Coloradan Raegan Beers makes Team USA women's basketball team, will compete in Chile this July

At the Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs, Team USA coaches were putting their trialists through a gauntlet. As women's basketball continues to gain popularity, the next generation of players are getting better every year. To make one of the most dominant American teams is a badge of honor at any level. But Littleton native Raegan Beers is getting a chance to step on to the big stage immediately.

 "The last time I tried out for the US team I was in braces," she said with a laugh. "That was the last picture they had (of me)."

Beers was a standout star in high school for Valor Christian and one of the top ten players in the entire country heading into college. She started her career at Oregon State, where she was an All-American and helped lead the Beavers to an Elite Eight in 2024. That summer she transferred to Oklahoma where she earned All-SEC First Team honors en route to the Sweet Sixteen.

But coming to Colorado Springs to play for Team USA is always special considering how close she is to the facility.

"It's a 42 minute drive, Google Maps says, to my house," she said.

She was invited to a tryout once two years ago but hurt her knee one week before it started, costing her a chance to compete in the FIBA Americup. This year, she had no such issues, gliding through the trials with her family in attendance.

"It's nice to actually come see her," her father Ike told CBS Colorado. "It was sweet to see her put in the work like this and be rewarded."

 Some friends made the trip down as did a fellow OU teammate of hers. Each day of the trials, her parents were watching alongside her club basketball coach. Her Sooners head coach, Jennie Baranczyk, is part of the Team USA staff this year. In the same gym where some of the greatest names in the game plied their trade for an American dynasty, Beers now gets the chance to make her own legacy.

"Such a cool opportunity to see so many legends, and then you're in the place where they were practicing," she said. "And then you get to play with and against the best."

Sarah Strong of the Connecticut Huskies attempts a shot while being guarded by Raegan Beers of the Oklahoma Sooners in the second quarter in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Spokane Arena on March 29, 2025 in Spokane, Washington. Alika Jenner / Getty Images

 In the last decade, Colorado has started to churn out many good women's basketball players at the prep level. Lauren Betts and her sister Sienna, both Grandview alums, were top rated players leaving high school and both will be joining forces at UCLA this year. Addison O'Grady, another Grandview star, played alongside Caitlin Clark at Iowa. Fran Belibi went viral all over the world for her breakaway dunks while at Regis Jesuit and now Beers is the lone Coloradan on a roster that's headed to Chile to qualify for the 2026 FIBA World Cup.

"I think for girls basketball in Colorado, I think the future's bright," Ike said. "And for Raegan to be that standard bearer, I think for her it's a privilege."

As she prepares for whatever comes next, be it Team USA or another season at Oklahoma and eventually the WNBA, she knows the banner she's carrying.

"We want to inspire the next generation especially as Colorado players," she finished. "So to be on that list with the best is pretty cool."

Team USA opens FIBA Americup group play on July 28 in Santiago, Chile.