It is rare for someone to win a state championship as both a player and a coach. Andy Haugen ’07, VCHS Librarian and Social Studies Department Chair, is one of those rare people who can say that he has done both. As a student, Andy helped Valley Catholic win its first boys basketball state championship in 2007. Now, as a coach, he helped guide the Valiant Boys Basketball to their most recent state championship – its third in program history.
“I’m thrilled players from this current team get to experience this feeling. As an assistant coach, I love seeing the work and growth that occurred for them,” said Andy Haugen. “Winning represents all of the time and commitment that has been put in and continuing the legacy of excellence for this program.”
This was not the boys basketball team’s first time at the 3A state tournament; they made the tournament in 2024 after missing the tournament for five years. Then, in 2025, the team made it to the semifinals and ultimately placed third both years. 2026 was the first time the team made it to the championship game since they moved to 3A in 2022. The basketball team also made the championship game while in 4A in 2017 and 2018 but came up short both times.
Much like Andy’s 2007 state championship team where the players said, “It was a culmination of playing together for four years,” Haugen has coached most of the players on the current state championship team since they were freshman. He has seen the growth in all of the athletes and he knew how badly they wanted to end their high school basketball career as state champions.
“After finishing third two years in a row, we knew reaching anything but the championship game would be considered a failure. From the start of the season everyone was locked in, united, and had one goal in mind,” said Haugen.
The Valiants were aided in their quest for a third state championship by Bryan Fraser, their new head coach, who knew how to perform well under pressure. Fraser used his prior basketball coaching experience to stay calm in moments where other coaches may have buckled, and had trust in his game plan. He would use slogans such as “All In” and “BTA” [Be the Answer] to motivate and develop a team culture between him and the players.
“Andy knew a lot more about the boys’ personalities and what they were capable of accomplishing. He gave me great insight on how to best work with them,” said Bryan Fraser, VCHS Boys Basketball Head Coach. “With Andy being a state champion, I respected him from day one because he was the only one at that time who was still a champion. It was an automatic buy-in because of his championship mentality. Now, we all share that same bond.
Embracing Coach Fraser’s up-tempo style, the team went 13-1 during the season just like Andy Haugen’s 2007 state championship team, but this year’s team needed double overtime against Oregon Episcopal School (OES) to make it to the state tournament. Once there, they cruised past Blanchet Catholic in the quarter finals.
The boys faced a familiar and challenging team, Cascade Christian, in the semifinals. Cascade Christian was the same team that beat them just two years before in the same semifinal matchup. The Valiants survived overtime in order to make it to the state championship game. Once the title was on the line the Valiant Boys proved why they deserved to be the OSAA 3A Basketball Champions.
As the minutes clocked down in the fourth quarter and the starters made their way to the bench, the atmosphere in the VCHS fan section changed from energetic to emotional as everyone in the crowd understood how hard the boys had worked for this moment. A few of the starters on the bench started to cry as they realized that in a few short minutes they would be holding the state championship trophy that had eluded them the past two years. The same trophy their assistant coach had hoisted 19 years before.
“I hope they know that, no matter where else they go in their life, they will forever be a state champion and have their name on that trophy. No one can take it away from them in good times or bad and that is something they should be proud of,” said Haugen. “I hope they are able to maintain their friendships with each other. The guys I played with in 2007 are still some of my best friends.”
