The life of a redshirt athlete in women’s college basketball is tough.
First, you’ve got to sit on the sideline during games, and the only time you get to come off the bench is to congratulate a teammate or cheer on a play. That is, you only get to do this at home games because NCAA rules stipulate that redshirt players can’t travel with their respective schools.
Then, you practice all season long. You do basically everything the team does, only come Thursday and Saturday, you won’t be able to contribute on the court.
Such is the life of Chelsea Wagner.
Wagner, a sophomore, is one of two Oregon redshirts this season — the other is Corrie Mizusawa — but for the 5-foot-10-inch guard, it is a unique situation.
You see, Wagner grew up in Oregon’s backyard, and starred at Springfield High School. She enjoyed such a fine senior season, The Oregonian and USA Today pegged her as the state’s player of the year in 2001.
So why is she a transfer at Oregon, especially after spending a year at Hawaii?

The Ducks “knew she wanted to play in Oregon,” Wagner’s high school coach, Charlie Olds, said. “What surprised me most is the schools in the area didn’t recruit her.”
Wagner, a self-confessed Oregon fan practically since she was born, averaged 8.6 points per game last season at Hawaii, but decided after the season she wanted to come home. With the Ducks holding an open scholarship, that possibility became reality.
“When I had my first meeting with (Oregon head coach Bev Smith), I was like, ‘You don’t understand, I’ve been a Duck my whole life,’” Wagner said. “She’s been a Duck forever, and it was really nice to talk to someone who had the same feelings about a program and wanting to be involved in it so bad.”
It could be said it is poetic justice that Wagner is returning home.
It isn’t very often a player of Wagner’s caliber — as evidenced by her player of the year awards — fails to be recruited successfully by an in-state school, much less one that sits only miles away.
But that was the case with Wagner. Olds said he was never contacted by anyone in state about Wagner, which includes former Oregon head coach Jody Runge. So when Hawaii came calling, Wagner accepted and spent a year under the sun.

Yet, she wanted more.
“I really wanted to be a Duck,” Wagner said. “My whole life was like that. I grew up a Duck, so I might as well be a Duck. It was motivation because it was like, ‘Why wouldn’t they want me to come here and play?’
“So going to Hawaii, I don’t want to say last resort; it was just something that happened.”
Nobody really knows why Runge didn’t recruit Wagner heavily at the time, and for Smith, it was too late in the recruiting process when she took over the reins of the program.
Olds said he expects things were said about Wagner — albeit wrong — that shunned coaches away from her. He doesn’t know what those things were, but believes they had something to do with it.
Whatever the rumor, Smith is happy to have her.
“We were excited,” Smith said. “I didn’t know, having not been here when Chelsea played high school basketball, and wasn’t completely aware of her presence and her ability, but after talking with some high school coaches here and her high school coach, it became apparent that she was someone that could not only give us a lot in terms of basketball skills, but a positive attitude and wanting to be a Duck.”
Wagner took the situation in stride, knowing that maybe her freshman season wasn’t meant to be spent in an Oregon uniform. But now she’s in Eugene, performing duties as a redshirt, helping her teammates prepare for their next opponent.
“I do wish I could get in there and play,” she said. “But I try to say ‘Hey, if I push them hard in practice, then they’ll do well in the game.’”
It has been a long season for the Duck women, and an even longer one for Wagner. It is a season that has tested her ability to remain calm, despite an intense desire to play. But she has a lot to look forward to.
Next year, Wagner will be up for a starting spot, as will every Oregon player. But for her, just being able to step on the McArthur Court floor in a regular season game will mean more than anything.
“It’s been great being able to look up into the stands and see my family there,” she said. “I mean, I grew up coming to Mac Court and watching the girls play. I can look up into the crowd and go, ‘Wow, I used to be the little girl up there watching them.’
“It’s been a pretty amazing experience. It’s kind of like a dream come true. That almost sounds corny, but it really has.”