Winning gold medals has become a staple of incoming South Carolina true freshman Kelsi Andrew's early career. Although she won't officially begin her journey with the Gamecocks until the 2026-27 season tips off later this year, she won her third gold medal on Monday night.
Andrews has been representing USA Basketball during the FIBA U18 Americup in Iraputo, Mexico over the last couple weeks. Taking on Team Canada in the gold medal finals game, Andrews and the United States took home a 90-72 dominant victory.
The sweet taste of victory 🥇
— USABJNT (@usabjnt) June 16, 2026
🇺🇸 #USABWU18 x #U18AmeriCupW pic.twitter.com/704BiH8Tfg
Jordyn Palmer led the way for the United States, finishing with a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds in the victory. The U.S. team actually trails 15-9 in the first quarter, but went on a 10-2 run to capture the lead. The United States led for a whole 34 minutes of the game to win gold, which Andrews was a big part of.
This gives Andrews her third gold medal, having won them while playing for Team USA at the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup, as well as winning gold during the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
In the win over Canada, Andrews scored just three points, but she's been a valuable addition to the United States' roster throughout the tournament. Throughout her five games with the team, she scored 31 points while shooting 53.8% from the floor. She added 19 rebounds and added 11 assists with three blocks.
Against Venezuela in the semifinal game, Andrews had her best game of the tournament, scoring 13 points with 10 rebounds and adding a pair of assists. The South Carolina freshman had been invited to the team trials before the tournament, and ultimately made the team's final roster.
Now that Andrews' time in Mexico is capped off with a gold medal, she is expected to return to Columbia with the rest of the Gamecocks' incoming freshman class. South Carolina will participate in summer workouts as the team begin preparations for what is expected to be a big 2026-27 season in Columbia. She missed the entirety of her senior high school season at IMG Academy last year, so her playing well in a big tournament like this has to be encouraging for head coach Dawn Staley.
Congrats to Andrews on winning her third gold medal with FIBA! We can't wait to see what your already promising Gamecock career holds.
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