30
Nov
Rising Star
Joel Foxwell leading NCAA freshmen in assists
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Australian freshman point guard Joel Foxwell. Photos: Instagram
Melbourne guard Joel Foxwell leads all NCAA freshmen in assists while starring for Portland.
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Melbourne point guard Joel Foxwell is leading the nation in assists by a freshman for the 5-3 Portland Pilots.
Foxwell has delivered 49 assists in his first eight games of NCAA Men's Division 1 basketball in the United States. He is ranked fourth overall behind SMU junior Kevin Miller with 59, Montana junior Money Williams with 52, Texas Tech sophomore Christian Anderson, who has dropped 50 assists.
Foxwell's 125 points has him ranked 10th in the nation for freshman scoring.
- Leading the WCC in assists as a freshman with 6.1 dimes per game
- Shooting an impressive 49.4% from the field and 39.5% from downtown in debut season
- Melbourne guard making immediate impact for Portland Pilots in competitive conference play
Key Details
- Name: Joel Foxwell
- Team: Portland Pilots
- Position: Guard
- Height: 6-1 (185cm)
- Weight: 180lb (81kg)
- Class: Freshman
- Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
2025-26 Season Statistics
- GAMES: 8 │ PTS: 15.6 │ REB: 5.4 │ AST: 6.1 │ FG%: 49.4 │ 3PT%: 39.5 │ FT%: 75.9 │ eFG%: 59.2 │ PER: 18.1 │ WS: 0.9
Foxwell has averaged 15.6 points, 5.4 boards, and 6.1 assists whilst playing 33.4 minutes per contest. His shooting splits of 49.4% from the field, 39.5% from three-point range, and 75.9% from the charity stripe demonstrate exceptional offensive efficiency for a rookie.
The Melbourne guard's 49 total assists lead the WCC, showcasing his exceptional court vision and ability to create scoring opportunities for teammates.
His assist-to-turnover ratio reflects solid decision-making, though ball security remains an area for continued development as he adapts to the collegiate level.
Foxwell's rebounding numbers (5.4 per game) are impressive for a guard, indicating his ability to contribute across multiple statistical categories whilst playing significant minutes for the Pilots.
Foxwell Statistics in the WCC (After 8 Games)
- Points: 125 (7th)
- Points Per Game: 15.6 (9th)
- Total Rebounds: 43 (13th)
- Total Rebounds Per Game: 5.4 (14th)
- Defensive Rebounds: 37 (7th)
- Assists: 49 (1st)
- Assists Per Game: 6.1 (1st)
- Steals: 13 (5th)
- Steals Per Game: 1.6 (8th)
- Field Goal Percentage: .494 (9th)
- Free Throw Percentage: .759 (15th)
- 2-Point Field Goal Percentage: .591 (17th)
- Effective Field Goal Percentage: .592 (7th)
- True Shooting Percentage: .620 (10th)
- Field Goals: 43 (7th)
- Field Goal Attempts: 87 (9th)
- 2-Point Field Goals: 26 (12th)
- 2-Point Field Goal Attempts: 44 (19th)
- 3-Point Field Goals: 17 (5th)
- 3-Point Field Goal Attempts: 43 (6th)
- Free Throws: 22 (15th)
- Free Throw Attempts: 29 (14th)
- Games: 8 (16th)
- Minutes Played: 267 (4th)
- Minutes Played Per Game: 33.4 (4th)
- Turnovers: 29 (1st)
- Player Efficiency Rating: 18.1 (20th)
- Win Shares: 0.9 (19th)
- Defensive Win Shares: 0.5 (20th)
- Offensive Box Plus/Minus: 2.6 (19th)
- Usage Percentage: 22.9 (17th)
- Assist Percentage: 32.0 (2nd)
- Steal Percentage: 2.6 (15th)
- Points Produced: 132 (3rd)
- Points Produced Per Game: 16.5 (3rd)
Joel Foxwell's story so far
Joel Foxwell is the younger brother of South East Melbourne Phoenix Australian Boomers guard Owen. Joel played eight games for Melbourne United in the 2024-25 season under Dean Vickerman. He averaged 4.5 minutes per game.
“He’s an unbelievable, high-level junior talent,” Vickerman said.
"I thought he was a massive contributor to the Vic Metro team’s success at the National U20s and had a great tournament.
"As a training player with us for the past year, the biggest growth area has been the defensive side of the ball. Everyone has seen across his junior career his immense scoring talent. He’s gifted with his touch and three-ball and pace, but we’ve been really pleased with his defensive ability and physicality.
"Spending the offseason working closely with Shea Ili at Sandringham has only further improved his ability to impact the game defensively.
"At his size, one of the attributes that is common among the guys to have had success in this league is the ability to use your quickness to impact the game at both ends.
"He’s so good getting around ball screens and staying connected and his quickness just causes problems on offence.”
Foxwell won an U20s National Championship and Big V Youth League Championship.
When he signed with United, he said “I’m buzzing."
“It’s an opportunity to play and help the team win which has always been my goal since coming on board with United. Last year was a major grind, it was a lot of hard work but now to become a Development Player makes it all worth it.
“It’s been awesome to learn from the elite guys we have at this club. They’ve all been tremendously helpful, making my journey easier every step of the way by teaching me how to be a pro.
“It’s the first step of my journey, this is where I wanted to be and I can’t wait to make the most of this opportunity.”
Foxwell played for the Sandringham Sabres in the NBL1 South Men's Conference.
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