Leon Pursoo

Coach Educator Husband Father of two @empireyouthathletics Program director LuHi Girls @luhigbasketball Varsity Assistant Coach

[Ivan Adames @IvanJAdames]

Ivan Adames
Empire Youth Athletics #13
First three Hoop Group tournaments in the books. Grateful for the opportunity to compete, improve, and keep building. More work ahead, continuing to lock in 🔒
@EYA_Basketball @CoachDerekKlein @CoachJared_ @LPursoo @TheHoopGroup

[Eamonn Mahar @HoopGroupEamonn]

Too much fluff in this grassroots game… 🤥

Rob Kennedy’s legacy has been stamped for years to come... 🙌

Pittsburgh Jam Fest is the best independent AAU event in the country... 💯

Stay on that side... 🫡

@TheHoopGroup | @HGSL_HoopGroup | @HoopGroupAL

[Empire Youth Athletics @EYA_Basketball]

Empire 17u Rivers 3-1 weekend @TheHoopGroup Pitt JamFest.

Finished off the weekend with a dominating 98-62 win:

2027 Allan Dodson- 18 pts, 6 ast, 4 reb
2027 Joden Bolling- 14 pts, 5 Reb, 3 stls
2026 Amare Collins- 14 pts, 4 ast, 4 stls

[Makhi Reeves @makhireeves2028]

6’2 Guard | Class of 2028
Hoop Group New Jersey Warmup

Averaged 13 PPG, 45% from 3 this weekend vs strong competition. Stayed aggressive and kept competing.
@LPursoo
@CoachDerekKlein
@EYA_Basketball
@HGSL_HoopGroup

[Kosta Walsh @Kosta_walsh]

2025-2026 Sophomore Season Highlights
All-County
17.0 PPG / 6.0 RPG / 3.0 APG / 2.6 SPG
56.6% FG
@EYA_Basketball
@LPursoo
@CoachDerekKlein
@CyrusLalehzar

[Deven Mudgil @devenmud12]

Highlights from Hoop Group NJ warmup.
3-0 with Empire Youth Athletics HGAL
Avg 22.0 ppg
@EYA_Basketball
@LPursoo
@CoachDerekKlein
@HoopGroupAL
@HoopGroupEamonn
@TheHoopGroup

[LuHi Girls Basketball @LuHiGBasketball]

A big congrats to Rhylin Fehrenbach on her commitment to Cornell University!

Rhylin is the 5th and final senior to commit to play at the next level from our 2026 class.

She joins Savvy Swords (Kentucky), Sanai Green (Duke), Olivia Jones (Vanderbilt) & Emily McDonald (Kentucky), a special class!

[Leon Pursoo @LPursoo]

Empire Youth Athletics 15u HGAL team with a bounce back win this morning vs District basketball club HGSL 55-32.

Mahki Reeves 15pts 6reb
Kosta Walsh 11 points 4 steals
Sylvanus Abby Green 7 points 5 assist

Next up: Team Thrill 15u HGSL 4:50 pm

@HoopGroupAL @EYA_Basketball

[Justin Ortiz @justin_t_ortiz]

Highlights from a great weekend at Pittsburgh JamFest, 17u Platinum 2. @HoopGroupEamonn @HoopGroupAL

Finished 3-1 with Empire @EYA_Basketball under Coach Klein @CoachDerekKlein #1

@RecruitTheBronx @UndiscoverHoops @_BrianReichert @RealScoutBBall

[Hoop Group Academic League (HGAL) @HoopGroupAL]

🔥@EmpireYouthAthl HGAL Spotlight.

15u Empire HGAL with a big first round win against NJ Panthers HGSL. Makhi Reaves led the charge, delivering an impressive performance with 28 points and 8 rebounds.

