There are seasons that matter and seasons that define. The 2025-26 Auburn Hills Avondale boys basketball season was the second kind. When head coach Aaron Fox took over the program in his first year as varsity head coach, nobody outside the Oakland Activities Association was circling Avondale on their schedule. By March they were the last Oakland County boys basketball team standing in the Division 1 tournament.
The Yellow Jackets finished 26-2 — the best record in program history — won the OAA Red conference title for the first time ever, and reached the state semifinals for the first time since their 2002 Class B championship season. They did it with a defense that gave up just 47.3 points per game and a roster built around three seniors who maximized every minute of their final season together.
The Coach: Aaron Fox, Year One
Aaron Fox spent five years as an assistant at Avondale before taking over the program this season. He knew the players, knew the culture, and knew exactly what he wanted to build. The result was immediate. His defensive system — structured, disciplined, and relentless — held opponents to 38 points or fewer in seven different games this season. Nobody in the OAA Red was ready for what Avondale became.
“We had a lot of things that didn’t go our way, but eventually we had that last run in us.”
— COACH AARON FOX, AFTER THE QUARTERFINAL WIN OVER ROSEVILLEThe Players Who Made It Happen
The Quarterfinal: Avondale 71, Roseville 50
The quarterfinal win over Roseville was Avondale at its absolute best. Liford went for 18/11/7. Bourgeois scored 19 and added 5 assists and 4 steals. The Yellow Jackets led by double digits for most of the game and never let Roseville get comfortable. The final score of 71-50 was not flattering to Roseville — it was a masterclass in the kind of disciplined, aggressive basketball Fox had built all season.
The Semifinal: Avondale 35, Rockford 38
The semifinal loss to Rockford was brutal in the way only a one-possession elimination game can be. Avondale had the ball in the final seconds with a chance to win — Bourgeois hit 12 points and kept the Yellow Jackets in it throughout — but a game-winning attempt bounced off the rim with two seconds left. Rockford held on 38-35.
Maxwell Muhl went 1-for-14 from three. On any other night the Yellow Jackets win this game comfortably. That’s what makes it sting — not a bad game plan, not a talent gap, just one of those nights where shots don’t fall. Avondale earned a better ending than they got.
What This Season Means for the Program
The three seniors — Liford, Bourgeois, and Muhl — graduate having done something no Avondale class has done in 24 years. The OAA Red title alone is a first in program history. The Final Four appearance changes how opponents prepare for Avondale next season. The program is now on the radar in a way it has not been in a generation.
Aaron Fox returns for year two with that foundation in place. The question for 2026-27 is whether the program can reload around what comes back — but that’s a question for the fall. For now, this season deserves to be celebrated for exactly what it was: historic.
