Shyla Heal has been named in the Opals squad for next week's FIBA women's Basketball World Cup qualifiers in Serbia.
The 20-year-old is the daughter of Boomers great Shane Heal, and returned to the WNBL this season after a stint in the US.
Heal has previously represented Australia in the Under-17 and Under-19 World Cups but is set to make her senior Opals debut.
"It's extremely special, being around teammates like Sami Whitcomb, you learn so much, her leadership is crazy good, you learn heaps from the veteran players," Heal said following the announcement.
Dual Olympian Cayla George and FIBA Asia Cup bronze medal captain Whitcomb will lead the 12-strong squad after it was condensed from 16 at this week's training camp.
"We've learned valuable lessons from 2021, we've reset, and it's been a fantastic camp," Opals head coach Sandy Brondello said.
"It's still very fluid but we've got a good mixture of veteran players, the core group who were in Tokyo, but we also have some new faces as well so we're excited to integrate them into the team and start our build-up to the World Cup."
Olympic teammate Ezi Magbegor was left out of the team after suffering an injury at training on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite scans and a medical clearance her to play, the decision was made that she will not travel with the team for this event.
As host nation, the Opals have already qualified for the World Cup but will get to measure themselves against some of their potential opponents, including Brazil, Serbia and Korea, in Serbia's qualifying tournament from February 10-13.
