Oregon Ducks baseball looks to fill pitching holes with transfer commit

Oregon Ducks baseball is partially a victim of their own success with a program-record seven players getting their names called in the 2026 MLB Draft including pitchers Cal Scolari to the Chicago White Sox, Miles Gosztola to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Devin Bell also to the Dodgers.

Sure, having the 2026 draft be the 16th time in the last 17 drafts multiple Ducks pitchers heard their names called is impressive, but it also leaves coach Mark Wasikowski and his team in a similar spot compared to the offseason before the 2025 season: rebuilding their bullpen.

Oregon Ducks Bring in Transfer Pitcher Chase Frey

On Monday, Grand Canyon transfer left handed pitcher and in-coming senior Chase Frey announced on his Instagram and X pages that he would be joining the Ducks for his final collegiate season.

Though he was eligible for the 2026 MLB Draft and got drafted in the No. 15 round for the overall 454 pick to the Boston Red Sox, this announcement signals Frey isn't quite done at the collegiate level and did the negotiating with the Red Sox to return for one more season.

With specifically Gosztola and Scolari expected to forgo the rest of their time with the Ducks as essential relief pitchers, Frey's inclusion indicates that at least one spot next to incoming-junior Will Sanford will be open for the taking. Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline reported on Monday that Scolari did indeed sign with the White Sox, with reports yet to confirm Bell and Gosztola signing with the Dodgers.

What Chase Frey Brings to Oregon

Frey has quite the storied career across college baseball, with four different homes over his four years on the diamond. The Las Vegas native started out at Shoreline Community College, then transferred to College of Southern Nevada, then transferred to Grand Canyon before finally making his way to Eugene.

In his single season with the 'Lopes, Frey played 13 games with a 4.79 ERA, with 69 strikeouts with 60 hits allowed over 67.2 innings pitched. His best game of the season (which became his only total game of the season) included eight strike-outs and two hits allowed. He also hit a career high 14 strikeouts against UNLV that same season.

He's also spending the summer off season with the Cape Cod League on the Orleans Firebirds. Over five games played, Frey clocked in a 1.66 ERA with 25 strike-outs and five runs allowed.

Building Ground-Up

Frey's commitment to Oregon leads back to what Wasikowski and crew's main theme of the 2026 recruiting off season: under the radar picks that have proven track records. Though the Ducks have lost some major young talent to programs over reported NIL offers, a recent hire for the Ducks' staff may signal that recruiting small is the new way for Oregon to come up big.

Ryan Fineman was announced on Monday as a new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the baseball program. Spending two seasons with Troy and helping build the program to a College World Series contender last season, there's some moves being made in Eugene to chase the ever-evading College World Series bid.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oregon as Oregon Ducks Baseball Looks To Fill Pitching Holes With Transfer Commit.