Ducks lose best reliever to transfer portal, other updates
Lefthanded reliever Santiago Garcia entered the transfer portal on Monday, This season during the Ducks successful run to the Big Ten Championship he posted a 3-0 record with four saves and a 4.20 ERA.
As a sophomore at UO Garcia fanned 40 batters in 30 innings, second on the team in saves behind senior Seth Mattox. He was one of two Duck baseball players to make the Spring Dean's List, along with Jack Brooks.
Oregon finished No 16 in the final USA Baseball Poll following their 42-16 season. They posted a 4-0 record against No. 4 Oregon State this year, a 2-1 record over No. 5 UCLA.
Left-handed pitcher Santiago Garcia (@SantiagoIsBeast) entered the transfer portal from Oregon on Monday, according to @64Analytics. Last season, Garcia made 24 appearances for the Ducks, recording a 3-0 record, four saves, a 4.20 ERA, and a 12.00 K/9.pic.twitter.com/7Sr1tFHwdq
— PNW College Baseball Report (@PNW_CBR) June 24, 2025
In the Cape Cod League, new Oregon pitcher Miles Gosztola pitched three innings for the Orleans Firebirds, striking out four and allowing three hits with one earned run.
Baseball/football star Matt Ponatoski visited the Ducks last weekend, down to Kentucky, Oregon, Arkansas and Alabama. A pitcher and shortstop with a 97 mph fastball, he's a four-star quarterback rated No. 22 in the 2026 class. He threw for 57 touchdowns on a 14-2 squad at Moeller High in Cincinnati.
Ponatoski also posted a 3.91 GPA.
Congratulations to junior Matt Ponatoski on being named the Cincinnati Enquirer Baseball Player of the Year at last night’s award show. Also, congratulations to our OHSBCA All-State selections. #GoBigMoe
— BigMoeBaseball (@BigMoeBaseball) June 19, 2025
OHSBCA All-Ohio State Team! ⭐️
Co-Player of the Year: Matt Ponatoski ‘26 pic.twitter.com/0Nr4m1Ek3e
Oregon women's basketball adds 2026 guard
La'u Pele Falatea, sister of Duck departed senior guard Nani Falatea, committed to Kelly Graves and Oregon basketball for 2026.
She's a 5-9 scorer who put up averaged 19.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 4.9 steals for West High in Salt Lake City last season, a 44 percent shooter. Her family, friends and teammates call her Kylee.
La'u Pele Falatea, a 2026 guard, will follow in her older sister Nani's footsteps and play for Oregon, she announced tonight.
— Erik Skopil (@Erik_Skopil) June 25, 2025
"I think we play very similar because I based my game off of her. I've always looked up to her in that way."https://t.co/NKrjkYSc1K pic.twitter.com/D3RJ2w2yuU
CBS analyst Tom Fornelli outlines best and worst scenarios for B1G, Duck football
Panelist on the "Cover 3 Podcast" Tom Fornelli thinks the Ducks could go undefeated in 2025, but that's the best-case scenario. If Dante Moore struggles as a retread starting quarterback and the team lacks a deep threat, they could slump to 8-4.
In part he wrote:
"Dan Lanning finally breaks through. The Ducks send an emphatic message to the rest of the Big Ten and the country as a whole that last season wasn't the result of a veteran team. No, even the new-look Ducks, with a brand-new QB and without an injured Evan Stewart, are too good for the Big Ten. "
In his column Fornelli has a similar upside/downside read on every team in the conference. He pegs Penn State, Ohio State and the Ducks potential playoff teams, with Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, USC and Washington as teams that could finish as high as 11-1 but could drop as low as 5-7.