BRNO (Czechia) - Many ballers headed to the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 with big reputations, but also players who used the event to show an evolution in their game, or in some cases announce their arrival on the international stage.
We've picked out six players who put themselves on the map in Brno.
Anais Gobec - Slovenia
A fantastic talent who has taken major steps from the U16 Women's EuroBasket 2025, Gobec showed her sky-high potential with outstanding displays throughout. She ended up with an impressive performance efficiency valuation of 18.0, drawn from 14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
Amazingly, she was one of the youngest players in the competition and is eligible to play at the 2028 edition. Propelling Slovenia into the Quarter-Finals, her place on the All-Second Team was richly deserved and she is now firmly on the center of the youth basketball radar.
Jimena Velazquez - Mexico
It might be a stretch to call Velazquez breakout since she did lead Mexico brilliantly at the FIBA U16 Women's AmeriCup 2025 and even made the All-Star Five. However, the guard showed she can do it on the global stage in a big way with some superb performances as the leader of her team.
The breakout element is that she showed she can potentially play at a high level and will be on the radar of many after this showing. Likely to be even more effective and impactful in a better team when she doesn't have to force things, she eventually averaged a sparkling 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.0 steals per game.
Kako Otsuki - Japan
While her teammate Miya Takeuchi stole the show with her All-Star Five status, Japan also benefited from some nice play from Otsuki. Debuting for her country having not featured at U16 level last year, she was a key contributor to Japan sealing a creditable seventh place finish and only just missing out on the Semi-Finals.
Racking up 13.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, she was second in her team's charts for efficiency, scoring and rebounds. If she can turn up the volume on her three-point accuracy, she could be even more potent for her nation and become a senior prospect.
Anna Smykovskaia - Spain
A little bit different to most players, the recently naturalized Smykovaskaia has not been playing the sport too long at a high level. But in her first ever FIBA tournament for Spain, has shown enough promise to be excited. She has kept things simple, rebounded well and did hard work off the ball. She also started the showpiece Final.
Now she has a silver medal to show for it and with improvements to be made in her footwork and post-play, there is potential. After all, Spain always need size in the paint, so the future could be bright. The center signed off having contributed 4.7 points and 8.1 rebounds - most critically, 5.6 offensive boards per game.
Yunshu Pang - China
The passion, energy and animated way that Pang plays the game is a joy to watch. The center is very vocal on the floor, particularly defensively and on that note, has great hands and anticipation for her position. It was a very encouraging first ever FIBA tournament and even if the senior frontcourt is stacked high, it's not impossible.
It's quite an accomplishment to average a near tournament double-double in your maiden FIBA competition in national team colors. Pang came away having averaged 10.0 points and 9.7 boards, while also impressing with the hard work and smarts she showed off the ball.
Diocelin Zuniga Hurtado - Colombia
Appearing at her first ever FIBA tournament, Hurtado helped her nation get only their second ever win in the competition. It came against host nation Czechia and the frontcourt ace was at the heart of a memorable day for Colombia. They then broke more new ground by winning two games for the first time.
Unfortunately suffering an injury on the very last day against Latvia, she heads back home with her head held high. She amassed a very nice haul of 8.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
FIBA