Jul 31, 2025 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

Juliette Leroux had offers from all over the country from the Northeast, the Midwest, the West and even some close to home like Robert Morris and Duquesne.

But she always had her eye on moving south for college.

When Florida Atlantic offered her it quickly became apparent that was where she wanted to go.

Leroux, who helped South Fayette win a PIAA girls basketball title in March, committed to Florida Atlantic Sunday.

Florida Atlantic is located in Boca Raton, Florida, which is just north of Miami.

“Florida Atlantic’s campus is two miles from the beach,” Leroux said. “It was definitely a big factor. I always told my AAU coaches and my family that I wanted to go down south. I love the beach and I love to tan. If you know me, I’m always outside soaking up the sun.”

Leroux was second team All-State last year and scored 15 points in South Fayette’s 45-37 win over four-time defending state champ Archbishop Wood in the PIAA Class 5A championship.

Florida Atlantic extended an offer in May, but one of the Owls’ coaches (Brooklyn Kohlheim) had known Leroux for a long time.

Before Kohlheim became the associate head coach at Florida Atlantic, she was the head coach at Mercyhurst and had followed Leroux since her freshman season.

She took a visit to Florida Atlantic in June and that helped solidify her decision.

“Once I got the call from FAU, I knew it was going to be a perfect fit,” Leroux said. “When I went down there, I loved the campus and the coaching staff. Everything about it really didn’t compare to anyone else. It was on a higher level. Even though I loved the other visits I went on, it was a pretty easy choice. FAU just stood out the most to me.”

Florida Atlantic is in the American Athletic Conference.

Leroux had 20 Division I offers.

Most of them came this summer, which made for a busy couple of months.

“The recruiting process has been fun, but also really chaotic,” Leroux said. “You have coaches calling you every day and asking to set up calls that can range from five minutes to 30 minutes. It’s stressful, but it’s also a position where you need to be grateful, because a lot of people would be dying to be in that position.

“I’m glad it’s come to an end though, because I’ve been on this recruiting journey since my freshman year.”

Leroux had another Division I basketball player in her household, her older sister, Ava, to lean on for advice.

Ava will be playing at Robert Morris this season after transferring from Elon.

Ava didn’t give her guidance on what school to choose, but about how to handle the process.

“I know in the beginning of her recruiting process she was kind of shy, so she helped me formulate what type of questions to ask when I was on visits,” Leroux said of her older sister. “She definitely helped me a lot during the process along with my AAU coach (Jamal Woodson). They’re both happy where I ended up and know I’m going to thrive there.”

Leroux became the second South Fayette basketball player to commit to a Division I school in a few days after Ryan Oldaker committed to Marist last week.

Three other Lions, Haylie Lamonde, Lailah Wright and Ella Vierra, have Division I offers as well.

“I’m so proud of all my teammates,” Leroux said. “Even the ones, who don’t currently have college offers, they are coming eventually. I love to see that they are all getting the recognition, because we put in so many hours, blood, sweat and tears to be the best basketball players we can be.”