Oregon’s first major wildfire of the season, the Butte Creek Fire, has been mapped at 1,776 acres burning on the John Day River 9 miles north of Clarno in eastern Oregon as of May 27.

Firefighters were suppressing the blaze with multiple crews, engines, dozers and aircraft.

No evacuations or closures were in place. However, boaters on the popular stretch of the John Day River “are being asked to use caution as helicopters will continue dipping water out of the John Day River today,” according to Central Oregon Fire Information.

The fire was burning mostly in grass and rangeland forest.

Oregon is forecast to see the hottest temperatures of the season so far over the coming week, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees in eastern Oregon.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are always on the look to add 5-star talent, and they may get another chance at one that has already committed to Oregon.

It appears that while Richard Wesley has committed to Oregon, which he did earlier this month, things may not be all sunshine in paradise as he’s still looking to take visits elsewhere. Wesley has an offer from 24 programs, so he really will have the picking of his choice when it comes to where he’ll play his collegiate ball.

Wesley plays for Sierra Canyon High School and is from Chatsworth, CA. He is a four-star recruit in 247Sports player rating system but then jumps to a five-star recruit in their composite scoring, sitting at the No. 2 EDGE rusher in the Class of 2026.

Ohio State is apparently going to get a shot at Wesley as he is going to take an official visit to Columbus. Texas, Texas A&M and Oregon are the other programs that he will have an official visit to as well per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

The Buckeyes visit is set to be on August 30, and if you keep up with the Ohio State football schedule, that’s going to come just in time for Columbus to host the Buckeyes versus the Longhorns for Week 1 college football action.

Ohio State had an opportunity to recruit Zion Elee, the top defensive end in the class, but he committed to Maryland. The Buckeyes do appear to be the favorite for Cincere Johnson but don’t have a top-five defensive end in the Class of 2026 set to come to Columbus. Adding a player like Wesley, especially from a Big Ten rival like Oregon, would be a huge get for Matt Patricia and the Buckeyes defense.

That’s just another reason why Ohio Stadium is going to have to be rocking on August 30!

The Oregon Ducks baseball team found out on Sunday night their destination for the upcoming 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament. The NCAA announced that Oregon will be hosting a regional at PK Park . The Ducks had an incredible season, going 42-14 overall and 22-8 in Big Ten conference play. Oregon won the Big Ten regular season title in their first year as a member.

The Ducks had an early exit from the Big Ten baseball tournament, falling to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in pool play. Nebraska went on to win the Big Ten tournament championship over the UCLA Bruins.

The 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament host schools were announced on Sunday night. Oregon will be one of them. The other 15 teams hosting are the Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn Tigers, Texas Longhorns, LSU Tigers, North Carolina Tar Heels, Clemson Tigers, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, Oregon State Beavers, Arkansas Razorbacks, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, Tennessee Volunteers, UCLA Bruins, Vanderbilt Commodores, Ole Miss Rebels, and Florida State Seminoles. 

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The Oregon Ducks are headed to their fifth straight NCAA tournament, dating back to the 2021 season. This five-year run marks the most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. In 2023 and 2024, the Ducks were on the doorstep of making their first College World Series, but lost in the Super Regionals Oral Roberts in 2023 and then Texas A&M in 2024. 

The last time Oregon hosted a NCAA tournament game was in 2023 in the Super Regional against Oral Roberts. PK Park will be rocking once again this postseason. The full 2025 tournament bracket will be released on Monday. 

Oregon’s path to the College World Series will begin in their own backyard for the regional. The regional will consist of Oregon and three other schools that will be selected on Monday’s selection show. These four teams will compete in a double elimination bracket, with the one winner coming out on top earning a spot in the Super Regional, making there 16 teams in the Super Regional.

The Super Regional is a best of three series between two teams that won their respective regional. The eight teams to come out of the Super Regional earn a spot in the College World Series. The College World Series has two different four-team double elimination brackets, with the winner of each playing each other in a championship best of three series.

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and nine different Ducks were named to All-Big Ten teams. Grayson Grinsell, Seth Mattox, Jacob Walsh, Mason Neville, and Ryan Cooney were all named to the All-Big Ten First Team.

Jason Reitz, Maddox Molony, Anson Aroz, and Dominic Hellman were all named to the All-Big Ten Third Team.

Additionally, Burke-Lee Mabeus was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team and Ryan Cooney earned the Sportmanship Award.