Oregon Softball's Ranking Shifts After Ducks' Up-And-Down Tournament

EUGENE – The Oregon Ducks softball team began their 2026 season with a challenging schedule. After an 8-6 start, the Ducks’ preseason No. 5 ranking took a tumble.

Oregon ranked No. 14 by Softball America following its weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in California. It's a slight improvement on its ranking the previous week, which was No. 15.

Ducks Earn Multiple Ranked Wins

oregon ducks softball melyssa lombardi lyndsey grein big ten mary nutter jane sanders stadium super regional world series — Oregon head softball coach Melyssa Lombardi speak during a press conference at media and practice day for the Women's College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May, 28, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon experienced mixed results at the Mary Nutter Classic. The Ducks earned three ranked wins, but dropped their two unranked matchups. Oregon started the tournament with a 10-5 loss against Auburn and also fell 7-3 in game 4 against Cal State Fullerton.

The Ducks’ ace Lyndsey Grein started inside the circle against No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 13 South Carolina. Impressive pitching performances lifted Oregon to victories in those games, winning both 2-1.

An 11-8 victory over the No. 20 Duke Blue Devils ended the trip to California. The Ducks’ bats finally came alive in that game, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh before going to an extra inning and scoring five runs in the eighth.

Half of Oregon’s wins this season are against ranked opponents. The team also defeated No. 21 Liberty 10-2 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The issue for the Ducks is that they’ve lost six games already, three weekends in. Oregon played three ranked opponents in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, losing two and also falling to an unranked opponent. The Ducks only lost one game in the Cardinal Classic, and that was to the host, No. 13 Stanford.

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Oregon to Host a Pair of Tournaments

Luckily for the Ducks, their upcoming schedule is not only against non-ranked opponents, but they also get to return home. Oregon hosts the Oregon Classic, which starts on Feb. 27. The Jane Sanders Classic is in Eugene the following weekend and begins on Mar. 6.

Given the fact that the Ducks struggled against unranked opponents last weekend, it doesn’t mean that the upcoming matchups will be a breeze. Oregon needs to take care of business at home to get back on track and move up in the rankings.

Stetson is the Ducks' first opponent in the Oregon Classic. Oregon will also play Idaho State and Samford. The Ducks briefly head to Corvallis for a midweek game against Oregon State before returning home for the Jane Sanders Classic.

Oregon State, Sacramento State and Nevada are the teams prepared to come to Eugene for the Jane Sanders Classic. The Ducks will then turn their attention to Big Ten conference play following the pair of tournaments.

The Oregon Classic will be the first time that the Ducks play at Jane Sanders Stadium since they hosted a 2025 Super Regional. Oregon won the NCAA Eugene Super Regional last season after defeating Liberty in consecutive games. The Ducks went on to play in the Women’s College World Series, where they ultimately fell in a 4-1 loss to No. 2 Oklahoma.

The 2026 season marks Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi’s eighth year at the helm. Many of the Ducks' leaders, like Grein, from the 2025 season are back with lofty expectations. Oregon looks to rebound from its up-and-down start to 2026 to pick up momentum and return to the postseason.