/La Crosse, Wis.); Gabrielle Elliott (Clemson/Detroit); Sania Feagin (South Carolina/Ellenwood, Ga.); Azzi Fudd (UConn/Arlington, Va.); Hannah Gusters (LSU/DeSoto, Texas); Diamond Johnson (NC State/Philadelphia)
Raven Johnson (South Carolina/ Atlanta); JerKaila Jordan (Mississippi State/New Orlean); Greta Kampschroeder (Oregon State/Naperville, Ill.); Madison Layden (Purdue/Kokomo, Ind.); Jordyn Merritt (Florida/Plano, Texas); Olivia Miles (Notre Dame/Phillipsburg, Pa.)
Ugonne Onyiah (California/Eastvale, Calif.); Te-hina Paopao (Oregon/Oceanside, Calif.); Ayanna Patterson (Homestead H.S./Fort Wayne, Ind.); Angel Reese (Maryland/Baltimore); Jewel Spear (Wake Forest/The Colony, Texas)
Payton Verhulst (Louisville/DeSoto, Kan); Talia von Oelhoffen (Oregon State/Pasco, Wash.); Sakima Walker (Rutgers/Columbus, Ohio); Lauren Ware (Arizona/Bismarck, N.D.); Jersey Wolfenbarger (Arkansas/Fort Smith, Ark.).
Alexa Philippou can be reached at aphilippou@courant.com