[Will Louis @will_louis0]

Early battle 💨

@EmpireYouthAthl 59
@Nextplaybasket1 50

Impressed by:
Toby Hartman, Raymond Kinnard, Alex Ormond, Kuno Santos 👀

Carnegie Mellon, Arcadia, Nichols, Wilkes, Albright, Ithaca, Molloy, Case Western, and Wesleyan in attendance 🚀

📍 @TheHoopGroup Pitt Jam Fest

[Coach Dillard @CoachDillard2]

Emmanuel “Manny” Ayeye 6’4 mr everything class of 2027 playing 17s we play up here never down.. I will tell every d2 in the tri state now buy stock now it’s a reason he playing 17s holy trinity stand out is going to make noise this spring/summer qualifier 🤩🤩🤩

[BTN Scouting @BTNScouting]

NEWS: Notre Dame Kate Koval (@kate_koval13) enters the transfer portal, sources tell @BTNScouting .

The 6-5 Forward is a Freshman from Kyiv,Ukraine. She's ready to help a team with her inside presence & length!

5.3 PTS | 4.7 RBS | 45.1% FG

#TransferPortal | #BTNScouting | Contact for more info

[LuHi Girls Basketball @LuHiGBasketball]

Happy to announce the addition of ‘26 Emily McDonald (@Emily_McD18) to the LuHi family! Emily is a 5’11 guard & one of the biggest stock risers of the summer earning a bunch of offers, including Maryland, Indiana, Miami, Clemson, TCU & more! Can’t wait to get to work!

[Dillon Miller @dillonmiller28]

Summer Clips

[LuHi Girls Basketball @LuHiGBasketball]

It’s an amazing accomplishment to be able to play college basketball at any level. To take it a step further, we strive to make sure players that come through our program are prepared & ready to contribute the day they step on their college campus.

[Derek Klein @CoachDerekKlein]

So happy for our guy Malachi Moore(@malachimoore23). Kept his circle tight, trusted the process, trusted the decision making on picking the right school. Now is named rookie of the year in one of the toughest conferences in the country. College is about “FIT”! Shout out @EmpireYouthAthl

[LuHi Girls Basketball @LuHiGBasketball]

A little break here before 3 top 10 national matchups in a row at home. Some stats thru 18 games..

Kayleigh Heckel: 17.0ppg, 8.4apg, 3.4s
Kate Koval: 16.2ppg, 10.4rpg
Syla Swords: 15.8ppg, 6.8rpg, 5.1apg
Savvy Swords: 12.1ppg, 7.6rpg
Lauryn Swann: 11.8ppg, 2.6apg

With Syla Swords in Hungary representing the Canadian Women’s National Team at Olympic Qualifiers, we’ve had people step up! Over the last 3 games…

‘26 Olivia Jones averaged 15pts, 7rebs & 6.7apg & ‘24 Diora Ressaissi averaged 10.3ppg & 6.3rpg.

Quick shoutout again to Kate Koval & Syla Swords for eclipsing the 1000 point mark recently. And again congrats to Lauryn Swann for her commitment to Arizona. 4th member of the 2024 class to commit, joining Syla (Michigan), Kate (Notre Dame) & Kayleigh (USC).

Love this team’s unselfishness!

[LuHi Girls Basketball @LuHiGBasketball]

FINAL: LuHi, 78. Catholic (VA), 46.

Syla Swords: 18p, 6r, 6a, 3s, 3b
Kayleigh Heckel: 17p, 7r, 6a, 4s
Kate Koval: 14p, 9r
Savvy Swords: 14p, 8r, 4a

LuHi starts off their season 1-0 at the @ArtTurnerTipoff!

Next Game: Tomorrow, 12/2 vs Paul VI (VA), 7:20.

[LuHi Girls Basketball @LuHiGBasketball]

Know it’s a live period & lots of basketball to be watched.

What Syla Swords just did to help Canada secure the bronze medal at the #FIBAU19 World Cup was extremely impressive. 26pts, 6rebs & 6asts against France, one of the top teams in the world. Can’t be many ‘24s better!