State of the Beavs: Big Questions For Oregon State Football & Basketball in 2026
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It's late March and once again, neither of Oregon State's basketball programs are still part of the madness. To state the obvious, women's basketball head coach Scott Rueck and newly hired men's basketball head coach Justin Joyner are hoping to change that in the new year...it would make Scott Barnes' life a whole lot easier too.
For Joyner in particular, he'll need to set up his recruiting pipeline, build a staff, and make a lot of high-impact decisions to set himself up for success. What should his highest priorities be this spring and summer?
The Beaver football program will continue spring practices this month, and at the majority of positions, it's not particularly clear at this point who will be the main pieces for OSU. This week on state of the Beavs, we take a critical look at a few key position groups.
MORE: Beavers Fall to Wiscon 62-58 in First Round of Women's Basketball Invitational
Also, the Beaver baseball program is playing like they want to be a bigger part of the national conversation. Oregon State's latest road trip to Southern California yielded a few strong performances against UC Irvine. The Beavers also managed to find success even in an off day for Friday starter Dax Whitney.
Your host Matt Bagley covers all that and more this week on a new episode of State of the Beavs. Go Beavs.
MORE: Three Takeaways from Justin Joyner's First Oregon State Press Conference
This Week's Topics
-Three position battles that could have a significant impact on Oregon State football's 2026 season.
-What's the plan for building Oregon State football's offensive line in 2025?
-Now that the Beavers have officially hired Justin Joyner, what's the plan to get things started on the right foot for men's basketball?
-How different will Oregon State women's basketball look after this spring's transfer portal window?
-Oregon State baseball's productive weekend in Irvine, California.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
About State of the Beavs
Each week, veteran sports broadcaster and writer Matt Bagley examines the news and storylines at play for Oregon State University Athletics. Occasionally joined by contributors for On SI's coverage of the Beavers, as well as the occasional guest spot from Beavers past, present, and future. Get caught up with the playlist below. New episodes are typically released on Tuesday mornings.
Want to interact with the show? Talk to Matt: mbagleyradio@gmail.com
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Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.
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Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.