COLORADO SPRINGS – There were 35 players present for the Under-18 USA Basketball trials last week and the 12-man roster is making its way to León, Mexico for the U18 FIBA AmeriCup June 1-7. Team USA had two scrimmages in the last 10 days — first against college players from the Air Force Academy and Colorado College last week, and Saturday against Puerto Rico.
The 2026 USA Men’s U18 National Team is led by head coach Anthony Grant (University of Dayton) and assistant coaches Matt Langel (Colgate University) and Nate Oats (University of Alabama).
The roster is mainly constructed of incoming freshmen, but there were a few rising seniors in high school who earned spots. Aden Diggs, Malachi Jordan, Demarcus Henry, Darrius Wabbington and Davion Thompson all made the team, along with Taylen Kinney (Kansas), Jasiah Jervis (Michigan State), Ethan Taylor (Michigan State), Colben Landlew (UConn), Bruce Branch III (BYU), Caleb Gaskins (Miami) and Quentin Coleman (Illinois).
“There’s just something about wearing USA across your chest that’s special,” Coleman told Hoops HQ. “We all want to represent our country and bring home a gold medal and I really love this group and how competitive we all are.”
Out of the younger players, Diggs and Jordan were fantastic during trials and training camp. Diggs recently reclassified to the 2027 class and has seen his recruitment intensify since the live period two weeks ago. “Now that I can talk to coaches, my recruitment has definitely picked up, it’s crazy,” Diggs said. “I’m going to focus on winning a gold medal with Team USA and then hopefully making Peach Jam (with Vegas Elite) before I start scheduling visits.” Diggs picked up offers from Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky after the live period. His Vegas Elite teammate, Henry, has also seen his recruitment pick up and both are getting hands-on coaching from Alabama head coach, Oats, during the last 10 days.
“It’s great getting to know him as a coach both on and off the court,” Henry said. “Just seeing his success at Alabama and then getting an offer from them, not a lot of players get this experience and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.”
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Jordan was a standout from the first day of trials and carried his consistent shot creation all the way to the last day in Colorado Springs at the USA Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. The 6-foot-7 five-star recruit has been fantastic on Nike’s EYBL the first two sessions and will be an instrumental option on the wing for Team USA. “I’ve just really been working on my body and just the physicality part of playing up,” Jordan said. “It’s been great being back here at USA, and I just want to do everything I can to help this team win.” Jordan already has fall visits scheduled for Alabama, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Auburn.
This is the first time Michigan State teammates Jervis and Taylor have played on the same team and they’ve already started to build on-court chemistry. “He’s had some dunks on people in the first few days that were really impressive,” Jervis said while laughing. “I’m just excited to play with a 7-footer and how skilled he is and how well he moves off the ball. We’re going to have a lot of great momentum heading into the season at Michigan State next year.”
Kansas has a new lead guard coming in next season with Taylen Kinney, and he’s been a great vocal leader for Team USA early on. Kinney was instrumental in helping the Jayhawks land the No. 1 recruit in the country, Tyran Stokes, and the pair will be rooming together at Kansas next season. “I was hyped when we finally got Tyran,” Kinnney said. “He’s someone I’ve been playing with and against since middle school so we’re looking to really make some noise in the Big 12 next year. I can’t wait to play with him.”
Landrew signed with UConn in November and has been itching to get on campus since the Huskies’ run to the national championship. The 6-foot-6 wing already looks like he’s added some muscle to his frame and is focused on becoming a consistent two-way player. “We have Braylon (Mullins) returning, which is huge, and then adding Nik (Khamenia) in the portal was big for us too,” Landrew said. “Not everyone can play for coach Hurley and I’m just excited to get to work and really just have the coaching staff help make me the best player I can be — and most importantly, win at UConn.”
There were college coaches and NBA scouts at the first few days of trials. It’s a dead period, but since college coaches are leading the squad, it allows other coaches to come out and watch and evaluate. The younger players are two years removed from the NBA process, but it becomes more real for the players entering college in the fall. Branch III reclassed up a grade and is coming off a strong showing at both the McDonald’s All American game and Nike Hoop Summit.
“I’m just hoping to show the NBA scouts here my leadership and I’ve gotten stronger, too,” Branch III said. “I’ve been on campus at BYU for a month already and on a team with this much talent, I want to do all the little things well like cutting off the ball, rebounding and creating for my teammates.”
USA Basketball has won 11 gold medals in this event, including seven straight dating back to 2010. Team USA will open Group A play with Argentina, Brazil and Mexico at the 2026 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup. The U.S. men will take on Argentina in their opening game at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday.
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