Dana Altman’s abrupt retirement jolted Oregon men’s basketball, and it left Tony Stubblefield stepping into a job with plenty of unknowns attached. The Ducks head into the 2026-2027 season with a new coach, a rebuilt roster, and a lot to sort out fast.
Stubblefield isn’t a mystery to people who’ve followed Oregon closely. He made his college stop at Clinton (Iowa) Community College from 1989-91 before finishing at Nebraska-Omaha, where he was a captain as a senior.
From there, he moved into coaching, beginning at his alma mater and later working at Texas-San Antonio, Texas-Arlington, and New Mexico State. At NMS, he served as interim head coach during the 2004-2005 season and went 2-12.
His career then took him to Cincinnati, where he worked four seasons for Mick Cronin as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Altman later brought him to Oregon in 2010, and Stubblefield’s recruiting reach became a major part of the Ducks’ success, especially with the standout groups of the mid-2010s.
Stubblefield got his shot as a head coach at DePaul in 2021. That move did not produce a turnaround.
He was dismissed in January of his third season after going 28-54 overall. In Big East play, he went 9-31 in his two full seasons, and DePaul has gone 12-28 in the two seasons since.
Now he’s back at Oregon with a very different challenge: a full roster rebuild. The Ducks are entering a season with a brand new team, and Stubblefield is being asked to guide it from scratch.
That’s not a small assignment, but it’s familiar territory for other Oregon programs that have had to rebuild and keep moving, including softball under Melyssa Lombardi and volleyball under Trent Kersten. Soccer and lacrosse have dealt with similar resets, too, and baseball under Mark Wazikowski is about to face one as well.
Stubblefield addressed the upcoming season at Big Ten Media Day, and the pressure is clear. This is his audition year.
If Oregon is going to make progress with a completely new roster, he has to show real results. There’s no grace period built into this one.
The Ducks open their season tonight at Matthew Knight Arena against Seattle in the first of three exhibition games. Fans can check it out in person or watch on Big Ten Plus.
In Other News...
Oregon Must Find An Unexpected Answer At Receiver Before Nebraska
Oregons receiver room took another hit this week, and the timing could hardly be worse with Nebraska up next. Jeremiah McClellans broken foot has already thinned the depth chart, and Aaron Flowers is out for the rest of the season after surgery, leaving the Ducks to sort through another layer of injury fallout as they get ready for a big early test.
Evan Stewart is also doubtful for the upcoming game, which has opened the door for some less familiar names to step forward. Freshmen Jalen Lott and Gatlin Bair, along with UAB transfer Iverson Hooks, are among the options Oregon may lean on if it needs a new starting combination at wide receiver, and the coming days should reveal just how much the Ducks are willing to trust that group in a spotlight game. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New-Look Roster Already Has A Problem To Fix
Oregons first look at its revamped mens basketball roster came with a reminder that new pieces do not always fit cleanly right away. The Ducks fell to Seattle University, 71-65, in their preseason exhibition opener, and the box score told the story of a team still trying to find its footing. They were careless with the ball, turning it over 25 times, and struggled to match Seattles physical play while working through the early stages of team cohesion under interim head coach Tony Stubblefield.
There were some familiar and new faces in the mix, including Pharaoh Compton, Andrew Meadow and Taylor Bol Bowen, but the night also exposed how thin the margin can be when a group is still sorting itself out. Senior forward Sean Stewart fouled out early, another blow to a team already battling mistakes and inconsistency, and the Ducks now have plenty to clean up before the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon May Be Losing Grip On A Quarterback They Wanted Badly
Oregons 2028 recruiting board still has plenty of work to do, but the Ducks have clearly identified quarterback Josiah Boyd as one of the names they want to land early. Boyd has narrowed his finalists to Oregon, UCLA and Kentucky, and he is set to make his commitment decision on November 23, giving the Ducks a little more time to make their case to one of the top passers on their board.
The latest signs, though, have made this one a little tougher to read for Oregon. Kentucky appears to have picked up momentum in Boyds recruitment, helped in part by new head coach Will Stein, even as Oregon stays involved and plans to bring Boyd to upcoming home games. For a program that has yet to secure a commitment in the class, keeping pace in a battle like this matters, especially with a quarterback target who could shape the early feel of the group. [Read more 🡒]