In 104 years of baseball (The Ducks didn't have a varsity team from 1982-2008) Oregon has never made the College World Series. Mark Wasikowski has taken his squad to the Super Regionals in three of the last four years.
The Texas Longhorns, who beat Oregon's young squad 6-5 last night with two runs in the eighth inning, have been to the CWS 39 of the last 79 seasons. They've won six national championships.
The Ducks lost to a great team with a proud history. The frustrating thing is that they didn't play their best in Austin. On Sunday they spotted UT four runs, with the Longhorns belting a pair of home runs in their first two at-bats. Oregon fought back to take a 5-4 lead but gave up a pair of runs in the eighth.
leadoff launch đź’Ł#HookEm | @AidenRobbins43 pic.twitter.com/ZPOnQ1IKGY
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) June 8, 2026
Fans will blame the pitching, but in the Super Regional the UO hitters started 1-16 with runners in scoring position and hit just one home run, by senior third basemen Drew Smith in Saturday's 11-3 loss.
With three freshman stars in the lineup in Angel Laya, Brayden Jacksa and Naulivou Lauaki Jr., this team will be back next year after winning 43 games in 2026. They won three straight to reach the Big Ten Tournament final. They won three straight to sweep the Eugene Regional.
Shortstop Maddox Molony and second baseman Ryan Cooney could be back for their senior years. Staff ace Will Sanford is just a sophomore, as is Tanner Bradley, who pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in the final, striking out five. Cal Scolari, Miles Gosztola and Collin Clarke are all eligible to return.
Every true story ends in death. In sports, the season ends with a loss for every team but one.
It's easy to second guess this decision or that, but the Ducks played good, entertaining baseball all year. It IS hard to understand having the clean-up hitter Smith, who had smashed two doubles to start the game, bunting down 4-3 in the fifth inning with two on and no out.
Never help a pitcher who's having trouble throwing strikes.
All will be forgiven if the Ducks take their revenge in football
The funny thing is, Oregon and Texas could meet again in the College Football Playoff. The programs have two of the strongest rosters in the NCAA and two of the game's best starting quarterbacks.
FanDuel Odds NCAAF FBS Championship Winner 2026-27
Ohio State +550
Notre Dame +700
Texas +750
Indiana +800
Oregon +800
Georgia +850
Sadistic CFP script writing on last night’s show pic.twitter.com/qOFmxkHKbj
— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) June 8, 2026
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