Miss Teen USA 2002, the 20th Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from South Padre Island, Texas on 28 August 2002. At the conclusion of the final competition, Miss Wisconsin Teen USAVanessa Marie Semrow was crowned by outgoing queen Marissa Whitley of Missouri. This was the second consecutive year that the pageant was held on South Padre Island, although it had also been held there in 1997. Semrow was only the second teenager from Wisconsin to place in the pageant, and the first to win the title. The state's previous placement was in 1984. In the years after the pageant, two delegates who competed at Miss Teen USA 2002 went on to win the Miss USA title. The class of 2002 is the first to produce two Miss USA winners. The first was Tara Conner of Kentucky, who placed second runner-up at Miss Teen USA 2002 and won the Miss USA 2006 pageant; she was followed by Rachel Smith of Tennessee who won Miss USA 2007. Both placed fourth runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant. A third contestant, fourth runner-up Kimberly Harlan of Georgia, competed at Miss World 2003 but did not place.
Wisconsin, Connecticut and Minnesota placed for only the second time, Rhode Island placed for the third time. Rhode Island last placed in 1992, when Shanna Moakler made the semi-finals. Wisconsin last placed in 1984, Connecticut in 1993, and Minnesota in 1995.
Georgia placed for the third consecutive year, the first time this had occurred.
It was the second time in three years that Miss Kentucky Teen USA placed second runner-up.
Rachel Smith became the second Tennessee teen to win Miss Photogenic. The first Tennessee teen to win the title was Lynnette Cole in 1995 who also went on to win the Miss USA 2000 title. Smith went on to follow her footsteps and win Miss USA 2007, eight years later.
In a rare occurrence, Tara Conner won Miss USA 2006. She then crowned a fellow Miss Teen USA 2002 contestant, Rachel Smith, as her successor.
California - Jennifer Morgan
Kentucky - Tara Conner
Maryland - Michelle Attai
Georgia - Kimberly Harlan
Connecticut - Ashley Bickford
Rhode Island - Alysha Castonguay
New York - Marley Delduchetto
Tennessee - Rachel Smith
Minnesota - Alla Ilushka
Wisconsin -