Portland leaning heavily on freshman point guard, WCC assists leader Joel Foxwell | Key matchup

PORTLAND – In 2024-25, the West Coast Conference’s Freshman of the Year award went to forward Austin Rapp, a University of Portland standout hailing from Melbourne, Australia.

One of the leading candidates for the award in 2025-26? Another University of Portland standout who happens to hail from Melbourne, Australia.

Point guard Joel Foxwell could make it back-to-back honors for the Pilots and he’s at the top of Gonzaga’s scouting report – likely head and shoulders above every Portland teammate – entering Wednesday’s 7 p.m. (KHQ/ESPN+) game at the Chiles Center.

The 6-foot-1 Foxwell is averaging 15.3 points per game, 6.8 assists and 1.3 steals, all team highs for a Portland squad that’s struggled to stay healthy during a 3-8 start to WCC play. Foxwell’s assists average and total assists (162) are both No. 1 in the WCC.

If Foxwell’s numbers hold, he’ll have a chance to become the 34th player in WCC history to record 200 assists in a single season, and one of the only freshmen to do so. Foxwell needs 38 more assists to reach the milestone and has at least eight more opportunities in the regular season and WCC Tournament, meaning the guard will have to average 4.7 assists the rest of the way.

The guard has registered double-digit assists in six games this season, totaling 15 against both Kent State and Santa Clara.

Foxwell’s getting his teammates involved, but a shorthanded Portland team has required him to do much more than that. The freshman had seven 20-point games this season with 27-point efforts against Pacific and Saint Mary’s.

The Zags won’t encounter another WCC team with a lower 3-point percentage than Portland, which ranks last in the conference and No. 332 in the NCAA making 30.5% of its shots from distance. That would be even lower without Foxwell, who leads the Pilots in 3-point makes (51) and ranks second on the team in percentage (34.7%).

Foxwell and Portland face a tough assignment playing a Gonzaga team that’s held five straight opponents under 70 points and forced five of the last six to commit at least 15 turnovers.

The point guard’s numbers dipped during Portland’s road games against Washington State and Pacific. Foxwell averaged 17 points against the Cougars and Tigers, but made just 11 of 32 shots from the field and had five assists with seven turnovers.

Expect starting point guard Braeden Smith to get the early assignment guarding Foxwell. The 6-foot-1 guard won’t get a break, and should face a tougher defensive challenge, when 6-foot-4 Mario Saint-Supery comes into the game at either the first or second media timeout.