We’ve just tipped off the 2025-26 high school basketball season in Oregon, but it’s never too early to start thinking about who might win state player of the year honors when the nets are cut down in March.
Here are six players who are among the contenders for Oregon’s Mr. Basketball title come season’s end.
Gaines’ coach with the Hawks, Daniel Blanks, called his star point guard “the ultimate competitor and winner,” and Gaines led the team to a share of its first Mt. Hood Conference title last year when he averaged 21.5 points, 5.9 assists and 2.8 steals. He has drawn interest from Idaho, Oregon State, Seattle University and Utah and received an offer from Portland State.
Khyungra led the Falcons to the 5A state championship last year, averaging 23.5 points. He worked over the summer to add bulk to his slight frame to better endure the pounding coach Sean Kelly expects him to take this season.
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Lake, like older brother Josiah (Oregon State), will play Division I ball next year after signing with Montana last month. Now, the 6A all-state second-team selection will look to build upon a junior season during which he averaged 21.1 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. “He is a complete player in all facets of the game,” said Timberwolves assistant coach Thomas Duggan.
Montague, better known as Fuzzy, received 6A all-state honorable mention list while averaging close to 17 points, five rebounds and five assists per game as a junior for Roosevelt before transferring across town to join the burgeoning Northeast Portland power — ranked No. 1 in the initial High School On SI Oregon rankings — over the summer.
Paschal broke out for the Rams during their run to the 6A state title in 2024, flashing the potential to become one of the top guards in the Northwest. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in January that derailed both a promising junior campaign (14.8 ppg, 6 rpg) and Central Catholic’s hopes of repeating as champion.
After a breakout junior season during which he averaged 20 points and six rebounds, Rigney seeks to lead the Lakers back to the 6A state tournament and bolster his hopes of going to a D-1 school. “Liam is a three level scorer who has to be accounted for on every possession,” said coach Tully Wagner.
Oregon State’s season came to an end in Eugene on Sunday evening, after a rocky 7th inning doomed them against the 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks. The Beavers put up a valiant effort to try and fight their way back from the loser’s bracket, but they couldn’t accomplish this incredible feat that they pulled off in 2025.
A Bad Start Changed Everything
Winning the first game of a regional is almost a must if you want to advance, and this is where things started to go south.
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After a nearly two-week layoff (since they didn’t have a conference tournament), OSU’s bats were rusty against a very solid left-hander in WSU’s Nick Lewis. Though the Beavers were able to put up a run early on, Lewis rolled with the punches and ended up throwing a complete game against the country’s seventh-ranked team. Though their bats came to life the next day, the uphill climb proved to be too much.
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Pitching Wasn’t the Issue
Oregon State came into this tournament with the nation’s best ERA, and their starting rotation was exactly as advertised.
After a good outing from Kleinschmit on Friday afternoon, Eric Segura threw a 6.2 inning gem in an elimination game against Yale. True freshman Trey Morris threw 117 pitches in the rout of WSU early Saturday, and Wyatt Queen was excellent against the Ducks off of short rest later that evening.
The Power Just Wasn’t There
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In today’s era of baseball where starting pitchers are so talented, it’s crucial to have guys that can get you runs with just one swing of the bat, especially when the man on the hill is striking a lot of people out.
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Throughout the entirety of this season, the Beavers have not been a club that hits for much power, and this makes things difficult in the postseason. In four games across the Eugene regional, Oregon State didn’t hit a single ball out of the park. In 2026 they only hit a total of 55 homers, a stark contrast from the 107 of 2025’s Omaha year.
They Ran into a Good Team With a Deep Pitching Staff
In Mark Wasikowski’s tenure with the Ducks, his team’s pitching has often been a crutch that holds them back from big postseason runs. This certainly doesn’t seem to be the case this year.
Throughout the regional that they hosted, Oregon starters looked nearly untouchable. Will Sanford struck out 14 batters and didn’t allow a run against Washington State. Yesterday against the Beavers, left-hander Miles Gosztola was phenomenal, bouncing back after allowing a run in the second inning. The Ducks also have great relievers in guys like Tanner Bradley and Devin Bell. With a lot of reliable arms to go to, it would’ve been difficult to beat Oregon twice.
PORTLAND, OR — A federal task force targeting fentanyl dealers in downtown Portland has led to nearly 100 federal charges over the past two years, and one of the leaders behind that effort is now being recognized with a national honor.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced FBI Special Agent Bobby Gutierrez as the Freedom 250 Hometown Hero, an award that honors individuals whose courage, generosity and public service reflect the ideals of liberty and civic responsibility.
The Freedom 250 initiative was created to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and recognizes Americans who make lasting contributions to their local communities.
Gutierrez was selected as the District of Oregon’s Hometown Hero for his leadership, collaboration and dedication to joint downtown fentanyl enforcement missions. For the past two years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Portland Police Bureau, has targeted fentanyl dealers in Portland.
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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Gutierrez has helped coordinate dozens of investigations focused on fentanyl distributors in downtown Portland. Through those efforts, nearly 100 fentanyl distributors have been federally charged.
“As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, I am honored to present Special Agent Gutierrez as Oregon’s Hometown Hero. Special Agent Gutierrez’s dedication, selfless service, and unwavering commitment have made a lasting impact on the safety and well-being of our community,” U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford said.
“Two years ago, Portland had notorious open-air drug markets, rising crime, and frequent overdoses. Thanks to Special Agent Gutierrez’s efforts, dedication, and coordination with local, county, and state partners, we are reducing fentanyl trafficking, violent crime, and overdoses downtown,” Bradford said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Gutierrez has been a “tireless investigator and steadfast partner” in efforts to restore downtown Portland to a safe and vibrant community.
Kam Wah Chung and Company was a home, a general store, a community center and a medical clinic, where co-owner Ing Hay served as a beloved doctor to residents across the region.
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Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society / OPB
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In Eastern Oregon’s John Day, a 160-year-old building holds one of the biggest collections of traditional Chinese medicine in the world. Kam Wah Chung and Company, once part of a thriving Chinatown, was owned and operated by Lung On and Ing Hay for over half a century. It was a home, a general store, a community center and a medical clinic where Ing Hay served as a beloved doctor to residents across the region. His practice included herbal remedies, noninvasive treatments, essential women’s healthcare and more.
Archaeologists and historians are continuing to deepen our understanding of the legacy of Kam Wah Chung and traditional Chinese medicine in Eastern Oregon. We join them to learn more about Ing Hay’s important contributions to rural communities in John Day and beyond, as part of our special series in collaboration with OPB’s “Oregon Experience,” the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology and Jefferson Public Radio about unearthing Oregon history.
Listen to all episodes of “The Evergreen” podcast here.
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