Robby Ashford Resumes Two-Sport Career

When it came time for Robby Ashford to decide on a school, he made one thing clear to the plethora of college coaches who were vying for his signature: He was not going to give up playing baseball. 

If a coach wanted Ashford to come to his school to play quarterback, that was all fine and well. But he also had to accept the fact that come spring, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound, dual-sport star was going to return to the baseball diamond. 

“When I started getting recruited,” Ashford said at Oregon’s media day Tuesday. “I told schools that if I couldn’t play both, it wasn’t any shade or disrespect, but I couldn’t come there.

“A lot of schools respected that, and a lot of schools wouldn’t let me play both. At Oregon, though, the plan was great.” 

That plan, which was formed in unison between Mario Cristobal and Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski, ensured that for as long as Ashford wanted to continue playing both of the sports he loves, he would be able to do so at Oregon. 

After a rocky, premature ending to his freshman baseball season, Ashford confirmed Tuesday that he does indeed intend to continue playing baseball for the Ducks, no matter the outcome of this fall’s quarterback battle. 

“I’ll definitely be back for baseball,” Ashford said. “It wasn’t a ‘I’m quitting it for good’ thing. I’ll definitely be back.

“I can’t thank coach Waz and coach Cristobal enough for giving me the opportunity to play baseball at such a prestigious school at the University of Oregon.”

In a reserve role with the Ducks this spring, Ashford got 35 at-bats in 20 games, including 10 starts, and hit .200 with a double, a triple and two stolen bases. He flashed incredible athleticism in the outfield and on the basepaths.

“With the departure of Pac-12 Player of the Year Aaron Zavala to the Texas Rangers organization, there could very well be an opening in the Ducks’ outfield in 2022.  As tantalizing as that opportunity is, Ashford has shut down all baseball activities until the football season ends.

For now, he is solely focused on fall camp. 

Cristobal has said time and time again that Ashford — as well as fellow freshman Jay Butterfield and Ty Thompson — will all get a chance to compete with Anthony Brown for the starting spot. 

Ashford suffered an ankle injury and also was stuck in COVID protocol midway through the baseball season, so he, Cristobal and Wasikowski elected to shut down his baseball activities for the rest of the spring in order to protect his health. 

That — and any football reps he may have missed out on during his baseball season — did not hinder his performance in Oregon’s Spring Game. Ashford flashed a huge arm and looked every bit the high-caliber prospect he was touted as prior to his arrival in Eugene. 

If we’re looking beyond the 2021 season, Ashford’s continued development in both sports will be key as he hopes to make a tangible impact for two programs that figure to be mainstays in the national top-10’s of their respective sports. 

Just how difficult was the juggling act last spring?

“If I had a baseball game that day, I wouldn’t be able to go to football meetings or anything,” Ashford said. “So I would just come for an hour of practice … just the team portion of practice.

“I wouldn’t get to come for any meetings or anything.”

All of these meetings, which are especially pivotal for quarterbacks, were recorded so Ashford could watch them later. He would leave football practice and then head straight over to PK Park for either a game or practice.

When he got home each evening, the rest of his time was spent on schoolwork and digesting whatever he needed to learn from the football meeting earlier that day. 

“It was long days,” Ashford said with a smile. “But it was something I signed up for, and I knew the expectations of how it was going to be.

‘The relationship between coach Waz and coach Cristobal is so great. It was never set up for me to fail; it was always set up for me to do something great.