In the coaching profession, continuity is rare.
With a carousel of openings each offseason, coaches often relocate multiple times over the course of a career before finding a long-term position. It’s something Oregon baseball head coach Mark Wasikowski is no stranger to.
After winning a championship as a player at Pepperdine University, the California native held assistant coaching gigs at Pepperdine, Southeast Missouri State, Florida, Arizona and Oregon. He then became a head coach for the first time at Purdue in 2016.
Wasikowski hopes to make his second stint at Oregon a permanent one.
“This program started with a dream and a vision … and it has yet to be accomplished,” Wasikowski said. “It’s time to fulfill the dream.”
With Wasikowski’s first season as Oregon head coach being cut short by COVID-19 after 15 games, the Ducks’ skipper had the rest of 2020 to meditate on his plans for the program moving forward, and how he wanted to approach 2021.
“As a staff we challenged our players to come back and be a top three player in the conference at their position,” Wasikowski said. “That’s been an area of emphasis for us.”
The Ducks are ranked No. 19 by Baseball America and hold a record of 12-6 with series wins against No. 15 UC Santa Barbara, No. 17 Oregon State and Arizona State.
Standout performers include Aaron Zavala, Kenyon Yovan and Cullen Kafka, who rank in the top five of the conference in batting average, home runs and strikeouts, respectively.
The season is still young, but the early success is something to build on as Oregon aims to become a nationally recognized baseball program.
Wasikowski pointed to Oregon’s track and field program as a model for what’s achievable at Oregon.
“They just won their 32nd national championship … that’s the model of excellence around here, so we are shooting for that,” Wasikowski said. “Thirty-two championships is not what I’m saying, one would be great, but creating the culture. How are they going to handle expectations and success? I’m thrilled to be able to get a chance to discuss things like this with [the team].”
Since the baseball program was reintroduced in 2009, Oregon has made the postseason five times including an appearance in the Super Regionals in 2012, Wasikowski’s first season as an assistant.
The last time Oregon appeared in the College World Series was 1954.
A trip to the World Series is the goal, and if Wasikowski can take the Ducks to Omaha, he will cement himself in the history of Oregon baseball. His former coach and mentor Andy Lopez thinks Wasikowski is capable of taking Oregon to that level.
“He has a real good sense of that final balance of being loose, but being ready,” Lopez said. “It is a tightrope, and I think Waz understands that very, very well. He is going to be in a situation where he has a chance to wake up every day with the thought of getting to Omaha.”
The Ducks are gaining momentum as they approach the midpoint of the season, and they have a chance to prove themselves in conference play. With the long-term goal of the postseason always in the back of their minds, the Ducks prefer to focus on winning each day.
“The Omaha goal is always going to be there,” Wasikowski said. “But, when we start focusing on that telescope mentality of what’s down the road … I think that just adds a lot to the plate that [the team] doesn’t need. Right now, we are trying to keep it as simple as what’s in front of us.”
