Leah Macy (Brenden Miller Photo)
Kentucky has two players with a chance to make the USA Basketball Women’s Under 18 National Team that will play June 17-23 in Bucaramanga, Colombia in the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup.
Zakiyah Johnson, a three-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and three-time state champion with Sacred Heart, is one of 26 players invited to the training camp that begins Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
Also invited to the tryout camp is Bethlehem’s Leah Macy, a recent Notre Dame commit who already has scored over 2,000 points and has a chance to reach 2,000 rebounds next season.
Johnson and Macy are both top 15 players in the 2025 recruiting class. Macy had almost 40 college scholarship offers and Johnson also has offers from all of the nation’s major programs.
Attendees were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee, chaired by DePaul University women’s basketball head coach Doug Bruno. Twelve players are in the 2024 high school graduating class while 14, including Macy and Johnson, are in the 2025 class.
Trials begin May 15 with the 12-member team expected to be announced at the conclusion of trials. Athletes eligible must be U.S. citizens, born on or after Jan. 1, 2006.
Tori Moren (Indiana University) will serve as the USA’s head coach and his assistants will be Jose Fernandez (University of South Florida) and Niele Ivey (University of Notre Dame). Helping as court coaches during trials will be Shea Ralph (Vanderbilt University) and Charmin Smith (University of California).
USA drew into Group B for the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup with Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The USA will tip off competition June 17 against Brazil followed by games with Puerto Rico and Mexico the next two days.
USA women have won 11 of 13 gold U18 gold medals and 10 consecutive.
The top four teams will earn a berth to the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup.
