The Oregon Ducks suffered through their worst season yet under coach Dana Altman. With a 12-20 record, the Ducks were under .500 for the first time in Altman’s tenure. Oregon was plagued by injuries and inconsistent play, but the program will need to quickly forget and move on in order to compete in the Big Ten next season.

Here are three reasons why Ducks’ fans should be excited for the 2026-27 season.

Freshman Reinforcements on the Way

Despite not having much on-the-court success this year, Altman and the Ducks were able to get it done on the recruiting trail. Sitting with the No. 27 class in the 2026 recruiting cycle according to 247Sports’ rankings, Oregon is listed ahead of UConn, Arizona, and Houston.

Leading the way for Oregon is four-star forward Tajh Ariza. He is ranked the No. 13 small forward and No. 32 player in the country. Ariza should be counted on in a big way during his freshman season, especially with the rash of key departures the Ducks have sustained. Altman has shown that he isn’t afraid of playing freshmen. If Ariza can prove he belongs on the court, he will play significant minutes.

Joining the four-star signee are four-star center Kendre Harrison and three-star forward Seven Spurlock.

Harrison is a dual-sport athlete at Oregon and is on campus already with the football team. As a basketball recruit, Harrison is ranked as the No. 22 center and No. 7 player in the country. It will be interesting to see how the timing will work with the Ducks’ football season going into January, the past two years. Any contributions they can get out of Harrison are a plus.

Spurlock is the most recent addition to their 2026 recruiting class. He committed on March 29, choosing Oregon over Auburn, Houston, and Missouri.

The Potential for a Big Transfer Portal Class

Since the end of the season for the Ducks, they have seen four players enter the transfer portal in Kwame Evans Jr., Dezdrick Lindsay, Devon Pryor and Jackson Shelstad.

That’s three scholarships plus NIL money that opened up for Oregon to use for some potential incoming transfers. The transfer portal doesn’t officially open up until April 7, but the Ducks’ coaching staff should have an idea of what type of players they need to bring in.

With Shelstad leaving, plus center Nate Bittle running out of eligibility, Oregon will be in the market for a starting point guard as well as a quality big man to help replace the outgoing talent.

The Development of Key Returnees

Despite losing key players like Shelstad and Evans to the portal, the Ducks have been able to retain some key players so far. A pair of guards in Wei Lin and Jamari Phillips, as well as forward Sean Stewart, have yet to announce their intentions, but all three pieces could have bigger roles with the program next season.

Stewart, Lin and Phillips played in at least 26 games or more. The experience is there. It’s just about building chemistry with the right five pieces. Add in an offseason of development for the quartet, and the Ducks could avoid another disastrous year on the hardwood.

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