PhD Hoops USA Announces Teams for 2025 Paris World Games Tour
LOS ANGELES, CA – May 1, 2025 – PhD Hoops USA announces the teams, coaches and players who will represent the USA in the Girls (U19) and Boys (U19, U16 & U14) Basketball divisions at the 2025 United World Games. All five teams will be on tour from June 15-23, 2025 traveling to Italy & Austria while competing at the UWG, the largest youth tournament in Europe! The group will experience both high-level basketball and cultural sightseeing.
PhD Hoops USA
(U20 Boys Team)
PLAYERS
Luke Cughan (Bloomsburg, PA)
Malik Moore (Queens, NY)
Jamey Richardson (Riverton, KS)
Terryk Richardson (Riverton, KS)
Jelani Saunders (Pittsburgh, PA)
Noah Simiskey (Katy, TX)
Traye Sturm-Burley (Union, KY)
Evan Thomas (Miami, OK)
Justin Thomas (Forney, TX)
Coach Brandon McGruder, Head Coach (Omaha, NE), is serving as a PhD Hoops USA Head Coach for the 2nd year in a row. Currently, he is the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Mayville State University (ND) where, in just 3 years, he reached 50 career wins faster than any coach in school history while winning both a conference regular-season and tournament championship. In addition, he has been named Coach of the Year and has coached several Academic All-Americans. Beforehand, he spent several years as Assistant Coach at the NAIA, JUCO and HS levels, developing players who ultimately went on to play at all levels of college basketball (including NCAA DI and D2). Coach McGruder played in junior college as well as at Grand Canyon University, where he led the team in made three-pointers. He graduated from Peru State College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Psychology and Journalism.Â
PhD Hoops USA
(U17 Boys Team)
PLAYERS
Tristan Anderson-Edmond (Horizon City, TX)
James Braun (Cambridge, KS)
Zephaniah Guerro (Magdalena, NM)
DJ Hillmon (Oklahoma City, OK)
Josiah Hippolyte (Colbyville, Ontario)
Gavin Milligan (Arcadia, OK)
Ellis Mosley (Tacoma, WA)
Gunnar Parsons (Burden, KS)
Keenan Perry (Tacoma, WA)
Michael Ramos (Lancaster, MA)
Coach Lee Toldson, Head Coach (Idaho Falls, ID), has earned both Silver and Gold Medals as a PhD Hoops USA Head Coach over the last two summers. He has spent over a dozen years as a high school basketball coach/teacher in both Wyoming and Idaho and his summers have recently been filled with coaching in the TBT as well as in the Under Armour circuit. During his time in Wyoming, his team finished 3rd in the state one season, he coached the Wyoming South All-Star Team and was voted the Wyoming Physical Education (and Dance) Teacher of the Year. Coach Toldson’s life experiences have given him opportunities to become a motivational speaker as well. Additionally, he has hosted numerous training sessions and events as the Founder of No Excuses. As a player, he competed on scholarship at Western Wyoming Community College before graduating from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology.Â
PhD Hoops USA
(U15 Boys Team)
PLAYERS
Vael Beciri (Coal Valley, IL)
Gavin Guirland (Allendale, NJ)
Brysen Higgins (Stayton, OR)
Liam Kangrga (Clermont, FL)
Morgan Kone (Ulster, PA)
Amare Shelton (Eastampton, NJ)
Isaiah Taylor (Fayetteville, NC)
Dominic Tyler-Pizarro (Syracuse, NY)
Coach Barry Perry, Head Coach (Tacoma, WA), is fresh off two consecutive, undefeated Gold Medal runs as a PhD Hoops USA Head Coach. He has been heavily involved in coaching youth sports for over two decades and is currently a head coach in the 9U-14U Boys Basketball AAU club he recently co-founded. Prior to the pandemic, he had also established his own 10U Boys Basketball team before being forced to shut down. Coach Perry coached high-level select soccer for both boys and girls (aged 8-14 y/o) for 18 years before transitioning full time into basketball. As a player, he was successful at the high school level before breaking into the coaching ranks.
TRIP LEADER - Jay Newberry (Cincinnati, OH)
Jay Newberry is one of our most trusted PhD Hoops USA Trip Leaders. Additionally, he recently coached a couple of our oldest teams after a 15-year career at both the collegiate and high school levels. For over a decade, he spent time coaching all 3 NCAA levels while at Ball State University, Augusta University, Belmont Abbey College and Thomas More College. Currently, he balances his time between being a high school Math teacher, raising his 6 children and coaching them in various sports. Newberry was a 5-sport athlete in high school while setting the school basketball records in scoring and rebounding. He played collegiately at Rollins College for 4 years where he was the Team Captain and earned the Most Outstanding Senior award. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Rollins College and a Master’s Degree in Health & Physical Education from Augusta State.
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.
