The returns of Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle have Oregon basketball in a position to once again be a top 25 team in the country.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Oregon basketball.
Dana Altman has been nothing but consistent at Oregon. In 15 years, he’s won at least 20 games each time, including 30+ in back to back seasons. Last year, they won 25 games, the most in 7 years, and won a tournament game before losing to former conference member Arizona in the second round.
It didn’t look like this team was going to be this good, losing five straight at one point in conference play to have a 5-8 record. They responded with seven straight wins after that. A big reason why was the duo of Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle. Shelstad is the athletic guard who loves to take the big shot and has the speed to kill. Bittle is the experienced big man who has a great post game while blocking shots on the other end.
Both are back, and the chemistry will be there, too. This might be the best duo in the conference, and as long as both of them stay healthy, they will win early and often. They’ll be joined by TK Simpkins from Elon, who averaged 16.4 PPG this past season.
Other players to watch are Devon Pryor and Kwame Evans. Both were highly rated recruits who are waiting for their moments to break through and prove so. they also add a beast of a human in Ege Demir, and a talented JUCO scorer in Dezdrick Lindsay.
A trio of Shelstad, Bittle, and Altman will leave your team with an extremely high floor. It’s up to the rest of the team to step up and raise that ceiling and give Dana Altman his first championship in a Hall of Fame career.
Head coach: Dana Altman (16th season at Oregon, 41st season overall)
2024-25 record: 25-10 (12-8)
2025 postseason finish: Lost to Arizona (87-83) in the second round of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- TJ Bamba (10.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.0 APG)
- Keeshawn Barthelemy (10.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.3 RPG)
- Brandon Angel (8.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.1 APG)
- Jadrian Tracey (6.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.7 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Oregon State (Nov. 17)
- vs. Auburn (Nov. 24) – Players Era Festival
- vs. San Diego State (Nov. 25) – Players Era Festival
- Players Era Festival (Nov. 26-27)
- vs. Gonzaga (Dec. 21) – Portland, OR
Projected Rotation
PG: Jackson Shelstad (6-1, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 13.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 45.1 FG%, 37.9 3P%, 83.5 FT%
SG: TK Simpkins (6-5, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 16.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 42.3 FG%, 36.7 3P%, 75.6 FT% (Elon)
SF: Devon Pryor (6-7, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 3.2 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.5 APG, 51.8 FG%, 18.8 3P%, 81.3 FT% (Texas)
PF: Kwame Evans Jr. (6-10, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 6.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.6 BPG, 0.4 SPG, 46.5 FG%, 72.3 FT%
C: Nate Bittle (7-0, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 14.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 2.1 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 51.1 FG%, 33.6 3P%, 81.1 FT% (Oregon)
6: Sean Stewart (6-9, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 5.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.9 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 54.2 FG%, 50.0 FT% (Ohio State)
7: Ege Demir (6-11, Jr.)
Played for DARÜSSAFAKA LASSA (Turkey Basketball Super League)
8: Dezdrick Lindsay (6-6, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 16.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.7 SPG (JUCO)
Missed 2024-25 season due to injury
9: Jamari Phillips (6-4, So.)
2024-25 stats: 1.4 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.2 APG, 5.4 MPG
10: JJ Frakes (6-5, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #405-ranked recruit
Oregon Basketball team MVP: Nate Bittle
Jackson Shelstad gets the love, and deservedly so, but it was Bittle who was the difference maker for this team. Injuries have always been an issue for him. He failed to play 30 games in his first three seasons, including just 5 games two seasons ago before a season ending injury. This year, he was fully healthy, playing all 35 games, and his presence was definitely felt.
Offensively, he was great, dominating the paint while also spacing the floor. He shot 81% from the line, which is extremely impressive for a seven-footer. Defensively, he might be even better, averaging over 2 blocks a game and almost a steal a game. What won’t show up on the statsheet ,though, is just his presence, which caused so many to either turn the ball over or take a bad shot because of his length.
As long as he stays healthy, he’s a star in this sport.
Oregon Basketball make-or-break player: Kwame Evans Jr.
When Kwame Evans came to Oregon two years ago, he was rated as a five star and the 18th overall recruit per 247Sports. His freshman year, he put up respectable numbers, starting 29 of the 36 games and averaging 7.5 and 5. He also averaged a steal and a block per game. Last year, he saw his numbers dwindle, starting just three games, and saw his overall numbers drop.
Oregon didn’t do much in the portal to replace the wings that stole his minutes last year, showing a lot of trust in Evans that he can step up and be that ex-factor. He has great size at 6-10, and could be an elite pairing with Bittle defensively. However, this is all speculation, and if we don’t see that jump, then this is a team that’s thin at that position and could get outplayed easily.
Key analytic: Wins Above Bubble
Barttorvik’s WAB definition is how many MORE (or fewer) games a team has won against its schedule than a bubble-quality team would be expected to win. Basically, the higher the number, the more impressive the team. The top five teams in that category were Auburn (Final Four), Houston (Final), Florida (Champion), Alabama (Elite Eight), and Duke (Final Four). Oregon finished 12th in that category as a 5 seed.
That’s higher than all two of the other five seeds, all of the four seeds, and one three-seed. This Oregon basketball team won the big games and didn’t shy away from the big matchups. With the core returning, they should finish around that mark again, and hopefully, this time, it takes them a little further in the game.
Oregon Basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 7th in the Big Ten
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Exit
[…] Oregon just barely missed out on a preseason top 25, getting 98 votes, 6 less than #25 UNC. For good reason as well, this Oregon team won 25 games last year and returns its duo of Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle. If both of them are on the floor, which they were for all 35 games last year, then they’ll be dangerous again and comfortably make the tournament. […]