Oregon Believes it Can Win a National Championship Built on West Coast Talent

The West Coast, specifically California, has always served as the foundation for Oregon on the recruiting trail. The Ducks go to the Golden State for a majority of their talent, but make sure to expand into states like Oregon, Washington, Utah and Arizona to find players they think can contribute at the college level.

10 of the Ducks’ 19 2025 signees are from the Western region, as the coaching staff did well to convert on recruiting what we can call their bread and butter.

Oregon Chief of Staff Marshall Malchow joined the Duck Insider, the internal sports show for Oregon athletics, on Wednesday to break down the Ducks’ recruiting efforts. As the team puts a bow on the 2025 cycle, he believes that there’s enough talent on the West Coast in the 2026 class to win a national championship.

He didn’t mince words about just how confident he is in the caliber of player that is more accessible to the Ducks, at least geographically, this cycle.

“One of the things that’s great about the 2026 class is I think this is the most West Coast talent that we’ve seen since we’ve been here. There are a ton of great players on the West Coast where we’ll still try and recruit nationally, but this is the first time in my opinion where you could win a national title with this class with just recruiting West Coast kids. And we haven’t been able to say that yet, but I’m telling you this 2026 West Coast class is special.” Malchow said.

The West Coast is already playing a big role in Oregon’s success on the trail in 2026

Oregon boasts the No. 1 recruiting class nationally in the 2026 On3 rankings and the core of the class is built- unsurprisingly – on West Coast talent.

Depending on where you draw the line, seven of Oregon’s 10 verbal commits are from the Western Region. If we’re specifically talking West Coast (remove Utah prospects), that number is five including four-star defensive lineman Tony Cumberland from Eugene (Ore.) Willamette.

The staff in Eugene has worked tirelessly evaluating, recruiting and getting eyes on top targets in the 2026 class, which has resulted in a great head start with many of the nation’s best.

If you need evidence beyond the current haul in the 2026 class, look no further than the star-studded Junior Day recruiting weekend the Ducks hosted in late January. That weekend featured many of the team’s top targets at a variety of positions, and the coaches were scattered throughout the country last month to build relationships and extend offers to 2026 prospects.

Oregon hopes the West continues to produce NFL talent

Malchow acknowledged the work Oregon has already put in and hopes to continue seeing the Ducks have a strong presence in the NFL Draft and the NFL as a whole.

“We had a board meeting yesterday and we talked through all these guys and we got a lot of relationships and we’ve had a lot of players on campus in this 2026 class that are gonna be NFL players,” he said.” Which, hopefully they’re Duck NFL players. We’re excited about the 2026s.”

Oregon’s 2026 class is No. 1 in the country headlined by five-star Reidsville (NC) tight end Kendre Harrison and four-star Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive tackle Kodi Greene. Other top prospects Oregon fans should keep an eye on this cycle include five-star Folsom (Calif.) quarterback Ryder Lyons, four-star San Francisco (Calif.) Archbishop Riordan offensive tackle Tommy Tofi and five-star Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei wide receiver Chris Henry Jr.