UConn transfer Kayleigh Heckel helps lead Team USA to gold medal at U19 FIBA World Cup

UConn women’s basketball guard Kayleigh Heckel is returning to Storrs as a two-time gold medalist after helping Team USA to victory in the 2025 U19 FIBA World Cup in Brno, Czechia on Sunday.

Heckel started all seven games at the World Cup averaging 7.8 points on 51% shooting plus 3.3 assists and 2.8 steals en route to the championship. She was the team’s third leading scorer in its 88-76 win over Australia in the title game with a tournament-high 16 points plus five rebounds, five assists and a steal. Her performance was highlighted by a coast-to-coast transition layup at the halftime buzzer that pushed the U.S. ahead by double digits entering the third quarter.

Team USA’s victory was its fourth consecutively in the U19 World Cup and its 11th all-time since the tournament was established in 1985. It was also Heckel’s second gold medal with USA Basketball after she competed for the U18 squad that won the 2024 FIBA AmeriCup.

The U.S. was led in the championship game by 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2026, and incoming USC freshman Jazzy Davidson added 21 points plus six boards and five steals. Team USA played its closest game of the tournament in the quarterfinals, escaping France with a 70-65 victory, but it won its four matchups in group play by an average margin of 62.5 points and routed Spain 70-58 in the semifinals. Spain went on to beat Canada in a 70-68 thriller to secure the bronze medal.

Heckel played her first collegiate season at USC before signing with the Huskies out of the transfer portal for her sophomore campaign. She was ranked the No. 13 prospect in the country coming out of high school in the class of 2024, and she averaged 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 17 minutes per game with the Trojans as a freshman. She is just the fifth transfer the Huskies have signed since the portal was established in 2019, joining the squad in 2025-26 alongside Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams.

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