Vance is in Milan for the Winter Olympics, a trip that will later take him to Armenia and Azerbaijan

MILAN (AP) — Vice President JD Vance landed in Milan with his family Thursday, the first stop on a trip combining diplomacy and sports where he is leading President Donald Trump's delegation to the 2026 Winter Olympics and later stopping in Armenia and Azerbaijan in a show of support for a peace agreement brokered by the White House last year.

The weeklong trip may be one of only a few international trips Vance makes this year. Trump and his Cabinet members are taking a tighter focus on domestic issues — and domestic travel — heading into the November midterm elections, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said last month.

On Thursday, Vance plans to meet with U.S. athletes competing in the Milan Cortina Winter Games, and later plans to watch the U.S. women’s hockey team take on Czechia in a preliminary game.

At the opening ceremony for the games on Friday, the vice president will lead a U.S. delegation that includes his wife, second lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta. Former Olympic gold medalists will also be in the delegation, including hockey player sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando; speedskater Apolo Ohno and figure skater Evan Lysacek.

Vance is following in the footsteps of former vice presidents Joe Biden who attended the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 and Mike Pence who traveled to Pyeongchang, Korea in 2018. Former Vice President Kamala Harris did not attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because the Biden administration did not send any diplomatic officials as a boycott over human rights concerns.

After Italy, Vance plans to head to Armenia and Azerbaijan, where Trump has tasked him with building on a deal aimed at ending four decades of conflict between the two countries.

The peace agreement boosts the position of the U.S. in the region at a time when Russia’s influence is declining. The two former Soviet republics, Armenia and Azerbaijan, agreed under the deal to reopen key transportation routes and bolster cooperation with the United States in energy, technology and the economy. The deal also calls for the creation of a major transit corridor dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. It is expected to connect Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, which are separated by a 32-kilometer-wide (20-mile-wide) patch of Armenian territory.

Vance’s mission on the trip to further the peace effort is similar to an assignment he took on in October, when he traveled to Israel weeks after a ceasefire was negotiated in its war with Hamas in Gaza, reiterating the Trump administration’s commitment to the effort.

In addition to the Israel stop last year, Vance made trips to France, Germany, Greenland, India, and the U.K. He twice visited Italy, meeting Pope Francis before his death, and later, his successor Pope Leo XIV.

While presidents focus their foreign travel on meetings with some of the U.S.’s biggest allies, vice presidents often are called on to make trips a little off the beaten path. Biden, for example, went to Mongolia in 2011, where he tried some archery and was gifted a horse. In 2017, Pence visited Estonia, Georgia and Montenegro, where he affirmed support for NATO, along with participating in symbolic diplomacy with the planting of an oak tree.

For vice presidents, foreign trips are partly “a function of what the president likes to do — and not like to do,” said Marc Short, who was chief of staff to Pence during Trump’s first term.

Sometimes, trips can include unexpected elements, such as Pence's 2018 trip to the East Asia Summit in Singapore that included an informal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Short also recalled a 2019 trip to Poland where Pence was called to fill in for the president who stayed home to monitor Hurricane Dorian. That trip involved a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“The reality, obviously, is the president has a lot of other responsibilities,” Short said, “So it’s often important that the United States be represented by the highest official available. In many cases, that’s just the vice president.”

Vice President JD Vance stands by Team USA jackets, at the Team USA Welcome Experience, ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance visits a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Vice President JD Vance, center, attends a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Vice President JD Vance, center, attends a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio his wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino Tilman Fertitta pose for a photo with Team USA athletes, at the Team USA Welcome Experience, ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino Tilman Fertitta and his wife Paige Fertitta welcome Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance as they arrive ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance holds his son Vivek's credentials, at the Team USA Welcome Experience, ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino Tilman Fertitta and his wife Paige Fertitta welcome Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance as they arrive ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance and their children Mirabel and Vivek disembark Air Force Two as they arrive ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance waves as he and second lady Usha Vance board Air Force Two to travel to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, from Joint Base Andrews, Md., Feb. 4, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool via AP)

Cameron Boozer was at the center of everything for Duke this season.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward proved tough enough to score through physical play. Rangy enough to space the floor and shoot from outside. Deft enough as a passer to find teammates, whether against constant double teams coming for him as the top name on every scouting report or while running the entire offense from up top.

