By R.L. Bynum

Senior Carolina guard Deja Kelly and the United States team begin play Saturday at the FIBA AmeriCup in León, Mexico.

Some of the most talented college players in the country will seek the USA’s third consecutive gold medal in the 10-team event.

Kelly earned one of the final spots on the team during tryouts last week at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Before leaving Tuesday for León, 250 miles northwest of Mexico City, training included scrimmages against men’s players.

“I’m feeling super-excited, super-blessed,” Kelly said. “It’s a great opportunity always to be a part of Team USA. So, when I heard my name called, and when I was told congratulations, that was truly an honor to be blessed to be able to wear the colors and wear USA across my chest.”

For Carolina last season, Kelly was first-team All-ACC, leading the team with 16.5 points per game, which was sixth in the ACC.

The USA is in Pool A and begins pool play Saturday against Venezuela before meeting Argentina on Sunday and Brazil on Tuesday, with each game starting at 4:40 p.m. The United States’ final pool-play game is at 2:10 p.m. on July 5 against Cuba.

The Americans only need to finish in the top four of its five-team group to advance to the quarterfinals, which are on July 7. The semifinals are on July 8, and the championship is on July 9.

You can watch a streaming broadcast of every USA game at Courtside 1891, which usually requires a subscription to watch. According to USA Basketball, once you register for free, anybody in the United States can watch USA AmeriCup games free on the site.

Kelly is part of a deep roster of guards, which includes South Carolina’s Rsven Johnson, UCLA’s Charisma Osborne, Michigan’s Laila Phelia and Oregon’s Chance Gray.

Stars in the front court are LSU’s Angel Reese and UCLA’s Lauren Betts.

Potential UNC 2024–25 roster

Year	No.	Players	Pos.	Height
Freshman	—	Lanie Grant (5 star)	PG	5–10
Freshman	—	Blanca Thomas (5 star)	C	6–5
Freshman	—	Jordan Zubich (4 star)	G	5–11
RS Freshman	21	Ciera Toomey	F	6–4
RS Freshman	4	Laila Hull	W	6–1
Sophomore	10	Reniya Kelly	PG	5–7
Sophomore	15	Sydney Barker	PG	5–6
RS Junior	11	Kayla McPherson	PG	5–8
Junior	24	Indya Nivar	G	5–10
Senior	5	Maria Gakdeng	C	6–3
Graduate	—	Grace Townsend	G	5–5
Graduate	20	Lexi Donarski	G	6–0
Graduate	1	Alyssa Ustby	F	6–1

2023–24 UNC players to enter transfer portal

Class	Player	Date entered	Pos.	Hgt	Next school
Junior	Paulina Paris	March 26	G	5–9	Arizona
Graduate	Ali Zelaya	April 1	F	6–4	UNCW
Graduate	Anya Poole	April 1	F	6–2	TBA
RS junior	Teonni Key	April 2	F	6–4	Kentucky
Sophomore	RyLee Grays	April 5	F	6–3	TBA
Graduate	Deja Kelly	April 8	G	5–8	TBA