Calaveras Enterprise

Bret Harte’s Aariah Fox to continue her basketball career at Stanislaus State




Bret Harte’s Aariah Fox will play basketball at California State University, Stanislaus. Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise

Aariah Fox was in a unique situation for much of her senior year.

Most athletes have one main sport that is their best and that’s the one that they will try and continue in college. However, Fox isn’t like most athletes.

The Bret Harte High School three-sport athlete didn’t just dominate in one sport during her senior year, but three. When it came time to narrow it down to one sport that she would play in college, Fox had to choose between volleyball, basketball and track and field.

She chose basketball.

Fox, who was a four-year varsity starter for Bret Harte, will continue her basketball life at California State University, Stanislaus.

“It was very difficult to decide because I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted to do since the beginning of this year and when people would ask me what I’m doing, I wouldn’t have an answer,” Fox said. “I kind of just narrowed it down by saying that basketball is my favorite out of all of them and the one that I enjoyed the most.”

Had Fox decided to go with volleyball or track and field instead of basketball, there aren’t many people who would suggest she made the wrong decision. Fox helped lead Bret Harte’s volleyball team to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship game, as well as a deep run in the CIF State Division IV NorCal playoffs. Fox was named as the Most Outstanding Volleyball Player of the Mother Lode League.

Aariah Fox is a four-year varsity basketball player. Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise

And in track, she helped lead the Bullfrogs to back-to-back Mother Lode League championships and she was also an individual section champion in the triple jump. Yet as much as she enjoyed volleyball and track, her heart belongs to the hardwood. 

“In the moment, I thought that maybe college volleyball could have been an opportunity for me, but once basketball came around, it really wasn’t in the cards anymore,” Fox said.

Fox got a taste of what college basketball will be like when she took on top talent in the CIF State Division V playoffs. The state playoff run ended with a championship, the first in the history of Bret Harte basketball.

“It was a little bit intimidating at first playing in that huge arena, but I think partially it made me a little bit more excited for the bigger experiences I’m going to get in college,” Fox said about playing for a state championship at Golden 1 Center, the home of the Sacramento Kings.

While Fox currently is only set to play basketball at Stan State, there is still a chance that she can end up being a multi-sport athlete. There is the possibility that she could go from the basketball court in the winter to the track in the spring

“I could do both at Stan because the track coach has been reaching out to me,” Fox said. “It’s just whether or not I want to do both when that time comes around. I don’t know, we’ll just have to see if track is something that I want to do after basketball season.”

Fox, who was named as a first-team all-Mother Lode League player during her senior basketball season, knows that the competition in college is going to be unlike anything she’s seen before. With that in mind, she’s already planning a summer training program which will include working with Bret Harte girls’ basketball coach Jeff Eltringham.

“I’m extremely nervous, but over summer I’m going to do some conditioning with Jeff (Eltringham) and lift in the weight room,” she said. “That way I’ll be ready and I won’t be so far behind everyone else and it won’t feel like I’m out of the mix.”

Aariah Fox helped lead Bret Harte to a state championship in March. Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise

Fox doesn’t expect to be a starter after the first day of practice. She knows that if she hopes to see some playing time that she’s going to have to put in the work, and working hard isn’t something that worries her.

“Nobody likes to sit the bench, but if it helps me, then I wouldn’t mind,” Fox said. “But I’m going to try to not have that happen of course and start pushing it and really excelling in my basketball skills.”

Fox may go down as one of the top athletes to ever compete for the purple and gold. And when she reflects on her Bret Harte athletic career, Fox has nothing but gratitude.

“Playing here has meant a lot to me,” she said. “With all the different coaches and all the different experiences — like with Covid — I’ve definitely gone through it and I think it’s made me a better player and person in general. I’m really happy that it’s where it’s led me today.”

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