“You just want to affect winning in whatever way you can,” Boozer said.

The high-end NBA prospect did that all season for a team that won 35 games, reached No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll, claimed the top overall seed for March Madness and reached the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. Now he's The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the year, only the fifth freshman to earn the honor and the second in a row for a Duke program that keeps adding to the longest list of winners in the country.

“It just goes to show more about what our team has done, just because I think that really helps awards like this, having great team success,” Boozer told the AP. “It’s really just not me.”

Boozer, named unanimous first-team AP all-American last month, received 59 of 61 votes from AP Top 25 voters in results released Friday. BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, another potential top NBA pick, received the other two votes after averaging a national-best 25.5 points per game.

Boozer, son of Duke and longtime NBA player Carlos Boozer, ranked averaged 22.5 points (ninth in Division I) and 10.2 rebounds (12th) while finishing tied for the national lead with 22 double-doubles. He also averaged 4.1 assists while posting efficient shooting numbers at 55.6% overall and 39.1% from 3-point range.

He joins fellow Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg last year, another Duke player in Zion Williamson (2019), Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2012) and Texas star Kevin Durant (2007) as freshmen to win the AP award. Each went No. 1 or No. 2 in the NBA draft that year.

“I’m very grateful just that I’m even in those (NBA) conversations,” Boozer said. “I think a lot of people dream of being where I am. Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and just remember that once upon a time, you were a kid dreaming to be here. So I think it’s very special.”

His coaches think the same of him.

“We’ve been fortunate enough the last two years to have two of the best freshmen to ever play in college basketball back to back,” Duke associate head coach and former Blue Devils player Chris Carrawell said. “And Cam is right up there.

Boozer is Duke's ninth AP winner, each coming from a different player. UCLA is the next closest with five winners, though that included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1967 and 1969) and Bill Walton (1972 and 1973) as two-time selections.

UCLA, Ohio State and Duke rival North Carolina are the only other programs with as many as three different players to win the award.

Boozer arrived at Duke alongside twin brother Cayden after the two led Miami's Columbus High to four straight state championships. By late February, the Blue Devils were starting a four-week reign atop the AP Top 25 that would carry to March Madness. Boozer — who said he looks at winning as a skill — routinely posted top performances in Duke's biggest games, including during a rugged nonconference slate.

He matched a season high with 35 points in a November win against Arkansas. He followed with 29 points against defending national champion Florida. He also had big performances at Michigan State (18 points, 15 rebounds) and flirted with a triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) in a February win against Michigan.

Along the way, he pushed through bumps and shoves. He closed Sunday's season-ending loss to UConn with 27 points and his right eye swollen from a first-half blow.

“There’s no agenda other than figuring out a way to win,” Wolverines coach Dusty May said. “I’ve seen him play a number of times this year where there’s six guys in the paint, and it’s not as if he’s jumping 40, 50 inches off the floor. His desire to rebound the ball, to set physical screens, to play to his advantages, is as impressive as any freshman that I can recall.”

The other challenge was managing the scrutiny that comes from expectations for greatness. A missed shot. A turnover. The 3-for-17 shooting while battling rising frustration and Virginia shot-blocker Ugonna Onyenso in the ACC title game.

“He does a great job of flushing it and not letting it dwell on him too much,” Cayden said. “That’s something he’s always been able to do since we were younger. Obviously I talk to him when he needs me to. And I sometimes just understood that, hey, he’s going through something, give him some space for a little bit and he’ll figure it out.”

Cameron said getting away for time alone and putting down the phone helps. He points to prayer and even a recent effort to read more.

The rest of the time, though, he'll throw himself into becoming a better player. There's comfort in that routine, the results yet to fail him.

“I think just being prepared alleviates pressure," Cameron said. "Being ready for a game, watching film, working out, knowing you put your time in, being confident in yourself — I think all that takes away a lot of the pressure that people talk about. At the end of the day, pressure really is what you put on yourself.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Duke forward Cameron Boozer (12) reacts after scoring during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against TCU, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Duke guard Cayden Boozer, left, and Duke forward Cameron Boozer, right, share a laugh during a press conference ahead of a game against UConn in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Duke forward Cameron Boozer (12) shoots over St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins (23) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Duke forward Cameron Boozer (12) shoots over St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins (23) during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)