Oregon’s offseason plan may have just gotten a lot more interesting.
Dana Altman has spent the summer trying to rebuild a Ducks roster that fell short this season, all while navigating a landscape where schools are spending heavily and Oregon has already lost Kwame Evans Jr and Jackson Shelstad to the Transfer Portal. The staff’s approach has been clear: bring in high-upside former blue-chip recruits who still need to put it together, mix in proven players from lower levels, and try to stitch the whole thing into a workable rotation. Even after that, the Ducks left a few roster spots open.
That open space suddenly matters more after Friday night’s court ruling.
Judge Charlotte Sweeney granted a preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to grant every athlete from the Class of 2022 an injunction, setting off a wave of possible eligibility changes across college sports. The ruling came after a stretch of uncertainty around the latest eligibility rules, which allow players to spend five seasons in college and have led athletes from the 2022 recruiting class to seek relief from the NCAA.
Among the players caught up in the case is former Oregon guard Takai Simpkins.
Simpkins began his college career at Elon before transferring to Oregon, where he quickly became one of the Ducks’ most important players. He started 31 games and averaged 12.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 35.7% from 3.
The ruling now opens the door for him to return to college basketball, and because he was part of the case, that outcome appears to be the likeliest one. For Oregon, the real question is whether there’s mutual interest in making that reunion happen. Simpkins is technically still in the Transfer Portal.
From a pure roster standpoint, bringing him back would make sense. Oregon could use more scoring, and Simpkins would give the Ducks a proven option. The catch is that the backcourt is already starting to get crowded, so adding another guard would force Altman and his staff to sort through an already busy mix.
In Other News...
Oregon Is Suddenly In The Mix For A Proven Guard Again
A court ruling in Colorado has reopened the college basketball market in a way few programs could have predicted, giving players from the 2022 recruiting class another year of NCAA eligibility and prompting a fresh round of roster shuffling. For teams like Oregon, it has created an opportunity to revisit experienced backcourt options at a time when proven guards are always in demand.
Among the players drawing attention is Memphis guard Dug McDaniel, whose path has already included stops at Michigan and Kansas State before his time with the Tigers. Oregon is reportedly among the programs showing interest, and the broader appeal is obvious: a seasoned ballhandler suddenly available again, with multiple schools now trying to sort out where he might land next. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons Tight End Battle Could Change The Ducks Offense Fast
The tight end room is shaping up as one of the more interesting parts of Oregons 2026 roster, with five-star newcomer Kendre Harrison already looking like a player who could push for immediate snaps. He brings the kind of blend the Ducks value there, with enough blocking ability to hold up in the run game and enough receiving skill to be more than just a line-of-scrimmage option. Add in his athletic profile, plus the expectation that he will also spend time around college basketball, and Oregon has a rare kind of mismatch piece entering the program.
Jamari Johnson gives the Ducks a proven returning option, which makes the battle feel less about finding one usable tight end and more about sorting out how quickly the offense can take advantage of two different skill sets. If Harrison adapts fast, Oregon could open the season with a much more dangerous group at the position than most teams in the country can match. The bigger question now is not whether the Ducks will have talent there, but how soon they can turn it into a real edge on offense. [Read more 🡒]