What Went Wrong for Fired Oregon State HC Trent Bray
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No one can deny Trent Bray’s commitment to Oregon State. After a standout playing career with 34 consecutive starts, the proud Oregon State alum returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach from 2012-14, then came back to Corvallis in 2018. When head Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State following the 2023 season - headlining a hollowing out of the program - Bray stayed behind, becoming the football program’s 32nd head coach.
Yesterday, his long, passionate service to Oregon State came to a halt. After an 0-7 start to the season, and a bumpy 5-7 mark in his opening campaign, Bray was let go.
How did it happen? How did someone who seemingly bled black & orange fall out of favor so quickly in Corvallis? This piece looks back at three defining moments of the Bray era.
The mass-exodus following the 2023 season
Bray’s first days in Corvallis were extremely difficult, through no fault of his own. Without Jonathan Smith and without the Pac-12 Conference, many Beavers left the program. Star quarterback DJ Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal, as did heir-apparent quarterback Aidan Chiles, speedy wideout Silas Bolden, and other student-athletes. Many coaches packed their bags, including secondary coach Blue Adams, offensive line coach Jim Michalczik, offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren, and tight ends coach Brian Wozniak. The bleeding continued into April 2024, when stud tailback Damien Martinez entered the transfer portal.
When the spring portal closed, Oregon State’s football program was nearly unrecognizable. DJU was replaced by Idaho transfer Gevani McCoy, a diminutive (6’0” tall, weighing 195 pounds) passer who accrued only eight total touchdowns versus six interceptions, with a paltry 1300 passing yards across 10 games. Between Lindgren’s departure and Bray’s promotion, the Beavers’ new coaching staff featured a first year offensive coordinator (former Oregon State quarterback Ryan Gunderson) and a first year defensive coordinator (former Oregon State defensive back Keith Heyward). At the program’s most important positions, the Beavers lacked the skills & experience to compete.
Exodus Ayers’ incident, and its aftermath
This past summer, a viral TikTok video appeared to show sophomore cornerback Exodus Ayers dragging a young woman by her hair. The apparent domestic violence incident sparked outrage both online and on campus, and inspired Oregon State’s head coach to put out this statement in late July: “We are aware of the video circulating on social media and take these matters seriously. The university respects and adheres to federal privacy laws involving individual students. Therefore, we will not be commenting further on this pending matter at this time”.
When fall camp kicked off at the end of July, local reporters pressed Bray on Ayers’ availability, but Bray deflected questions, referring instead to the statement above. Ayers continued to practice - seemingly without consequence - until the season began. The sophomore corner was a healthy scratch for the season opener, and Bray once again offered no comment ahead of a September matchup with Fresno State. Leading up to that game, reports surfaced that Ayers’ victim filed a report with the Corvallis Police Department, and applied for a Stalking Protective Order (SPO) which was later dismissed.
Ayers, originally Oregon State’s top cornerback heading into the season, has not played a snap in 2025. When his Stalking Protective Order was dismissed in Benton County circuit court, the young corner’s attorney Andrew Noonan alleged that the university suspended Ayers “until the matter is resolved”, but did not mention Bray, implying that the decision came from above. Oregon State’s campus has struggled with a history of sexual violence, a Title IX lawsuit, and other troubling incidents. By failing to comment, or appear to take any action whatsoever against Ayers, Bray angered many students, faculty, and fans.
An unprecedented losing streak
First, the Beavers lost their season opener to a true-freshman phenom quarterback. Then, special teams turmoil contributed to an upset loss, and a nationally-televised Bray f-bomb, when the Beavers faced Fresno State. A week later, lightning struck down in Lubbock. When the game resumed, Texas Tech electrocuted Oregon State in a 45-14 rout.
From there, the wheels came off: 1.5 million dollar quarterback transfer Maalik Murphy managed only five completions for 68 yards in a blowout loss at rival Oregon. Nationally-televised the following week on ESPN, the Beavers surrendered a two-possession lead late against Houston. Despite athletic director Scott Barnes voicing support of his head coach, the program’s decline was too obvious to ignore. Finally, after losses to Appalachian State and Wake Forest, the 2025 Beavers earned an ignominious distinction: their seven straight losses marked the worst start of any Oregon State team since Jerry Pettibone’s inaugural 1991 season. That year, the Beavers opened with ten straight losses, and finished 1-10.
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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.