UConn women’s basketball sophomore Kayleigh Heckel was named to the final 12-player Team USA roster that will compete in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup this summer, marking her first selection to a World Cup team.
Heckel, a 5-foot-9 guard from Port Chester, New York, played her freshman season at USC and signed with the Huskies out of the transfer portal on May 26. She previously competed for USA Basketball in the 2024 U18 FIBA AmeriCup, where she won a gold medal alongside UConn sophomore Sarah Strong. Heckel was the second-leading scorer for the U.S. in the AmeriCup averaging 12.8 points in 21.2 minute per game plus 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
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The U19 World Cup runs from July 12-20 in Brno, Czech Republic, where Team USA will look to bring home a fourth consecutive gold medal and 11th all-time in the event. The team begins group play against South Korea on July 12, and it will also face off against Israel and Hungary in Group A to advance to the knockout rounds. The U.S. has reached at least the championship game in 10 straight U19 World Cups dating back to 2005, and it has only lost once during that stretch, to Russia in 2017.
Heckel is one of four players on the World Cup roster with collegiate experience alongside Texas guard Jordan Lee, Florida guard Alivia McGill and former UCLA forward Zania Socka-Nguemen, who transferred to Indiana this offseason. Lee and McGill also played with Heckel at the U18 AmeriCup. Indiana coach Teri Moren will lead the squad with Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey and South Florida coach Jose Fernandez serving as assistants.
Heckel was the No. 13 prospect in the Class of 2025, and averaged 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 17 minutes per game during her freshman season at USC. She is just the fifth player UConn has signed out of the transfer portal since it was established in 2019, and her signing also marked the first time that coach Geno Auriemma added multiple transfers in a single offseason during the portal era. Former Wisconsin forward Serah Williams also signed with the Huskies as they look to defend their NCAA Championship in 2025-26.
