- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,194,434
- Reaction score
- 59
The offseason has not been kind to the Oregon Ducks so far.
The baseball program has lost young stars Angel Laya, Naulivou Lauaki Jr. and Burke-Lee Mabeus to the transfer portal in quick succession. And, unfortunately, they might not be the last players to make that decision.
The Ducks rode a strong pitching staff and a nucleus of impact freshmen to the Austin Super Regional, where they were swept by Texas. On the doorstep of Omaha, the future looked bright for Oregon baseball. Since then, the roster has been decimated.
With the young stars in the portal, Drew Smith out of eligibility, and veterans Ryan Cooney, Maddox Molony and Cal Scolari all potentially leaving in the MLB draft, the Ducks could have a completely new look next season, both as a consequence of success and their current state of college athletics.
So, what happened?
To put it simply, football is king at Oregon, and rightfully so. The brand is massive and has a ton of different big donors to support it, making Oregon one of the most feared programs on the recruiting trail and when it comes to nabbing the nation’s best players out of the transfer portal.
If college sports are divided into the hunters and the hunted, then Oregon football is undoubtedly one of the best hunters in the game. Every other Duck sport, though, may be closer to the other camp.
Part of that has to do with revenue, and available money for name, image, and likeness. Oregon received $48.4 million from the Big Ten this past year as part of the partial revenue-sharing agreement, since the Ducks are still new members of the conference. That agreement is in place until 2030, when Oregon will qualify for a larger share. According to ESPN, "Other full members received between $76.01 million and $79.87 million."
Some of that money goes right back into the football program as a way to continue elevating the brand, bringing in better players, and keeping coaches under contract. The rest of that chunk of money goes into the non-revenue sports, like baseball. With half a share right now, it can be easy for the other programs to fall behind and fail to retain top talent.
While football can survive on its own and still gets a large portion of the revenue share, other sports in Eugene, most notably baseball and men’s basketball, have suffered. Dana Altman’s program saw a mass exodus through the transfer portal, and now Mark Wasikowski’s team is experiencing something similar, despite a deep postseason run.
Altman put it best when asked about all the transfers. There is a budget that the programs need to watch for. That’s where they differ from football.
“We did not pull anybody’s scholarship," Altman said. "Everybody had their scholarship, and it would have been renewed. But we are working within a budget, and some guys were gonna lose their NIL, either totally or taking a reduction. Big reduction.”
The Oregon brand is strong, but football is doing the heavy lifting. To keep that up, football requires a major share of the revenue pie. Now we're seeing the negative ramifications of that.
Wasikowski could lose more stars this offseason. Brayden Jaksa is the lone impact freshman remaining amongst the trio, and after the news of Mabeus’ transfer, he could be the starting catcher next season. Will Sanford and Tanner Bradley would certainly draw interest from bigger programs. Are they next to look for the door?
Possibly. The simple fact is that the players are looking out for themselves, and rightfully so. There is no such thing as loyalty in college sports when massive bags of cash are being thrown around. The SEC has some of the best baseball programs in the country because of its donors, and these programs can support larger NIL deals.
Some of the West Coast programs, like Oregon and Oregon State, can’t keep up. The Beavers lost pitcher Trey Morris to Florida, where Beavers pitching coach Rich Dorman also fled this offseason. The likely landing spots for Laya, Lauaki and Mabeus are somewhere in the SEC, as well.
Whether it’s for the NIL deal or for a better shot at increasing their draft stock, that’s why some of the top talent on West Coast programs, like Oregon, are leaving for the South. There may be something going on behind the scenes in the clubhouse in Eugene, but there is no evidence to suggest that right now.
It’s frustrating for the Ducks to come just a step short of the program’s first College World Series since 1954, only to see the roster essentially fall apart in the weeks that followed. We’ve seen this happen in football, basketball and other college sports. Baseball is finally having its turn. The Ducks are feeling the heat in a way they aren’t used to.
Wasikowski has been good at hunting for gems on the margins in the transfer portal, and there is no reason to think he can’t do it again. Oregon has another promising recruiting class, headlined by outfielders Isaiah Hearn and Andruw Giles. The Ducks just need to make sure they survive the MLB draft and make it to campus.
The tide could be changing, however. MLB proposed an overhaul of the amateur draft system, including removing high school players from the draft and making college players eligible after their sophomore year. That could push the development of baseball’s future stars to the college ranks, rather than the minor leagues.
While there could be some issues with that for the players, teams like Oregon would benefit from a recruiting perspective, with talent being more widespread, and it could help define a window of contention enough to allow coaching staffs to better prepare for the transfer portal chaos.
No matter how the roster shakes out for Oregon next season, it will be hard not to feel like the Ducks are missing out on another year of development and production from a talented crop of young players who blossomed this season. It also drives home a hard truth: While Oregon may be at the top of the food chain in college football in terms of talent acquisition, other programs in Eugene are closer to the middle, watching helplessly as the SEC picks away at the meat of their roster each offseason.
There just isn't an easy answer at the moment.
Maybe when Oregon gets a bigger share of the Big Ten media deal, the Ducks can better support their other programs and their NIL budgets. Or it will go to football, doubling down again on the biggest revenue driver in town.
Time will tell, but for now, Wasikowski and the Ducks will be scrambling to fill out a competitive roster to make another run in the Big Ten next season.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Why Oregon baseball is suffering from the transfer portal
Continue reading...
