If you know anything about the Hopf family, you鈥檒l know hockey is their thing.

But there鈥檚 a Hopf family member who鈥檚 making a name for herself in a completely different sport and she鈥檒l be using it to help further her education.

Presley Hopf of the Deninu Kue First Nation has signed on to play with Mount Royal University鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball team in Calgary beginning next season. The best part? It鈥檚 a full tuition scholarship, meaning the 17-year-old won鈥檛 have to pay for her post-secondary matriculation.

鈥淚 thought about the U.S., but I always wanted to stay in Canada,鈥� said Hopf.

Hopf, who was born in Yellowknife, has been playing some of the highest level of hoops in North American courtesy of her roster spot with AthElite Basketball, a high-performance club based in Surrey, B.C. AthElite is aligned with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), considered to be one of the best sports organizations in the world.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been to Colorado, Dallas, Louisville, all over,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e had a tournament in Calgary and that鈥檚 what got me thinking about going to Mount Royal.鈥�

After a tour of the campus and a couple of other visits, Hopf decided Mount Royal was where she wanted to be.

鈥淵ou have to go with your gut and that鈥檚 what I did,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had offers from about eight to 10 other schools and some Division II and III schools in the U.S., but that鈥檚 not what I wanted.鈥�

Hopf began playing basketball in the GO-Ball program when she lived in Yellowknife. The GO stands for Girls Only and has been operating youth programs for young girls in the city for several years.

鈥淚 originally played hockey growing up, but I wanted to switch to basketball and that broke my dad鈥檚 heart,鈥� she said with a laugh. 鈥淭obi (Taylor-Dusome) was such a big influence when I started playing. She actually bumped me up a couple of age groups.鈥�

Her brother, Keaton, was another influence, she added.

鈥淗e鈥檚 actually the main reason I started playing basketball,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ll our family did was play hockey and then he and my cousin started playing. It looked so amazing to me, so I started going to the basement and setting up the hockey cones we had to dribble around them and get better.鈥�

Hopf moved to Kelowna, B.C., with her family at the age of 10 and the move was done with basketball in mind.

鈥淚t was such a big sacrifice to move down south,鈥� said Hopf. 鈥淲e knew we had to do that for more opportunities. I got to play AAU and I played with Team B.C. and that鈥檚 what got me to playing at Mount Royal.鈥�

Hopf realizes that she鈥檚 one of the lucky ones when you consider the math. Around 35,000 girls are playing high school basketball each season across Canada and there are just 52 university teams playing U Sports women鈥檚 basketball. A team usually consists of 12 roster spots, meaning that there is a roughly two per cent chance that a player will ever see a minute of action on a university basketball court.

That fact isn鈥檛 lost on Hopf 鈥� she knows what this opportunity means to her.

鈥淥nly a small percentage of athletes get to play university (basketball) and it鈥檚 even smaller when you鈥檙e an Indigenous athlete,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat runs so deep to me and I want to be that role model for young female Indigenous athletes who are growing up. There鈥檚 nothing stopping you, even if you鈥檙e in the NWT. I may be living in B.C. and I鈥檒l be going to school in Alberta, but the NWT is always my home.鈥