The Oregon Ducks had what felt like an incredibly promising season even if it ended in the Austin Super Regional against the Texas Longhorns. Mark Wasikowski was seemingly building a foundation that could be built upon this offseason to help the Ducks make their way to Omaha in 2027. Over the last 24 hours, Oregon's promising foundation has been demolished by the Transfer Portal.
On Monday, the disappointing news was released that freshman phenom Angel Laya would be entering the Transfer Portal. Given how much more SEC teams are invested in college baseball, it felt as if the Ducks were likely losing a star to a big pay day.
The fans who were hoping for more encouraging news to follow the rest of the offseason quickly realized that wouldn't be the case on Tuesday Afternoon.
Junior Lauaki enters the transfer portal with disappointing caveat
On Tuesday Afternoon, another member of Oregon's elite freshman trio entered the Transfer Portal as Naulivou Lauaki Jr leaves Eugene. The news of Lauaki entering the Transfer Portal comes with the fact that he's entering with a "no-contact tag" meaning his next school is likely already picked out.
NEW: Oregon UTL Naulivou Lauaki Jr. has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, per @PeteNakos.
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) June 16, 2026
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound slugger batted .321 with 14 HRs this past season.https://t.co/OEfXnbmDsd pic.twitter.com/iQbSZHeRwl
The fact that Lauaki enters with a no-contact tag should be a bit disappointing for Oregon fans as it means he likely was approached with an offer greater than the one the Ducks were willing to play. No one these days gets in trouble for tampering, but when a player quickly picks their next school it becomes clear something was going on behind the scenes.
For a player brought to Eugene for his exciting ability as a pitcher, Lauaki became a bigger star than the Ducks ever could've expected. This season, Lauaki became a premium power threat, blasting 14 home runs while posting an impressive .321 batting average.
The Ducks still aren't receiving a full porition of the revenue sharing in the Big Ten which likely goes into why they're not all in on retaining elite talent. Given that fact, it's still hard to watch players as promising and exciting as Laya and Lauaki leave in back-to-back days.
What started as an offseason where Oregon could build a Championship caliber team has quickly shifted. Mark Wasikowski now needs to try and keep as many of the big pieces like Brayden Jaksa in place while hoping to hit on under the radar transfers along with another freshman class that brings excitement to Eugene.
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