Portal Powwow: Are the Ducks in Trouble?

With Coach Matt Ulmer flying the coop to lead the newest generation of Kansas Jayhawks, where does that leave his former Oregon Ducks?

The most immediate effects of his departure came from current Oregon players, with the biggest name, Mimi Colyer, being welcomed with outstretched arms to Wisconsin. Alongside her, strong MBs Colby Neal and Mia Tvrdy entered the portal and have yet to announce where they will end up. Young redshirt sophomore Sophia Gregoire has declared her transfer to powerhouse Pitt as they hope to fill the hole Torrey Stafford left behind. Lastly, experienced setter Cristin Cline has made the jump to follow Ulmer to KU.

Arguably, the more important piece of the story is how Ulmer’s leaving is affecting Oregon's future recruiting classes. Members from both Oregon’s 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes have decommitted due to the coaching change. Tessa Dodd, a class of 2026 OH with a PPV of 180, has taken a page from Cline’s book by following Ulmer with her newly announced commitment to KU. Additionally, top prospect from the 2025 class and former Oregon commit, Logan Bell, has reopened her recruiting. Despite it being so late in the game to make such a switch, Bell has a PPV of 253 and with her high level of skill and versatility, any top-level school would be lucky to snag her.

Oregon has yet to announce a new coach and Erika Dillard has been chosen as the interim head coach in the meantime. It will be interesting to watch this play out over the offseason. Where will the remaining Oregon players in the portal end up? Can Oregon make a great hire to keep the Ducks afloat? Will Dillard be able to convince the remaining players on the roster and in their 2025/2026 recruiting classes to stick around? Only time will tell.

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