Every player is on the dugout fence. Over the fans, you can hear a band of teammates, who all wear the same pinstriped, green and white jersey. The Ducks are hungry. They want more than the No. 23 label, slapped onto them by USA Today before the season.
They return junior shortstop Maddox Molony, who was named to the preseason Golden Spikes watch list, and is widely projected to go late in the first round of the MLB draft this year. The hometown kid boasts a .969 OPS over his two seasons at PK Park and only looks to improve in 2026.
The Ducks also return senior designated hitter Dominic Hellman, a real threat to lead the NCAA in home runs, a year after hitting .326 with 13 bombs. He started his season off on Friday with a second-inning home run and tacked on a single in the second inning of Game 1 on Saturday.
Not to mention junior second baseman Ryan Cooney, who finished off his 2025 with two Big Ten Player of the Week honors in the last three weeks, propelling him to First Team All-League as a sophomore. Additionally, senior third baseman Drew Smith returns, who has proven in regionals the past two years that he’s as clutch as anyone.
In case you’re counting, that’s three everyday infielders returning from a squad that fell just short of the College World Series in 2025.
“We have a great connection out there,” Cooney said following the game. “Guys are working hard for each other.”
They show relentless fight, as well. After a home run off the bat of George Mason’s Julius Bagnerise left the Ducks down 1-0, they battled right back and snatched the lead, courtesy of freshman outfielder Angel Laya’s first career home run in the bottom of the second. Oregon would add seven more in the inning, including a grand slam off the bat of Smith.
“We’ve got a team that can make a real run for the College World Series,” said head coach Mark Wasikowski, who returns for his seventh season in Eugene.
Wasikowski, lovingly referred to as “Waz” by players and fans alike, has overseen a lot of success over the last five years, leading the Ducks to a .667 winning percentage over that span.
On the pitching side, the rotation remains similar, with Will Sanford looking much improved from a disappointing 2025. The sophomore tossed five shutout innings Friday, kicking off a season in which he is expected to lead the rotation.
Collin Clarke is another holdover, and he looks to build on a strong 2025 in which he posted a 4.06 ERA and held hitters to a .221 batting average. In Game 1 on Saturday, he pitched into the seventh inning, striking out 10 and holding George Mason’s hitters to just a pair of solo home runs.
Last year ended in heartbreak for the Ducks, falling in the Eugene Regional that saw them heavily favored. A questionable call that went against Oregon sucked all the life out of PK Park and doomed the Ducks’ season. But this team is built to go further.
The offensive onslaught from the second inning on Saturday resumed in the bottom of the eighth, as Laya hit his second home run of the day, followed by Cooney’s first homer of the year.
The resilience exhibited by the Ducks should send a message to the rest of the Big Ten and the NCAA. This team is here to win it all and will not let anything stand in their way of winning their second straight league championship.
It’s safe to say Oregon has its sights set on the College World Series in 2026.
The No. 23 Ducks wrap up their series against George Mason on Sunday at 12:05 p.m.