Samantha Brunelle, the No. 1 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Terrific 25 for the 2019 class, and Francesca Belibi, who made national headlines this past season for her prolific dunking in Colorado, headline the list of 35 players who were invited by USA Basketball to the women's U16 national team trials.
Brunelle, a 6-foot-2 forward, won a bronze medal with the U17 team last summer at the world championships.
The invited athletes, who are set to graduate either in 2019 or 2020, represent 20 different states. Texas, led by No. 2 prospect Nyah Green, leads the way with seven.
Ashley Owusu, who helped lift Paul VI (Virginia) to a top-5 national ranking, and Haley Jones, who helped lead Archbishop Mitty (California) to a top-10 national ranking, also were invited.
In addition to the 35 invited athletes, the trials will feature as many as 115 applicant athletes. Trials are scheduled for May 25-29 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Here are the remaining 30 player who have accepted invitations: Sarah Andrews, River Baldwin, Shaila Beeler, Cameron Brink, Paige Bueckers, Maddie Burke, Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, Zia Cooke, Cailyn Crocker, Myra Gordon, Jordan Horston, Treasure Hunt, Rickea Jackson, Angel Jackson, Taylor Jones, Deja Kelly, Jayla Kelly, Katelyn Levings, Natalija Marshall, Elizabeth Martino, Jordyn Merritt, Javyn Nicholson, Charisma Osborne, Angel Reese, Jordyn Oliver, Te-Hina Paopao, Sydney Parrish, Celeste Taylor and Kylee Watson.
The selected players will represent Team USA at the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 championships June 7-11 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A berth to the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup, will be awarded to the top four teams.
