Oregon Ducks
Overall Rank: #31
Conference Rank: #5 Pac-12
Last season Oregon finished under .500 for the first time since 2009, the year the program relaunched. It was also the third straight year the Ducks missed the tournament. The good news is that Oregon was a very young team last year. They are still a pretty young team, but now the Ducks have some experience at key spots and that should help Coach George Horton return to the NCAA Tournament.
2018: 26-29, 12-18
2018 Postseason: None
Coach: George Horton
Key Departed Players:
Kyle Kasser, IF, .278 BA, 12 RBI, 10 SB
Matt Mercer, P, 4.16 ERA, 5-7 W/L, 88.2 IP, 86 SO
Key Returning Players:
Jakob Goldfarb, C/OF, .308 BA, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 14 SB
Spencer Steer, IF, .275 BA, 4 HR, 37 RBI
Gabe Matthews, 1B, .265 BA, 4 HR, 27 RBI
Jonny DeLuca, OF/IF, .212 BA, 6 HR, 32 RBI
Kenyon Yovan, P, 2.98 ERA, 6-4 W/L, 84.2 IP, 98 SO
Kolby Somers, P, 4.62 ERA, 2-7 W/L, 62.1 IP, 46 SO
Projection:
Kenyon Yovan had a very impressive sophomore season. He made 21 appearances on the mound, with ten starts, and boasted a team best 2.98 ERA and six wins. Sophomores Kolby Somers and Cullen Kafka got some very valuable experience in 2018. Somers started 11 games and proved to have very good control despite his 2-7 record. The Ducks return six field players who started over 40 games last season. The unit was not particularly effective last season, but there are some good pieces to build around. Most notable is Jakob Goldfarb, who hit .308 with six homeruns and 29 RBIs. Spencer Steer led the squad with 37 RBIs and both Gabe Matthews and Jonny DeLuca have proven to be decent power hitters. If the Oregon hitters can make a slight uptick in production, this is a group that can make some noise in the Pac-12 and get back to the tournament.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
