PhD Hoops Announces Coaching Staffs and Teams for 2024 United World Games Tour
LOS ANGELES, CA – April 20, 2024 – PhD Hoops USA announces the teams, coaches and players who will represent the USA in the Girls (U16 & U14) and Boys (U19, U16 & U14) Basketball divisions at the 2024 United World Games. All seven teams will be on tour from June 16-25, 2024 traveling to Italy, Austria & Germany while competing at the UWG, the largest youth tournament in Europe! The group will experience both high-level basketball and cultural sightseeing before and after the event.
PhD Hoops USA (U16 Girls Team)
HEAD COACH: Sam Kirby (Sacramento, CA)
PLAYERS
Jaycee Archer (Linton, IN)
Ella Brechbiel (Lemoyne, PA)
Kaliyah Burden (Sevierville, TN)
Kashlynn Cooper (Yukon, OK)
Kylie Jennings (Driggs, ID)
Abby Martinez (Cimarron, NM)
Mia Milanes (Wesley Chapel, FL)
Abby Roberts (Powell, TN)
Zena Smith (Tucson, AZ)
Savannah Tobias (Cottonwood, AZ)
Coach Sam Kirby, Head Coach (Sacramento, CA), is currently the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Cosumnes River College (CA), where his program is coming off 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.
PhD Hoops USA (U14 Girls Team)
HEAD COACH: Mari Stewart (Paso Robles, CA)
PLAYERS
Jasmine Andrisek (Lakewood, WA)
Yianna Drosopoulos-Hart (Fort Smith, AR)
Giavanna Cosby (Clifton Heights, PA)
Kendall Freeman (Spencer, IN)
Taytum Jennings (Driggs, ID)
Faith Pavalonis (Moosic, PA)
Tegan Snodgrass (Dodge City, KS)
Hailey Trader (Bentonville, AR)
Coach Mari Stewart, Head Coach (Paso Robles, CA), is currently balancing her time between playing professionally in England (Team Captain of the Nottingham Wildcats) and coaching in various roles (Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Nottingham Trent University, Welsh U15 Girls National Team Assistant Coach, Talent Pathway Coach for British Basketball U13/U15 and Nottingham U14 Head Girls Coach). Additionally, she has coached men’s semi-pro as well. Before England, she played in Kosovo, Sweden, Australia and, collegiately, for 4 years at West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC), where she scored 1,000+ points and was an Academic All-American. Coach Stewart graduated from WVWC with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Communications and earned a Master’s Degree in Sports Science with an emphasis in Performance Analysis from Nottingham Trent University.
PhD Hoops USA BLUE (U19 Boys Team)
HEAD COACH: Arvin Mosley, Jr. (Tacoma, WA)
PLAYERS
Tristan Demlow (Grayling, MI)
Rich Gilmore (Stroudsburg, PA)
Riley Mink (Elgin, OK)
Josiah Peterson (Enterprise, AL)
Jameel Purnell (Bridgeton, NJ)
Trevon Rogers (Las Vegas, NV)
Cooper Smith (Erie, CO)
Cooper Weeks (Lufkin, TX)
Cire Wilson (Washington, D.C.)
Pryce Wyatt (Timnath, CO)
Coach Arvin Mosley, Jr., Head Coach/Trip Leader (Tacoma, WA), is the defending U19 Boys Gold Medal-Winning Head Coach at the United World Games. He has been a key part of the PhD Hoops family for a long time, serving as a Tour Coach, Skills Trainer, Website Contributor and Coaches Roundtable Moderator over the last several years. He is currently the CEO and Founder of Triple Impact Coaching as well as the Co-Founder of the Northwest Basketball Coaches Forum. He has been the Head Coach at both the high school level (currently) as well as the collegiate level at Tacoma Community College and The Evergreen State College. Mosley is a highly respected skills trainer for players at all levels and travels around the country conducting camps and training sessions. He played 4 years of college basketball while earning his Bachelor’s Degree in English from Central Washington University. Additionally, he earned a Master’s Degree from Georgia Southern University in Coaching.
PhD Hoops USA RED (U19 Boys Team)
HEAD COACH: Jay Newberry (Cincinnati, OH)
PLAYERS
Caleb Askew (Apison, TN)
Garrett Gonzalez (Minerva, OH)
Will Holderman (Vero Beach, FL)
Gabriel Huerta (Wichita, KS)
Tyler Ly (Carmel, IN)
Jack Marcello (Mandeville, LA)
Drew Martin (Prairie Village, KS)
Jackson Schulze (Helotes, TX)
Duckee Swimmer (Fort Gibson, OK)
Coach Jay Newberry, Head Coach (Cincinnati, OH), is coaching in his second stint at the United World Games with PhD Hoops USA. He spent 15 years coaching basketball 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 his kids in various sports. Coach 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.
