It started with a pool of 139 players on May 26, and after a few days of trials and a few rounds of cuts, that number was whittled down to 18. On Thursday night, USA Basketball announced the 12 players who made the roster for the Women's U17 world championship team.
Charli Collier, the No. 1 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Terrific 25, was one of them.
Collier, who celebrated her invitation to the trials with her father shortly before his death in April, had missed the cut in Colorado Springs last summer and was determined to make it this time around.
"I feel I owe it to him to be successful and be legendary in this life," Collier said before trials. "He has inspired me and impacted me so much."
Collier, a 6-foot-4 forward from Barbers Hill (Mont Belvieu, Texas), is one of nine players from the 2018 class who will travel to Zaragoza, Spain, to compete at the FIBA U17 world championships, which will be played June 22-July 2. Joining Collier from the sophomore class are Christyn Williams, Sedona Prince, Aquira DeCosta, Jenna Brown, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Destanni Henderson, Taylor Mikesell and Abby Prohaska.
Two players from the 2017 class, Maya Dodson and Janelle Bailey, also made the team.
Samantha Brunelle is the lone player from the 2019 class on the roster.
Said Collier of her reaction to hearing her name called: "I put my head down in my shirt and just went into shock. It's still hard to believe."
Earlier this week, five players from the 2017 class were named to the USA Basketball U18 team: Megan Walker, Evina Westbrook, Rellah Boothe, Sidney Cooks and Chennedy Carter. The U18 team will compete for at the FIBA Americas U18 championships July 13-17 in Valdivia, Chile.
