Oregon's Will Sanford pitching his best heading into super regional

The No. 11 Oregon baseball team will be playing for its season when it takes on No. 6 Texas June 7 in the Austin Super Regional at Disch-Falk Field.

And there's no one the Ducks (43-17, 20-10 Big Ten) would likely rather give the ball to on the mound than sophomore Will Sanford, the probable starter for Game 2 after a humbling 11-3 loss in Game 1 .

The true sophomore is 9-2 this season in 16 appearances with a 3.46 earned-run average and a career-best 119 strikeouts. He's coming off his most dominant performance of the season against Washington State during the Eugene Regional , but outside a couple of tweaks he's always brought the same mindset.

"I think it's just how I compete out there," Sanford said. "Even if there’s no fans, even if I’m just playing against our team, I think I’ve done this throughout my career, especially in scrimmages. You can ask any of my teammates. I’m the same animated person when I pitch in scrimmages. So I think it’s just the competitor I am. I just really get amped up."

The righty hasn't been confirmed as the Game 2 starter, but he'll likely get the ball come Sunday in Oregon 's biggest game of the season in front of a rowdy crowd of nearly 9,000 fans in Austin, similar to the environments Sanford has thrived in this season.

In a shutout win over Nebraska in the Big Ten tournament semifinals in Omaha, Sanford struck out nine and allowed just two hits in six innings in front of 13,000 fans clad in Cornhusker red .

"He’s got it," coach Mark Wasikowski said. "You either got it or you don’t, and you don’t know if they’ve got it until they’re put in that spot and he’s got it."

Though Sanford has always been a fiery competitor, his confidence has really come into its own in 2026 in his second season as a Duck.