Mark Wasikowski Speaks Openly About Oregon's Confidence vs. Texas Longhorns

The Oregon Ducks started their NCAA Tournament path by taking out two of their former Pac-12 rivals in the Eugene Regional. Next up, the Ducks will have to play in a hostile road environment vs. the Texas Longhorns in the Super Regionals.

Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski spoke to the media about the upcoming challenge on June 2, ahead of the team’s trip to Texas.

Everything Mark Wasikowski Said Ahead of Super Regionals

oregon ducks mark wasikowski texas longhorns super regionals will sanford pitching collge world series drew smith jack brooks — Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski leaves the field after the win over Washington State on day two of the NCAA Eugene Regional Tournament at PK Park n Eugene May 30, 2026. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What Makes the Texas Longhorns a Challenge:

“What they do really well is they're just a very complete team. The pitching is very good. Their position players are very good. They can hurt you with the long ball. They can beat you in a variety of ways. Have excellent team speed. They've got some really good young players.”

“Anthony Pack Jr. is a guy that we really tried hard to get here as a freshman, and we came in second place to get him, which stinks. He's a heck of a player, heck of a talent.”

“And then they had several portal guys in their lineup that were the heaviest, sought-after type portal guys out there. They've got excellent talent on that roster, and in their beatable team, but still, you got to play your best to beat them.”

The Texas Longhorns’ Pitching Staff:

“Video game numbers. Low walks, high strikeouts, low hits, per innings pitched, they're just really good. They command their pitches, they command their pitches in and out of the zone, they're really competitive, they've got power arms out of the bullpen, it's just a balanced team. And that's what you'd expect out of the University of Texas.”

“They've got a history in the program that's really, really good. Their crowd support is very good. It's been one college baseball's finest programs for a lot of years, for a long, long time and so you just know that going in, but you know it's also baseball, and the best team is going to win this weekend the team that plays best is going to win, and whether you're planning on a piece of paper or not, piece of paper doesn't really work, especially this time of year.”

“Super Regionals right now, where I don't know how many upsets there were this year, I think they're talking about there being a lot of them. Well, those games, if they were played on a piece of paper, they would have a different name on those lines of the brackets.”

“And right now, those lines on the brackets have some pretty interesting names on those lines, and back in 1992, I guess Pepperdine was one of those interesting names when we showed up to the banquet in Omaha, and they were calling the school that I played for Pepperdine, and Al Lopez.”

“And neither one of those was correct, because Al Lopez was not Andy Lopez. Andy Lopez proved to be a heck of a coach that won two national championships, and he's a Hall of Fame coach.”

“So at one point when the name necessarily wasn't super sexy with Pepperdine, I think they figured out that it's Pepperdine by the end of it, when we won the national championship. And so that's the beauty of the tournament, it's not played on a piece of paper, it's played on the field, and the team that plays the best is going to win the games, and it's not necessarily the most talented rosters that are there.”

The Oregon Ducks’ Confidence:

“I haven't been around them yet this week, since we played on the weekend in the regional. We've had an off day, and so I haven't been around them quite yet, with media today being before we even actually practiced. And so, I don't know how their mood is, or whatever.”

“I can say this much over the last period of time, so far in our season, I don't know, four or five, six weeks, where I just have seen continuous growth throughout this time. We've played in hostile environments. We played in front of 15 or 20,000 people in Omaha against Nebraska. That was a hostile environment. That was about as hostile as you're going to get, right there, and we're able to handle it.”

“And so, I just see development and growth in this team, where at the beginning of the year they wouldn't have been able to handle some things that we've been able to handle late in the year, and so trending up.”

“Very confident and one of my asks has been to keep the jersey on, just to where we can continue to improve, because I don't think we've reached our peak yet inside that locker room, and the locker room is a culture locker room that it seems like it's a really, really good culture.”

“I'm going to go down to weights with these guys right now, and it's just a ton of fun being with these guys each and every day, and so I don't know the best way to describe these guys. I don't think they've reached their ceilings yet, and they're really a hungry group. They believe that they can beat anybody. They've shown they can beat anybody.”

“And another really exciting practice today, which is really cool, because sometimes late in the year, there might even be just one or two or five or 10 guys on that practice field, that you just get the vibe that that's not, that's not a great vibe.”

“And right now, at least last week in practice, those are the last practices we had leading up to our series, the regional weekend, everybody was really locked in, and it was just awesome to be at practice. Those guys were grinding, and I mean, it didn't matter what the name was on the uniform. They were all diving and playing hard and having a blast together, and it was just a fun week of practice last week. I'd assume it's going to be exactly the same this week.”

Pulling From Previous Hostile Environment Experiences:

“They've been through a lot. Even Drew Smith, when I was in the press conference with him the other day, I mean, he's been here. He hadn't missed postseason. He's been in big environments. He's had to deal with some real stuff coming out of the stands directed at him.”

“And so I don't know, I think all these kids have, where that first team meeting when we said, ‘How many of you guys have been to postseason playing?’ There wasn't a single guy that had his hand up in the room, now everybody except for a new player in the program's got his hand up in the room.”

“And they've all done that, and so the next step would be, I guess, to ask that question. ‘Okay, how many of the guys in this room have been to the College World Series?’ And outside of coaches, there won't be any hands going up in that room, and let's just hope that that question can be posed to this group, because that would be a great question to ask those guys.”

“Until then, they've been to these rounds, and I think the experience that they've used before, or have had before, I think should be able to help them in these rounds. And then leading in the College World Series, that's a totally different discussion. And that's put the cart in front of the horse, with the biggest focus right now is winning two games this weekend versus Texas.”

Pitcher Will Sanford’s Makeup to Step Up And Deliver:

“Good question. I don't know, he's got it. Either got it or you don't, and you don't know if they got it until they're put in that spot. He's got it. Tanner Bradley, he's got it. Devin Bell, those guys have shown now, Miles Gosztola. I mean, these guys have shown that they can go slow heartbeat.”

“Angel Laya, he doesn't look like an 18-19-year-old dude up there swinging a bat. He looks mature, he looks confident. And so, you either have it or you don't. And what we're finding through all of these pressure-type moments is the players that we got, a lot of them right now on our roster that seem like they can handle the environments.”

“Even Jack Brooks the other day, and maybe one of the biggest at-bats of the game, and he just calmly took a walk-off after maybe a first-team All-American closer. And it was a great at-bat, very calm, under control. And that's our nine-hole guy."

"So, when your nine-hole guys that got that kind of poise, I think so did the other eight guys in front of him, and so many of those other pitchers on the staff. And so, I think that's why we're going to the Super Regionals. We got a good team.”

What He’s Learned About Coaching Against Jim Schlossnagle-Led Teams:

“They're really good. And when he was at TCU, they're really good. Jim's a winner. There's a reason why he's the highest-paid coach in college baseball. There's a reason why Texas A&M fans can't stand the guy. It's because he left Texas A&M for the University of Texas, probably got paid a lot more money to do it, whatever his reasons were.”

“There's when you've reached the level of success that Jim's reached, it's because you're a good coach, and you've got good coaches, and you got great teams, and, and you've played really, really well, and been in College World Series, and done a lot of things.”

“So that's why the guy get paid, money is getting paid, and that's why his teams are really, really good, and what you learn is every time that you play against Jim's teams, you have to play well to beat them.”

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