With just seven players on the roster, the Madison Country Day School boys varsity basketball team won 10 games this season, with all seven players also winning Academic All-State awards for balancing academic rigor with their team dedication.

The team finished 14-13 under Head Coach Jerod Boyd and Assistant Coach Mike Jones, a parent of one of the players. Rocco ’26 and Atharv ’26 were co-captains of the team. 

Rocco led the team in points, steals and assists and surpassed 1,000 career points. 

Clarence ’27 and Karson ‘26 led the team in rebounds.

Athletic Director Annie Gravel said the accomplishment was all the more remarkable given the team’s size.

“All credit due to Coach Boyd and Coach Jones. They had seven players on their team, and they fought a battle that a lot of other programs wouldn’t have been able to, and they did a great job,” Gravel said.

The team’s intensity carried beyond their own games. 

Lily ’27, a player on the girls varsity team, said watching them influenced her own performance. “They did a really good job in practice, and that energy showed during their games, and that really motivated me to work harder in games,” she said.

Gravel also praised the broader commitment of MCDS winter athletes, noting the particular demands of the season.

“Winter is a really hard season. It’s a really long season, it’s a season where student athletes don’t really get to see sunlight,” Gravel said. “When you come to school it’s dark, and you leave at really late hours because of our conference you have to travel pretty far for games. They’ve spent so much time, with long hours, and they gave everything for a really long season.” 

The fact that all seven players also won academic recognition at the state level, with a GPA of 3.5 or higher, reflected what Gravel called the consistent standard of MCDS student athletes.

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