PhD Hoops USA BLUE (U16 Boys Team)
HEAD COACH: Lee Toldson (Idaho Falls, ID)
PLAYERS
Hunter Bennett (Knoxville, TN)
Gaige Goodman (Bowie, TX)
DJ Hillmon (Oklahoma City, OK)
Jaylen Kyle (Carthage, NC)
Ellis Mosley (Tacoma, WA)
Eddie Perot, Jr. (Fredericksburg, VA)
Logan Sahd (Angel Fire, NM)
Razin Smith, Jr. (Tucson, AZ)
Matthew Temple (Corinth, TX)
Coach Lee Toldson, Head Coach (Idaho Falls, ID), is the defending U16 Boys Gold Medal-Winning Head Coach at the United World Games. He has spent over a dozen years as a high school basketball coach and teacher in both Wyoming and Idaho. He currently serves as Head Boys Basketball Coach at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho. 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. Toldson’s life experiences have given him opportunities to become a motivational speaker as well. 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.
PhD Hoops USA RED (U16 Boys Team)
HEAD COACH: Colin Doss (Greenville, KY)
PLAYERS
Saadi Ashraf (Stamford, CT)
Joseph Barnes (Olympia Fields, IL)
Armant Britton (Las Vegas, NV)
Isaac Garner (Greencastle, IN)
Josh Hicks (Centerville, OH)
Henry Morrison (Hammondsport, NY)
Grady Payton (Jefferson City, MO)
Matthew Perez (Mason, OH)
Shane Yeager (Middletown, OH)
Coach Colin Doss, Head Coach (Greenville, KY), is returning to the United World Games as Head Coach this summer after serving as an assistant coach last year, helping lead our U19 Boys Team to a Gold Medal. Recently, he was hired as the first-ever Head Men’s Basketball Coach at John Melvin Christian College (FL) after being the top assistant coach at Brescia University (KY) this past season. Coach Doss has risen up the coaching ranks quickly throughout his young career, working several camps across the country, serving as Director of Player Development for Moore Buckets and the Program Director/Head Coach for Kentucky Supreme. He played 3 years of college basketball before graduating from Webster University with his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management.
PhD Hoops USA (U14 Boys Team)
HEAD COACH: Barry Perry (Tacoma, WA)
PLAYERS
Tomi Akingboye (Lithia, FL)
Ca’Ron Dotson (University Place, WA)
Liam Kangrga (Clermont, FL)
Mike Pierre (Coconut Creek, FL)
Josiah Reid (Lithia, FL)
Savion Smith (Tucson, AZ)
Brodie Snodgrass (Dodge City, KS)
Elijah Ventura (Odessa, FL)
Lennox Zelaya (Valrico, FL)
Coach Barry Perry, Head Coach (Tacoma, WA), is the defending U14 Boys Gold Medal-Winning Head Coach at the United World Games. 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. 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 - Kelsey Long (Pilot Mountain, NC)
Kelsey Long is a veteran PhD Hoops USA coach and currently works with WBB programs of all NCAA levels while serving as the VP of Women’s Basketball at Sport Tours International. Throughout her young career, she’s had various coaching staff roles at several NAIA and NCAA (I, II, & III) college programs while being heavily involved in working camps at many prestigious basketball powerhouses and with community outreach programs such as Samaritan’s Feet and Play 4 Kay. Long was a standout player at Belmont Abbey College where she received numerous Conference Carolinas awards and honors as well as serving as the President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Management with two Minors in Business Administration and Psychology.
TRIP LEADER - Richie Schueler (Los Angeles, CA)
Richie Schueler is the Founder of PhD Hoops USA and a College Basketball Analyst for both ESPN and Fox Sports. He spent 10 years as a college basketball coach at all NCAA levels, including St. Andrews University, where he served as Head Men’s Basketball Coach. He is a USA Basketball Gold Licensed Coach, a licensed FIBA-approved coach (International Basketball Federation), a longtime member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), an honorary member of the Hoop Historians and is actively involved in basketball camps, clinics, showcases around the United States. He played collegiately at the University of Evansville, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education. He earned his Master’s Degree in Health & Human Performance with a specialization in Sports Administration from Austin Peay State University.
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 [email protected] or (310) 620-6639.
