STORRS (FIBA World Championship for Women) - It's not too early for international basketball fans to get excited about Breanna Stewart.
The University of Connecticut forward has already donned the USA shirt and played at numerous youth events, starting in 2009 at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Mexico City when she won her first gold medal.
Everyone knew then that a special talent was entering the sport, one who would not only go on to compete at the highest level in college basketball but also become one its top players.
Stewart has been moving from strength to strength ever since.
Just several months removed from capturing an NCAA crown with UConn, she is now firmly in a contention for a spot on the United States roster that will compete at the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey.
One of six collegians invited to last month's USA Basketball senior women's team mini-camp in Las Vegas, Stewart put on some jaw-dropping displays.
Among those impressed was three-time Olympic champion Tamika Catchings.
"The future is very bright for her," Catchings said.
"She will continue to grow her skill set and get better every year, so that will be awesome for her and the fans that love watching her game."
Stewart has done nothing but collect titles with the Americans.
In 2010, she averaged 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds as the USA won gold at the U17 World Championship for Women in France.
In 2011, Stewart's 11.2 points per game led the United States to gold at the U19 World Championship for Women in Chile.
Stewart also helped the USA capture titles at the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women in Puerto Rico and at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women in Lithuania.
Something that stood out in Stewart's game at this year's event in the Baltics was her three-point shooting.
She nailed 58.3% (14 of 24) attempts from the arc.
All of that success filled Stewart with confidence, which was evident when she showed up in Las Vegas for the USA mini-camp.
"My past USA Basketball experiences definitely helped me a lot because I kind of knew what the flow of things is," Stewart said.
"Even though it's different coaches and stuff like that, to say that I played on USA teams before made me more comfortable, because if this was my first USA training camp, I'm sure I'd be extremely nervous."
Stewart certainly had no adjustments to make in terms of the coaches.
The USA boss is Geno Auriemma, her coach at UConn.
Catchings couldn't say enough nice things about Stewart.
"I think that she's another versatile player who can do so much," Catchings said.
"With more experience, she should be able to be a dominating force on both the offensive and defensive end."
Stewart is taking nothing for granted.
Despite achieving so much already, the starlet knows she is a work in progress.
"I want to get bigger, get stronger, so that I can play more of an inside game in the post," she said to USA Basketball.
