Basketball Top Storylines Around the League this offseason

Written Sunday April 20th at 11:08 AM

Happy Easter OAA Nation. We are officially in the offseason for girls and boys basketball and AAU season is underway. Here are the top storylines heading into next season for both girls and boys basketball.

Will the OAA be represented at Breslin next season???

This question could be answered in June when the MHSAA releases the basketball districts. The league in girls has a ton of solid teams heading into next season but it comes down to proximity that could create the best path if anyone has a shot at getting to the Breslin Center next season. In the boys there really isn’t a dominant team and it was really disastrous for the league with only three teams getting out of the districts last season. Could this be Ferndale’s best chance to make it back to East Lansing after two dominating years by Warren Lincoln??? They fell to Detroit Pershing in the district semifinals but the Eagles might have the league’s best chance to get back to Breslin. As mentioned the question could be answered when the MHSAA releases the districts in June.

Coaching vacancies.

There has been several vacancies to watch this offseason. The changeover surrounding Stoney Creek has been really fascinating. The Cougars recently let go boys basketball coach Jeff Olind which who takes over the job will be their third coach in four years. There is talent and proven experience but whoever takes the job is going to have a daunting task ahead of them and behind the scenes has been a complete mess. Coaches Joe Sermo and Terrance Porter has stepped down at their respective schools (Berkley, Southfield Arts and Tech.) Both schools are really appeasing when it comes to talent and program strength. In the girls, the Ferndale girls basketball job is open but whoever takes that job will have a huge challenge ahead of them when it comes to building program strength.

Coming and Going.

Waterford Kettering and Waterford Mott are reentering into the league for the first time since 2008 this winter. Waterford Kettering has a new coach in Rex Walters with an very experienced team coming back and could be the early favorite in the Gold this season. Waterford Mott made it to the regional finals under Coach Jeff Jayson but they will have to replace several players from last season’s team. Waterford in the girls will be really interesting to keep an eye on led by returning guard Savannah Sartorius for Coach Andrew Wellman. On the flip side it will be the Farmington schools (North Farmington and Farmington) final year in the OAA as they will depart for the Lakes Valley Conference in 2026-2027. Farmington and North Farmington are loaded with proven talent and experience in the boys and they are in the Red. In the girls Farmington and North Farmington should be much improved after having rough seasons.

Divisions for 2025-2026 season.

Here are the divisions for the 2025-2026 season, not in any particular order.

Boys:

Red: Clarkston, Avondale, Groves, North Farmington, Farmington, Ferndale, West Bloomfield.

White: Lake Orion, Oxford, Adams, Rochester, Stoney Creek, Waterford Mott.

Blue: Troy, Troy Athens, Seaholm, Royal Oak, Bloomfield Hills, Pontiac.

Gold: Berkley, Southfield Arts and Tech, Oak Park, Harper Woods, Ferndale University, Waterford Kettering.

Girls:

Red: Lake Orion, Clarkston, Oxford, Stoney Creek, West Bloomfield, Rochester.

White: Groves, Seaholm, Royal Oak, Bloomfield Hills, Avondale, Berkley.

Blue: Troy, Troy Athens, Adams, Southfield Arts and Tech, Harper Woods, Ferndale.

Gold: Oak Park, Ferndale University, Farmington, North Farmington, Pontiac, Waterford.

Stay tuned to the blog and OAA Now for updates