The ducksports.com article makes it clear that players had releases early on and could have chosen to go before coach lombardi was ever hired. I mean you're taking about all region/AA level players here in most cases. They didnt do that, and in fact, there was quite a bit of excitement around the hire of Lombardi.
Then almost immediately there was all the stuff about a 24/7 dress code. Again, that alone wouldnt have been that big a deal probably, but it was the way it was done. Burke particularly, took offense to the backhanded assertion that people that would wear such clothes had low moral standards (and by association their parents had done a poor job raising them). Apparently that exchange got intense enough that Burke left the team and Elish, a good friend and also left. Then there was religious stuff mentioned in the duck sports article, but again the players said that wasnt what made them leave. It sounds like the were unhappy being constantly compared unfavorably to OK when they had won pac championships and made WCWS appearances as well. What I've heard from several people is on top of that, there wasnt clear direction and availability of the staff related to what specifically they should do to improve compared to OK, just that they weren't as good. I think the next set of players left at various times because of these things and some other things that havent been made public.
Kleist was her own special case. I would have never guessed she would leave OR. The ducksports article mentioned she was "misersble" playing for the current staff. Apparently miserable enough to sit out playing softall her senior year and pay for her schooling. Crazy. They didnt mention why kleist was miserable but there has been some public talk about mismanagement of her injury situation, which has been corroborated by some of the people I know from the program as part of the reason for Kleist's departure.
Balint it sounds like wasnt too happy with some of the goings on but was going to stick it out in a still viable program. Then the ducksports article came out. I think the administration bears some culpability here as well because they had maintained they did everything they could to retain MW, and the article clearly disputed that. Probably the straw that broke the camel's back for Balint, although I'm just speculating and going by clues in her social media statement.
At that point, the team was no longer viable after losing 3! AA pitchers. Mack, being a senior, chose to sit out and play her final year in 2020. Camuso is in the transfer portal now. They site the environment and culture as reasons for leaving.
So, yeah, I think coach Lombardi bears a significant share of the blame for taking a WCWS contending team and turning it into a likely pac 12 cellar dweller. MW is a beneficiary of that but so are Jerry Glascoe and Mike Smith, and we'll see with Camuso, Mack and Balint. Those players going to Texas would have just gone somewhere else if Texas wasnt available. I know several got multiple offers to play elsewhere because they are damn good players. If you go into a successful program like OR as a new coach with guns blazing around team culture, and comparisons to your last team that is completely your right. In doing that though, you get the blame if it all goes to crap as OR has. Will Lombardi be successful in the future with "her" players? I dont know, but Eugene and Norman could not be more culturally different. Oregon attracts a certain kind of player not unlike WA. Trying to transplant Norman there is probably a recipe for disaster.
Then almost immediately there was all the stuff about a 24/7 dress code. Again, that alone wouldnt have been that big a deal probably, but it was the way it was done. Burke particularly, took offense to the backhanded assertion that people that would wear such clothes had low moral standards (and by association their parents had done a poor job raising them). Apparently that exchange got intense enough that Burke left the team and Elish, a good friend and also left. Then there was religious stuff mentioned in the duck sports article, but again the players said that wasnt what made them leave. It sounds like the were unhappy being constantly compared unfavorably to OK when they had won pac championships and made WCWS appearances as well. What I've heard from several people is on top of that, there wasnt clear direction and availability of the staff related to what specifically they should do to improve compared to OK, just that they weren't as good. I think the next set of players left at various times because of these things and some other things that havent been made public.
Kleist was her own special case. I would have never guessed she would leave OR. The ducksports article mentioned she was "misersble" playing for the current staff. Apparently miserable enough to sit out playing softall her senior year and pay for her schooling. Crazy. They didnt mention why kleist was miserable but there has been some public talk about mismanagement of her injury situation, which has been corroborated by some of the people I know from the program as part of the reason for Kleist's departure.
Balint it sounds like wasnt too happy with some of the goings on but was going to stick it out in a still viable program. Then the ducksports article came out. I think the administration bears some culpability here as well because they had maintained they did everything they could to retain MW, and the article clearly disputed that. Probably the straw that broke the camel's back for Balint, although I'm just speculating and going by clues in her social media statement.
At that point, the team was no longer viable after losing 3! AA pitchers. Mack, being a senior, chose to sit out and play her final year in 2020. Camuso is in the transfer portal now. They site the environment and culture as reasons for leaving.
So, yeah, I think coach Lombardi bears a significant share of the blame for taking a WCWS contending team and turning it into a likely pac 12 cellar dweller. MW is a beneficiary of that but so are Jerry Glascoe and Mike Smith, and we'll see with Camuso, Mack and Balint. Those players going to Texas would have just gone somewhere else if Texas wasnt available. I know several got multiple offers to play elsewhere because they are damn good players. If you go into a successful program like OR as a new coach with guns blazing around team culture, and comparisons to your last team that is completely your right. In doing that though, you get the blame if it all goes to crap as OR has. Will Lombardi be successful in the future with "her" players? I dont know, but Eugene and Norman could not be more culturally different. Oregon attracts a certain kind of player not unlike WA. Trying to transplant Norman there is probably a recipe for disaster.
