PhD Hoops USA Announces Teams for 2025 Spain Cup Tour
LOS ANGELES, CA – April 18, 2025 – PhD Hoops USA announces the teams, coaches and players who will represent the USA in the Girls (U16) and Boys (U18 & U16) Basketball divisions at the Euro Youth Basketball Cup. All three teams will be on tour from June 8-16, 2025 traveling to Spain while competing at the EYBC, one of the most competitive basketball tournaments in all of Europe! The group will experience both high-level basketball and cultural sightseeing before and after the event.
PhD Hoops USA
(U16 Girls Team)
PLAYERS
Jasmine Andrisek (Lakewood, WA)
Kaliyah Burden (Sevierville, TN)
Gia Campbell (Bauxite, AR)
Emma Hill (Nashville, AR)
Cayt Jackson (Timpson, TX)
Bellie Koldoff (Plainfield, IL)
Khloe Oglesby (Romeoville, IL)
Nya Pellant-Latham (Boise, ID)
Kyla Ross (Shorewood, IL)
Savannah Tobias (Cottonwood, AZ)
Coach Sam Kirby, Head Coach (Sacramento, CA), is serving as a PhD Hoops USA Head Coach for the 2nd year in a row. Last summer, he coached our U16 Girls Team to an undefeated run all the way to the Gold Medal. He is currently the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Cosumnes River College (CA), where he has recently led his program to one of the best seasons in school history. Before becoming a head coach, he spent many years as an assistant coach on the men’s side at Sacramento State, Seattle University, Cal Poly, Cañada College and Shoreline Community College. As a player, Coach Kirby was All-State and a State Champion in high school, a 2x All-Conference player at the JUCO level and was a Team Captain at Seattle, where he still ranks Top-5 in 3-point percentage and steals per game. He graduated from Seattle with a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies and a Minor in Psychology while receiving his Master’s Degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University-Irvine.
Coach Shemilia Johnson, Assistant Coach (Atlanta, GA) is a former PhD Hoops USA player (2022) who will be kickstarting her coaching career with us this summer. Her unique background includes playing her entire high school career in Germany, where she was a 2x All-European honoree. Afterwards, she played college basketball at both Central Maine Community College and at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom. Coach Johnson currently runs her own fitness business, providing workout clothes, nutrition and workout guides as well as 1 on 1 conditioning. She will graduate from Strayer University at the end of the summer with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.
PhD Hoops USA
(U18 Boys Team)
PLAYERS
Evan Cordero (Fort Stockton, TX)
Imari Dewberry (Murfreesboro, TN)
Markwan George (Houma, LA)
Darron Greer, Jr. (Justice, IL)
Kai Hunt (Klamath Falls, OR)
Elijah Ives (Forked River, NJ)
Josh Iwamizu (Grants Pass, OR)
John McAlister (Marmaduke, AR)
Aundre Washington (Fort Stockton, TX)
Cooper Weeks (Lufkin, TX)
Coach Rob Fry, Head Coach (Miami, FL), is coaching with PhD Hoops USA for his 3rd consecutive summer. He has spent nearly two decades coaching basketball in different areas across the country, mostly as Head Coach and Program Director for both the Grand Park Premier (IN) and Arizona Premier (AZ). Additionally, he has served as the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Catalina High School in Tucson, Arizona. Coach Fry takes great pride in having assisted over 150 players achieve their goal of receiving a basketball scholarship, many of whom have gone on to play professionally in either the NBA or WNBA. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology while playing collegiately at Western Michigan University, followed by a short stint playing in the United States Basketball League (USBL).
Coach Anthony Leach, Assistant Coach (Fishers, IN), is new to PhD Hoops USA, but comes with a 20-year coaching history at the grassroots level. Through his AAU program, Hoopmatics Basketball, he has coached several players who have gone on to play both college and professional basketball. Currently, he runs a successful sportswear business (SVI Sportswear) servicing teams across the country and owns the Prep Ball Stars platform offering numerous events and camps. Coach Leach graduated from Indiana University with his Bachelor’s Degree in Management & Communications.
PhD Hoops USA
(U16 Boys Team)
PLAYERS
Tomi Akingboye (Lithia, FL)
Malak Bontzolakes (Buffalo, NY)
James Brady (Tigerton, WI)
Max McMillan Leach (Fishers, IN)
Jayson Moore (Melissa, TX)
Max O’Connor (Ithaca, NY)
Cameron Saunders (San Antonio, TX)
Rocco Sayers (Newfield, NY)
Trey Webb (Windsor, NY)
Nathanael Wright (Corona, CA)
Coach Tim Sparks, Head Coach (Newport News, VA), is currently the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Peninsula Catholic High School (VA). This past season, he led the program to a regular-season championship (for the first time in nearly 30 years) and advanced all the way to the State Championship Game for the first time in school history. For over two decades, he has successfully coached at various high schools and colleges, most recently as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at The Apprentice School (EMAC Champions and USCAA Tournament). Coach Sparks also served as Assistant Coach at Virginia Wesleyan University (ODAC Champions and NCAA Tournament), Louisburg College (32-3 record and #7 NJCAA ranking) and Castleton State College. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree (Cum Laude) in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Health and Physical Education from Norfolk State University and a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Sports Administration from Castleton State College.
TRIP LEADER - Ruben Leyva (Fort Stockton, TX)
Ruben Leyva is a longtime Trip Leader for PhD Hoops USA and has spent a lifetime making an impact as a coach and teacher in his hometown community. As a former physical education teacher and head coach, he currently serves as a personal trainer in his private gym and training facility, TTA Sports. He possesses nearly ten certifications in a variety of areas pertaining to coaching or training and has coached multiple sports over the past two decades. He has established himself as a coach who demands discipline, hard work, respect, high integrity and great character. Coach Leyva graduated from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology.
Every PhD Hoops USA player goes through an extensive Player Profile process. Click here for more information on PhD Hoops USA and our Upcoming Tours or contact us at travel@mg.phdhoops.com or (310) 620-6639.
