COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – BYU’s Bruce Branch III was named to the 2026 USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team training camp, the organization announced on Friday morning.
The training camp set to take place at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. begins Thursday, May 21. The 12-member team is expected to be announced before the team departs for the 2026 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup schedule for June 1-7 in Leon, Mexico.
35 athletes will take part in 🇺🇸 #USABMU18 training camp!
— USABJNT (@usabjnt) May 8, 2026
The final 12-man roster will compete at the 2026 FIBA U18 Men's AmeriCup scheduled for June 1-7 in Leon, Mexico.
🏀 https://t.co/VfM6va0oHN pic.twitter.com/mjGAsh1lNT
USA Basketball will open Group A play with Argentina, Brazil and Mexico at the 2026 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup. The U.S. men will take on Argentina in their opening game on June 1 before facing Mexico on June 3 and closing out group play against Brazil on June 4.
Branch III, a 6-foot-7 wing from Gilbert, Ariz., represented USA Basketball at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon on April 11 finishing with two rebounds, two assists and a block in 13 minutes of action. He also attended Junior National Team minicamps in October and April of 2025.
The consensus five-star recruit is the No. 4 recruit in the Class of 2026 according to Rivals after finishing his prep career at Prolific Prep. He was named a Max Preps and Naismith Boys’ High School All-American Honorable Mention after averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks per game after reclassifying.
Branch III is the second straight McDonald’s All-American to sign with the Cougars after finishing with seven points, four rebounds, two blocks and an assist in 20 minutes.
Last summer, he averaged 15.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooing 39.0 percent from 3-point range on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. He was awarded the Rising Star Award at the Adidas EuroCamp en route to being named to the All-Camp Team.