Oregon season preview: interim coach after Dana Altman's retirement

Where last season ended

Oregon finished 2025-26 at 12-20 overall and 5-15 in the Big Ten, tied for 15th, according to Sports-Reference. The Ducks did not reach the NCAA Tournament. Dana Altman announced his retirement on October 7, 2026, after 16 seasons, and he finished at 382-182 at Oregon, according to ESPN. Tony Stubblefield is the interim head coach, as listed on the team's 2026-27 roster page.

Who is gone

Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad became the program's first All-Big Ten selections in 2024-25, according to Oregon's retirement release. Neither appears on the 2026-27 roster. The sources checked do not say where they went.

Who is back

Sean Stewart, a senior forward listed at 6-9, is confirmed as a 2025-26 Oregon player: the Big Ten listed him among its 2025-26 sportsmanship honorees. Fred Payne, a senior guard, Taylor Bol Bowen, a senior forward, Andrew Meadow, a senior forward, Pharaoh Compton, a junior forward, and Tyrone Riley IV, a junior guard, are on the 2026-27 roster. The sources checked do not confirm which of them played for Oregon in 2025-26.

Who is new

SI reports that Altman and his staff recruited eight transfers in the spring before his retirement. The 2026-27 roster lists several players from other programs: Jerry Easter II, a sophomore guard from USC, Jasper Johnson, a sophomore guard from Kentucky, and Dwayne Aristode, a sophomore forward from Arizona.

The freshman class is listed below.

Incoming freshmen

Oregon adds two freshmen during an interim season. Both are forwards, and the class is small next to the eight transfers the staff recruited.

• Tajh Ariza, forward, 6-10, Link Academy, Branson, Mo. (No. 33 in the 247Sports Composite)
• Seven Spurlock, forward, 6-5, Dynamic Prep, Dallas, Texas (No. 8 prospect in Texas, per ESPN)

The number to know

The number to know is scoring margin per game, which is points scored minus points allowed, averaged over games. In 2025-26, Oregon averaged 70.8 points and allowed 73.9, a margin of -3.1, according to Sports-Reference. The average covers all 32 games on the season record. It shows how much the Ducks were outscored on average. It does not show pace, the quality of opponents, or how the team fared late in games, so it is a summary, not a diagnosis.

Questions for this season

How does an interim staff keep the roster intact? SI reports that players who want to leave face a 31-day wait before they can enter the portal, which keeps recruits in place but limits options.

Can Stewart lead a new staff? He is the one returner whose 2025-26 Oregon role the sources confirm, and his minutes will matter as the staff changes.

How quickly do the freshmen earn minutes? Ariza and Spurlock are listed as freshmen, and the rotation will show how much the staff relies on them.

Our early read

Our tier is Rebuilding year (14th-18th). This is our opinion, not a sourced ranking. Oregon's scoring margin was negative last season, the head coach retired, and the staff is interim. The Ducks added players from other programs, but the sources do not give enough detail to call them proven. We project the Ducks 17th.