The Oregon Ducks baseball program has been steadily on the rise under head coach Mark Wasikowski, with back-to-back NCAA Super Regional appearances and 40-win seasons for the first time since 2013-2014.
The 2024 season saw the Ducks take home the Santa Barbara Regional and fall to the NCAA runner-up Texas A&M at the College Station Super Regional.
On Monday, the first major preseason poll for the 2025 college baseball season dropped as Perfect Game unveiled their list, as the Ducks landed at No. 14, the highest preseason ranking under Wasikowski.
Oregon is the lone Big Ten program in the top 25 of Perfect Game’s preseason rankings.
2025 College Baseball ‘Preseason Top 25’ ??https://t.co/UWUy9HzdMk pic.twitter.com/BRRtexO2Zn
— Perfect Game USA (@PerfectGameUSA) January 6, 2025
The Ducks saw multiple impact players leave in the MLB Draft like starter RJ Gordon, reliever Brock Moore, outfielder Bryce Boettcher, and catcher Bennett Thompson. Still, the Ducks retooled with a top-10 transfer portal class, headlined by RHP Jason Reitz, a 6-foot-11 right-handed pitcher who was excellent in the Cape Cod League, outfielder Parker Stinson, and LHP Sam Boyle.
Along with those additions is the retention of other impact players on the offensive side of the ball. Seven of nine starters from last year return, headlined by Jacob Walsh, Maddox Molony, and Mason Neville. Oregon also returns LHP Grayson Grinsell, who is expected to headline at the top of the rotation.
“I mean, it wasn’t long ago where taking the next step was, man, we just got to get to a regional,” said Wasikowski in September about the programs expectations. “And we’re not there anymore, right? That is one of the goals, be in a regional, be in a Super Regional, College World Series, you know, and ultimately winning the national championship. The stepping stone approach, and we feel as though we’re continuing to make progress. We have each and every year and and we think, like I said, we think that this roster that we’ve put together for this group has a chance to even exceed anything we’ve done here before.”
Oregon opens its 2025 season against Toledo on February 14th.
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