The baseball program has lost young stars Angel Laya, Naulivou Lauaki Jr. and Burke-Lee Mabeus to the transfer portal in quick succession. And, unfortunately, they might not be the last players to make that decision.
The Ducks rode a strong pitching staff and a nucleus of impact freshmen to the Austin Super Regional, where they were swept by Texas. On the doorstep of Omaha, the future looked bright for Oregon baseball. Since then, the roster has been decimated.
With the young stars in the portal, Drew Smith out of eligibility, and veterans Ryan Cooney, Maddox Molony and Cal Scolari all potentially leaving in the MLB draft, the Ducks could have a completely new look next season, both as a consequence of success and their current state of college athletics.
So, what happened?
The Brand
You must be registered for see images attach
To put it simply, football is king at Oregon, and rightfully so. The brand is massive and has a ton of different big donors to support it, making Oregon one of the most feared programs on the recruiting trail and when it comes to nabbing the nation’s best players out of the transfer portal.
If college sports are divided into the hunters and the hunted, then Oregon football is undoubtedly one of the best hunters in the game. Every other Duck sport, though, may be closer to the other camp.
Part of that has to do with revenue, and available money for name, image, and likeness. Oregon received $48.4 million from the Big Ten this past year as part of the partial revenue-sharing agreement, since the Ducks are still new members of the conference. That agreement is in place until 2030, when Oregon will qualify for a larger share. According to ESPN, "Other full members received between $76.01 million and $79.87 million."
Some of that money goes right back into the football program as a way to continue elevating the brand, bringing in better players, and keeping coaches under contract. The rest of that chunk of money goes into the non-revenue sports, like baseball. With half a share right now, it can be easy for the other programs to fall behind and fail to retain top talent.
While football can survive on its own and still gets a large portion of the revenue share, other sports in Eugene, most notably baseball and men’s basketball, have suffered. Dana Altman’s program saw a mass exodus through the transfer portal, and now Mark Wasikowski’s team is experiencing something similar, despite a deep postseason run.
Altman put it best when asked about all the transfers. There is a budget that the programs need to watch for. That’s where they differ from football.
“We did not pull anybody’s scholarship," Altman said. "Everybody had their scholarship, and it would have been renewed. But we are working within a budget, and some guys were gonna lose their NIL, either totally or taking a reduction. Big reduction.”
The Oregon brand is strong, but football is doing the heavy lifting. To keep that up, football requires a major share of the revenue pie. Now we're seeing the negative ramifications of that.
Who's Next?
You must be registered for see images
Wasikowski could lose more stars this offseason. Brayden Jaksa is the lone impact freshman remaining amongst the trio, and after the news of Mabeus’ transfer, he could be the starting catcher next season. Will Sanford and Tanner Bradley would certainly draw interest from bigger programs. Are they next to look for the door?
Possibly. The simple fact is that the players are looking out for themselves, and rightfully so. There is no such thing as loyalty in college sports when massive bags of cash are being thrown around. The SEC has some of the best baseball programs in the country because of its donors, and these programs can support larger NIL deals.
Some of the West Coast programs, like Oregon and Oregon State, can’t keep up. The Beavers lost pitcher Trey Morris to Florida, where Beavers pitching coach Rich Dorman also fled this offseason. The likely landing spots for Laya, Lauaki and Mabeus are somewhere in the SEC, as well.
Whether it’s for the NIL deal or for a better shot at increasing their draft stock, that’s why some of the top talent on West Coast programs, like Oregon, are leaving for the South. There may be something going on behind the scenes in the clubhouse in Eugene, but there is no evidence to suggest that right now.
It’s frustrating for the Ducks to come just a step short of the program’s first College World Series since 1954, only to see the roster essentially fall apart in the weeks that followed. We’ve seen this happen in football, basketball and other college sports. Baseball is finally having its turn. The Ducks are feeling the heat in a way they aren’t used to.
Wasikowski has been good at hunting for gems on the margins in the transfer portal, and there is no reason to think he can’t do it again. Oregon has another promising recruiting class, headlined by outfielders Isaiah Hearn and Andruw Giles. The Ducks just need to make sure they survive the MLB draft and make it to campus.
Hope on the Horizon?
You must be registered for see images attach
The tide could be changing, however. MLB proposed an overhaul of the amateur draft system, including removing high school players from the draft and making college players eligible after their sophomore year. That could push the development of baseball’s future stars to the college ranks, rather than the minor leagues.
While there could be some issues with that for the players, teams like Oregon would benefit from a recruiting perspective, with talent being more widespread, and it could help define a window of contention enough to allow coaching staffs to better prepare for the transfer portal chaos.
No matter how the roster shakes out for Oregon next season, it will be hard not to feel like the Ducks are missing out on another year of development and production from a talented crop of young players who blossomed this season. It also drives home a hard truth: While Oregon may be at the top of the food chain in college football in terms of talent acquisition, other programs in Eugene are closer to the middle, watching helplessly as the SEC picks away at the meat of their roster each offseason.
There just isn't an easy answer at the moment.
Maybe when Oregon gets a bigger share of the Big Ten media deal, the Ducks can better support their other programs and their NIL budgets. Or it will go to football, doubling down again on the biggest revenue driver in town.
Time will tell, but for now, Wasikowski and the Ducks will be scrambling to fill out a competitive roster to make another run in the Big Ten next season.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Why Oregon baseball is suffering from the transfer portal
Continue reading...
