Oregon Ducks News: Baseball squares off with Dawgs, NFL Ducks sign and suit up

Huskies invade PK Park for 3-game set

Oregon baseball hosts fifth-place Washington for a three-game series beginning Friday night at 6:05 p.m. PDT. Grayson Grinsell starts on the mound for UO (7-2, 2.77.)

The Ducks are 16-8 in Big Ten, a game behind UCLA for second and three-and-a-half games behind first-place Iowa at 21-6. The Huskies stand 15-9 in league play, 27-22 overall.

On Monday UW trailed NAIA Warner Pacific 5-4 in the 7th inning when the lights mysteriously went out in Husky Ballpark.

Ranked No. 5 in the NCAA in the latest D-1 baseball poll, Mark Wasikowski's club can cinch up a host spot in an NCAA regional with a strong finish in their remaining six regular season games and at the Big Ten Tournament May 20-25 in Omaha.

The Ducks surged in the last two weeks, winners of eight of their last nine games, buoyed by timely home runs and shutdown performances out of the bullpen.

Infielder Ryan Cooney leads all Oregon hitters with a .344 average and a .444 on-base percentage. Outfielder Mason Neville paces the Big Ten and the NCAA in home runs with 24. He's driven in 52 runs out of his leadoff spot and walked 49 times in 230 plate appearances, good for an OBP of .474.

All-time Oregon home run king Jacob Walsh has 16 dingers this season, while catcher/outfielder Anson Arroz has 14.

Ducks in the NFL: Tez inks deal, Gabriel fitted, JPJ meets new RB

As NFL teams ready for camp and offseason preparation, former Oregon players and recent draft picks settle into new roles and surroundings.

Receiver Tez Johnson signed his deal with the Tampa Bay Bucs, a four-year contract worth $4,323,940. This includes a $123,940 signing bonus.

In Las Vegas, offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson greeted new Raider running back and first-round draft pick Ashton Jeanty.

The NFL training schedule proceeds as follows, key dates for Ducks who want to stick with their new teams:

OTA Offseason Workouts: May 27-29, June 3-5

Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12

Rookie Minicamp: May 9-11

OTA Offseason Workouts: May 28-30, June 3-5

In Cleveland, Dillon Gabriel gets geared up as he readies for a position battle with Joe Flacco, small-hands Kenny Pickett, Deshaun Watson (currently rehabbing an Achilles tendon injury) and Shedeur Sanders.

Pro teams typically keep two to three quarterbacks, with the No. 3 QB often assigned to the practice squad.

Softball awaits NCAA tourney assignment

Bounced in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament after a disappointing 5-0 loss to Michigan, a team they swept at PK Park in April, Melyssa Lombardi and the Oregon women have a date to watch the NCAA selection show, Sunday at 4 p.m. PDT on ESPN2.

The Ducks won the regular season conference championship while compiling a 47-7 overall record, ranked No. 7 in the country through games of May 5. Based on that body of work they should land an NCAA Regional, hosting three other teams in a double elimination first round on the road to Devon Park in Oklahoma City, OK, the site of the softball College World Series May 29-June 6.

Oregon Football Recruiting: Ducks face a turning point

In his Thursday round-up column publisher Scott Reed of Duck Sports Authority identifies a critical moment in the Ducks 2026 recruiting efforts. He writes:

Dan Lanning and Will Stein have made it clear to quarterbacks likewhere they stand. No posturing. No empty promises. Just honesty. And when Curtis picked Georgia, that clarity allowed the Ducks to pivot quickly—not in panic, but with purpose.

Lyons, now the No. 2 QB and No. 3 overall prospect in the country, made another visit to Eugene before Curtis even made his decision public. That wasn’t a coincidence. That was alignment.

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