IRAPUATO (Mexico) – The FIBA calendar has flipped to the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup 2026, and in the process, eight national teams enter the Inforum in hopes of becoming continental champions. The United States enters as the 11-time defending champion, while Canada has claimed the silver medal in the five previous editions. While those North American nations have reached the podium in each competition within the last decade, other countries will seek to break through. Each team will rely on top talent to make a deep run. Here is one player from every team who could play a key role in shaping the tournament.
Kaleena Smith – United States
Date of birth: Sep. 20, 2008 Position: Point guard Height: 168 cm / 5'6" Considered the top player in the American high school class of 2027, Smith will wear a USA jersey for the first time in Irapuato. The guard attends Ontario Christian School in Ontario, California, and this past high school season, she was named national player of the year by MaxPreps and The Sporting News. En route to a state title, she averaged 31.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 4.5 steals per game. Smith holds offers from premier college basketball programs such as UConn, South Carolina and UCLA. Analysts praise Smith’s all-around skillset, including her shooting, ball handling and IQ. She was originally slated to appear for USA in the U17 FIBA Women’s World Cup 2024, but was ultimately unavailable to compete.
Astrid Inojosa – Venezuela
Date of birth: Sep. 25, 2008 Position: Shooting guard Height: 174 cm / 5'9" Last summer, Inojosa established herself as one of South America's brightest young prospects. In the U17 South American Women's Championship in 2025, she led the competition by scoring 17.0 points per game. She also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest to secure an All-Star Five spot. In the process, Inojosa led Venezuela to a second-place finish, the nation’s first finish on the podium in a decade. The U18 Women’s AmeriCup will be Inojosa’s third competition representing Venezuela, as she also played for Venezuela in the U17 South American Women's Championship in 2023, where she averaged 12.5 points per game.
Sofía Novoa – Argentina
Date of birth: Jul. 25, 2008 Position: Point guard Height: 174 cm / 5'9" Novoa enjoyed a memorable summer with Argentina. In Paraguay for the U17 South American Women's Championship 2025, she took home the competition’s Most Valuable Player award for leading Argentina to a gold medal for the first time since 2017. The point guard averaged 12.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game on 46.3 percent shooting from the floor over six games, in which Argentina went undefeated. Argentina had finished third in each of the last three editions of the U18 Women’s AmeriCup, and Novoa will look to bring them back to the podium.
Savvy Swords – Canada
Date of birth: Jan. 18, 2008 Position: Small forward Height: 183 cm / 6'0" Competing in her third youth FIBA competition, Swords is one of the staples of the next generation of Canadian basketball. In 2023 at the U16 Women’s AmeriCup, she averaged 13.3 points, the sixth-most in the competition, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game en route to a second-place finish. She followed that up by helping Canada place second in the 2024 U17 Women's World Cup, as she averaged 16.3 points and 6.6 rebounds. The five-star phenom is committed to playing collegiate basketball at Kentucky next year.
Jimena Velázquez – Mexico
Date of birth: Dec. 21, 2009 Position: Point guard Height: 169 cm / 5'7" Despite being one of the youngest players in the tournament, Velázquez is stepping up to the U18 level just a summer removed from leading Mexico to a third-place finish in the U16 Women’s AmeriCup 2025— the country’s second-ever podium finish in the competition. Velázquez averaged 11.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.3 steals per game, earning her a nod to the tournament’s All-Star Five. The prior summer, she led Mexico to a gold medal in the U15 Centrobasket Women’s Championship in 2024.
Gilda Duarte – Paraguay
Date of birth: Sep. 3, 2009 Position: Guard Height: 170 cm / 5'7" Paraguay is returning to the U18 Women’s AmeriCup for the first time in 20 years, and Duarte has been a key part of that journey, as she helped the country qualify last year by securing a bronze finish in the U17 South American Women's Championship 2025. There, she averaged 9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and a competition-leading 5.0 assists per game to earn an All-Star Five nod. This coming tournament will be Duarte’s fourth youth FIBA event.
Alanna Monte – Dominican Republic
Date of birth: Feb. 11, 2008 Position: Forward Height: 179 cm / 5'10" Monte is one of the few players who has seen the U18 Women’s AmeriCup stage before, having participated in the competition in the 2024 edition. However, given her youth at the time, she hardly saw the floor. This year’s event will be her fourth FIBA competition, and she should see more action this time around. At the U16 Women’s AmeriCup in 2023, Monte averaged 5.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, good enough for third at the competition.
Lucianna Parrotta – Puerto Rico
Date of birth: May 17, 2009 Position: Small forward Height: 183 cm / 6'0" In her second FIBA tournament last summer, Parrotta broke out for Puerto Rico. Participating in the 2025 U16 Women’s AmeriCup, she posted 10.0 points and 8.3 rebounds, ranking as the fifth most among all players, and 2.8 steals per game. The 2009-born forward will take on older competition in the coming week, something she has previously done for the Puerto Rican national team when she participated in the 2024 U17 Women’s World Cup.
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