Koa Peat, a standout forward at Gilbert Perry High School, has been selected to represent USA Basketball at the upcoming U17 World Cup. This marks Peat’s third time playing for the junior national team, as he previously won gold medals at the U16 Americas in 2023 and the U17 World Cup in 2022. In 2023, he was named USA Basketball’s Male Player of the Year for his impressive stats in the Americas tournament.
Standing at 6-foot-8 and weighing 235 pounds, Peat has achieved success at Perry High School, winning Open Division championships in each of his three seasons. He was also named Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year in the past two years. Peat has recently narrowed down his college recruitment to 10 schools, including local universities Arizona State and Arizona.
Peat will be joined by familiar faces from previous national team experiences, such as Cameron and Cayden Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, and Tyran Stokes on the U17 team. The team has an undefeated record of 44-0 at the World Cup. Unfortunately, some notable names did not make it onto the final roster despite initially participating in training camp. These include wing player Cameron Holmes from Goodyear Millennium.
The initial training camp roster featured players with NBA connections, such as Bryce James, the son of LeBron James and Kiyan Anthony, son of Carmelo Anthony. Although not every talented player made it onto the final roster, USA is poised to make a strong showing at the World Cup with Peat leading the way.
