04/26/24 02:36:00
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04/26 14:34 CDT Oregon State and Washington State face player exodus amid
realignment
Oregon State and Washington State face player exodus amid realignment
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
Perhaps the biggest blow for Oregon State in recent weeks was the departure of
running back Damien Martinez, who had previously pledged his loyalty to the
Beavers.
The former Pac-12 Freshman of the Year had proclaimed in interviews and on
social media that he was not abandoning the team as the school faced the
dissolution of the conference and the departure of his coach.
So it was a surprise when Martinez announced earlier this month that he was
entering the transfer portal.
"I can truly say I have given my all to Oregon State and appreciate everything
OSU has given me. After long talks with my family and the people closest to me,
I intend to enter the transfer portal to continue chasing my childhood dreams
for this upcoming season," he posted on Instagram.
Chasing his dream apparently wasn't going to happen in Corvallis.
It wasn't just Martinez. Eight players from the Oregon State women's basketball
team who played in the Elite Eight this month have entered the portal ---
including AP third-team All America forward Raegan Beers. Eight players from
the men's side have also departed.
There has been a similar exodus of some prominent players at Washington State.
Quarterback Cam Ward is now at Miami and women's basketball player Charlisse
Leger-Walker, who helped the Cougars win the Pac-12 tournament in 2023, has
elected to spend her final season at UCLA.
Twelve players from Washington State's men's basketball team that went to the
NCAA Tournament this past season for the first time since 2008 have entered the
portal.
Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes addressed the unease in an open
letter to the Oregon State community.
"I hear you and know that it feels like since August we have been on the
receiving end of multiple gut punches. When that happens, you are faced with
two options - exit the ring or throw counterpunches," he wrote. "Hear this
Beaver Nation, the gloves are on, and we will not stray from our mission."
The student-athletes certainly aren't to blame, with greater visibility for
future pro careers and more lucrative opportunities for name, image and
likeness deals at stake, said Cara Hawkins-Jedlicka, an assistant professor at
Washington State whose work includes the study of women's sports in the media
and NIL programs and policies.
The Pac-12 fell apart last summer. UCLA and USC had already announced their
departure to the Big Ten. But after then-Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff
presented a media rights deal to conference members that some considered
underwhelming, Oregon and Washington joined the Bruins and Trojans in the Big
Ten.
Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah fled for the Big 12. Stanford and
California went to the ACC.
The Cougars and the Beavers were left alone.
Reality set in on Monday, when the NCAA's Board of Directors formally stripped
the Pac-12 of its designation as an "autonomous" FBS conference --- essentially
taking away the league's Power Five status.
Both the Beavers and the Cougars will compete in the mid-major West Coast
Conference in basketball for the next two seasons. Football teams will each
play six games against Mountain West opponents --- three at home, three on the
road --- in the fall with a mutual option for 2025.
"This is a Pac-12 school that's going to be in the WCC for two years and I
think that we got a pretty formidable team and a pretty dang good program," new
Washington State coach David Riley said optimistically. He took over as
basketball coach for Kyle Smith, who left Pullman for Stanford following the
season.
At Oregon State, football coach Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State the day
after the Beavers' regular season ended. Smith, who played quarterback at
Oregon State, said his decision didn't have anything to do with realignment.
Hawkins-Jedlicka recently was part of a panel at Washington State that
discussed realignment and its impact on the school. The overall sense was the
landscape is still changing.
"It didn't seem like doom and gloom. It was pretty optimistic," she said. "From
my feeling, I think we're all kind of in a space where it's like we just wait
and see how this all shakes out."
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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