Oregon's Sedona Prince delivers heartfelt farewell to Duck fans following season-opening win
This wasn’t the ending that Sedona Prince imagined.
Prince created shockwaves across the college basketball landscape in July 2019 when she announced that she would be transferring to the University of Oregon. A sharpshooting 6-foot-7 forward who was a consensus 5-star recruit, Prince came to Eugene after a severe leg injury wiped out her freshman season at Texas. At the time, the Ducks were coming off a Sabrina Ionescu-led run to the final four and were arguably one of the marquee programs in the sport.
Prince was expected to be the next star for Kelly Graves’ program and help bridge the gap after Ionescu, Satou Sabally, and Ruthy Hebard moved on to the WNBA. She has established herself as one of the brightest stars in the sport, thanks in part to her work advocating for gender equality in college athletics.
But 1,210 days after she committed to Oregon, Prince’s time with the program has come to a sudden, shocking end. Early Friday, UO announced that Prince will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in her elbow. A fifth-year senior, she has opted to exhaust her remaining NCAA eligibility and pursue a professional basketball career after her surgery next month.
It marks another unfortunate injury turn in a career that has been defined by them.
Less than eight hours after news broke of Prince’s season-ending injury, the Ducks took the court for an exhibition matchup with Carroll College in Eugene to kick off their season. They cruised past the FIghting Saints and notched a 72-41 win at Matthew Knight Arena.
Afterward, Prince took the floor and delivered a heartfelt farewell message to the 5,647 fans in attendance.
“It’s hard to explain the words of how grateful I am for my teammates who have become my family over the past couple of years,” Prince said. “My coaches; (Kelly Graves), thank you so much. (Jodie Berry), (Jackie Nared Hariston), (Sadie Edwards) everyone — (Brielle Moseley), everyone. But especially you guys. I cannot thank ya’ll enough. I came here very lost and not even knowing if I could play basketball again. And somehow I became healed and now I’m here.
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“I wouldn’t be here without you guys. I’ll forever be a Duck, and forever be so grateful. Thank you, guys.”
Shortly after Prince’s speech, Graves met with reporters and was asked about Prince and her farewell message to the crowd.
“It’s always bittersweet when they do that, and it was tonight,” Graves said. “But, I can’t wait to see what Sedona does next. I mean, seriously. She’s been a great representative for our program. The University. The sport. She’s moving on to bigger and better things. She’s not gonna go away.
“I hope that the surgery goes well, the rehab goes well, and that she realizes a pro career. That’s I think, first and foremost what she wants to do.”
