Oregon Ducks news: Dan Lanning adds to staff, baseball 3-0 at home, more

The Ducks have added former UCLA Bruins general manager Darren Uscher to their recruiting staff this week.

Uscher has previously been in a recruiting role at Auburn and Boise State. He had been with Lanning in Eugene before accepting the position in Los Angeles just a month ago. Now, four weeks later, Uscher is headed back.

When Uscher accepted the job to become the executive director of recruiting and general manager at UCLA, Chip Kelly was still the head coach. Once Kelly announced he was heading to Ohio State, Uscher began looking elsewhere for employment.

Lanning has made numerous moves within his coaching and support staff this offseason.

Brian Michaelowski was promoted to linebackers coach from defensive analyst., After being promoted from co-defensive coordinator, Chris Hampton will now oversee all defensive backs. Graduate assistant Rashad Wadood will take on a new role working with Oregon’s cornerbacks.

Uscher is the latest addition or adaptation to Lanning’s staff. Uscher initially joined Lanning’s squad in August 2023.

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The baseball team hosted its home opener against the Lafayette Leopards on Friday. Oregon’s bats were on fire as the Ducks scored in every single inning of the game and absolutely trounced the Leopards.

At the end of 8.5 innings, Oregon earned its first home victory of the season, defeating Lafayette 17-3.

On Saturday, Oregon and Lafayette played in a doubleheader. The first pitch of Game 2 in the series was thrown just after noon. The Ducks were bat at their hard-hitting ways as they once again drubbed the Leopards.

Wining 15-4, Oregon’s attention turned to securing the series victory in the next game. The second game of the day and the third of the series started later that afternoon.

While the Ducks’ bats slowed, their defensive prowess continued to excel. Allowing just 4 runs in the third game of the series, Oregon had outscored Lafayette 39-11 so far.

Oregon sits at 5-1 overall. The two teams are scheduled to play at noon on Sunday.

The University of Oregon's athletic department and various teams celebrated the birthday of Duck legend Phil Knight on Saturday.

Nike's founder, lovingly referred to as Uncle Phil, has donated upwards of a billion dollars to the university and it's athletics as well as ensuring that the Ducks are never short a new uniform combination.

Knight is now 86 years old and still a frequent visitor in Eugene.

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Duke men’s basketball star Kyla Filipowski was reportedly injured as Wake Forest fans stormed the court after their team upset the Blue Devils.

Filipowski’s injury is the second so far this season due to incidents involving stormed courts. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark was knocked over as Ohio State fans stormed the court following an upset over the Hawkeyes.

Many coaches, players, and even fans are calling for a change in rules to prevent further injury to athletes.