Tori McKinney Earns Spot on Team USA for 3x3 World Cup

MINNEAPOLIS – The next stop in Tori McKinney’s fast-track ascent isn’t a Big Ten arena. It’s Wuhan, China.

The Minnesota guard has earned a place on Team USA for the 2026 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup, a reward sealed when the Americans stormed through the Americas Conference in July to claim the regional title and the lone qualifying berth.

That qualifying event, staged in Ñuñoa, Chile, ran as a six-day grind from June 27 to July 3, broken into a series of intense “stops” that mimicked the brutal rhythm of the 3x3 circuit. The USA group didn’t just survive it. They owned the Americas North division, piling up enough points to shut the door on the rest of the field and punch their ticket to Wuhan for the Sept. 15-19 showcase.

This is not the traditional five-on-five grind McKinney has come to dominate. The 3x3 game is stripped down and unforgiving: half-court, 12-second shot clock, race to 21 or 10 minutes, whichever hits first. There is nowhere to hide. Possessions vanish in a blink, and conditioning, decision-making, and toughness get exposed almost immediately.

It suits her.

McKinney arrives on the international stage off a breakout sophomore season that dragged Minnesota back into national relevance. She helped drive the Golden Gophers to their first Sweet Sixteen in more than 20 years, anchoring a resurgence that turned Williams Arena into a destination again rather than a footnote.

The Minnetonka, Minn., native stacked honors along the way. She landed on the All-Big Ten Second Team as selected by the coaches and the Third Team as picked by the media, and she carved out a spot on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team. Those plaques came with numbers to match: she set Minnesota’s single-season record for assist/turnover ratio at 2.20, a marker of control and composure in a league that punishes sloppy guards.

Her scoring jumped too. McKinney led the Maroon and Gold at 12.7 points per game, up from 10.6 as a freshman, and she saved some of her sharpest work for the stretch run. Over Minnesota’s final 11 regular-season games, she averaged 15.9 points, handed out 33 assists, and led the team with 24 steals, a disruptive presence who turned defense into instant offense.

That profile makes her an ideal fit for the 3x3 format, where a single steal can flip a game and a smart read with the ball can be the difference between a quick exit and a deep run.

USA Roster

• McKinna Brackens (Arizona State)
• Dani Carnegie (Iowa)
• Katie Fiso (Oregon)
• Tori McKinney (Minnesota)

Four schools. One jersey.

Now the guard who helped revive Minnesota’s March ambitions steps into a condensed, high-pressure version of the sport, with a world title on the line and another chance to prove her game translates anywhere.