Kentucky basketball player wins gold in major international competition
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- Jasper Johnson was part of the U.S. team that won the 2025 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.
- Johnson and the United States went 7-0 at the competition, which was held in Switzerland.
For the second time in his young basketball career, incoming Kentucky freshman guard Jasper Johnson is a gold medalist with the United States.
On Sunday, the United States defeated Germany 109-76 to win the 2025 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. The event ran from June 28 until Sunday in Switzerland.
The Americans went 7-0 at the event. The U.S. defeated Australia, France and Cameroon in group stage play. Then in the knockout rounds, the U.S. topped Jordan in the round of 16, Canada in the quarterfinals, New Zealand in the semifinals and Germany in Sunday’s gold-medal matchup.
Johnson’s latest gold-medal accomplishment far surpasses his previous one in terms of prestige. He previously was part of the United States’ gold-medal effort at last summer’s FIBA U-18 AmeriCup. That event featured youth national teams from the Caribbean, Central America, North America and South America. Now, Johnson is part of a global triumph with the U.S., which has won the FIBA U-19 World Cup a total of nine times.
Individually, the 6-foot-4 Johnson was a role player for the Americans.
Johnson averaged 8.0 points, 1.6 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game for the United States at the World Cup. Johnson shot 46.3% from the field and 40.7% from 3-point range. He made multiple 3-pointers in four of the Americans’ games.
In the gold medal win over Germany, Johnson had five points, three assists and two rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
Johnson’s best game at the World Cup came in the semifinals, when he scored 14 points in the win over New Zealand. That performance included three made 3-pointers. He also scored 11 points in a group stage victory over Cameroon.
Johnson is the top-ranked incoming freshman for next season’s Kentucky team. He’s one of four first-year college players who will suit up for the Wildcats this fall.
Johnson was one of 12 players on the U.S. roster for the World Cup. That roster was littered with accomplished players from both the college and high school levels.
Among Johnson’s notable teammates were incoming Louisville freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr., top-ranked recruit and incoming BYU player AJ Dybantsa and top class of 2026 prospect Tyran Stokes, who is a Louisville native.
The Americans were led in scoring at the event by Brown, who averaged 14.9 points per game. Brown is an incoming five-star recruit for head coach Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals. The United States’ rebounding leader was incoming Arizona freshman Koa Peat (6.9 boards per game). The assists leader for the U.S. was Brown (6.1 assists per game) and the blocks leader was Purdue sophomore big man Daniel Jacobsen (1.9 rejections per contest).
Dybantsa was the MVP of the World Cup after posting per-game averages of 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 rebounds in 20.0 minutes.
The U.S. squad featured four class of 2026 college basketball prospects with Kentucky scholarship offers: Caleb Holt, Brandon McCoy Jr., Jordan Smith Jr. and Stokes, who took an official visit to Kentucky last month.
The U.S. coaching staff for the World Cup was comprised of well-known college coaches. The team was overseen by head coach Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), with assistants Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) and Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame).
Several other prominent college coaches — Alabama’s Nate Oats, Kentucky’s Mark Pope and North Carolina’s Hubert Davis — were court coaches during a USA Basketball training camp last month that was used to determine the 12-player World Cup team. Incoming UK freshman center Malachi Moreno was part of that training camp, but he wasn’t selected for the final U.S. team.
Pope traveled to Switzerland during the tournament to watch Johnson and the Americans play.
Johnson isn’t the only member of the 2025-26 Wildcats with a gold medal to his name with the United States.
Incoming transfer center Jayden Quaintance — who was initially committed to play at UK out of high school before opting to spend his freshman season at Arizona State — represented the U.S. and won a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship. That U.S. team featured several players who were also part of this summer’s World Cup-winning squad, including UK recruits Holt, McCoy and Stokes.
Jasper Johnson continues Kentucky tradition of USA Basketball success
The Kentucky basketball program maintains a rich history when it comes to success on the international stage while representing the United States.
A total of 14 former UK basketball players have been awarded a gold medal in Olympic men’s basketball. The 2024 Paris Olympics produced three such ex-Cats who helped the United States win gold: Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker and Anthony Davis. Each of those players now have two Olympic gold medals each.
This group of Wildcats with top-level international basketball success includes the “Fabulous Five” of Cliff Barker, Ralph Beard, Alex Groza, Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones and Kenny Rollins, who all won the gold medal at the 1948 Olympics in London with Adolph Rupp acting as an associate coach.
The United States has won five consecutive gold medals in men’s basketball at the Olympics, and at least one former Kentucky player has been a part of each of those teams.
Those players are Adebayo (2020 and 2024), Booker (2020 and 2024), DeMarcus Cousins (2016), Davis (2012 and 2024), Keldon Johnson (2020) and Tayshaun Prince (2008).
This story was originally published July 6, 2025 at 3:46 PM.
