Colben Landrew won’t be joining the rest of his teammates for the start of the summer session. He’s got another gig first: winning a gold medal.
The incoming UConn freshman was officially named Tuesday to the 2026 USA Basketball Men’s U18 Junior National Team. Landrew thrived during a six-day training camp in Colorado Springs, earning one of 12 roster spots from a field that originally featured 32 elite high school (classes of 2026 and 2027) players. The team will represent the United States at the 2026 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup in León, Mexico, beginning June 1. The AmeriCup is a contest between countries in the “Americas zone” of FIBA, which includes North, South, Central Americas and the Caribbean islands, that takes place every 2 years. The last future UConn player to participate in the AmeriCup was Rodney Purvis in 2012, before his enrollment at NC State.
For UConn, the selection is another sign that Landrew may arrive in Storrs ahead of schedule in his development. The southern dynamo starred at Wheeler High School in Georgia, and he comes to UConn with a growing reputation as a physical, explosive wing capable of impacting games immediately. Landrew led Wheeler to back-to-back Georgia Class 6A state championships while earning MaxPreps Georgia Player of the Year honors, and he also helped win the Adidas 3SSB Palmetto Road Championship in AAU last year. He’s ranked as a 5* prospect, #26 overall in the 247 Sports composite rankings.
The USA team will be coached by Anthony Grant (Dayton), with assistants Nate Oats (Alabama), and Matt Langel (Colgate). Team USA was placed into Group A with Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.
The team’s schedule (all games streamed live on FIBA’s YouTube channel):
- June 1st (Monday), 7:30pm (EDT) - USA vs. Argentina
- June 2nd (Tuesday), 10:00pm (EDT) - USA vs. Mexico
- June 4th (Thursday), 5:00pm (EDT) - USA vs. Brazil
If the United States wins its group, it will advance directly to the semifinals on Saturday, June 6 (time TBD). A fourth-place finish would eliminate Team USA from medal contention, while a second- or third-place finish would send the Americans to a quarterfinal play-in game on Friday, June 5 for a spot in the semifinals. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, June 7, with consolation games also taking place throughout the weekend.
