The top 10 most memorable Oregon sports stories of 2024

Published 10:00 am Thursday, December 26, 2024

Like every year, 2024 was filled with memorable sports stories in the great state of Oregon. But a few rose above the ranks to define the year in their respective fields.

From the basketball hardwood in Portland to the track at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris to college football fields across the midwest, Oregon-related stories kept fans on the edge of their seats all year long.

We tried to pick out the 10 most memorable stories of the year that will make fans say, “Remember in 2024?”

Here are our top 10 moments of 2024:

10. Portland Pickles

win first WCL title

The Pickles have been playing baseball in Portland since 2015 and their social media antics have made them quirky online heroes.

However, in 2024, the Pickles reached the pinnacle of the summer, collegiate wood-bat West Coast League on the field by not only hosting the championship game, but winning it on a walk-off error 6-5 over the Wenatchee AppleSox.

Trailing 5-4 going into the bottom of the ninth, the Pickles rallied to score two runs with two outs and win the franchise’s first title. They originally played in the Great West League before joining the WCL in 2018.

Manager Mark Magdaleno and his team celebrated on the field with champagne bottles, fans lifting chairs in the air and green smoke filling in the infield.

“This party’s gonna go forever,” Magdaleno said back on Aug. 16. “This is good for the city of Portland. There’s so many things people say about the city of Portland. We’re not all from Portland, but we represent it in a way that’s going to bring respect to the city.”

The Pickles might still be celebrating, but even a New Year’s Eve party won’t be able to match what they did over the summer. A big thumbs up to the Pickles for a memorable 2024.

9. Locals compete in Summer Olympics

The Summer Olympics returned this year and were hosted in Paris, and also featured a handful of stars from the Beaver State.

None made quite as big of a splash as Ryan Crouser, from Boring and a Barlow High School grad. Crouser won the men’s shot put gold medal for the third time, the first person to ever bring home gold in the event three times.

Already the world record holder in the event, Crouser cemented his status as one of the best throwers in track and field history.

Another big splash came from Vancouver, Washington local Jordan Chiles. She was a major contributor to Team USA winning the team gold once again, competing in all four events for the U.S. during the team finals.

Chiles unfortunately was tangled up in one of the most notable off-field issues of the Games. After an appeal by Team USA helped raise Chiles’ score in the event to third place, the Romanian squad claimed the appeal came after the deadline.

The Court of Arbitration of Sport ruled in favor of the Romanians, bumping Chiles’ score back down to fifth place. Chiles and Team USA are still fighting the ruling going into 2025.

Other locals to compete include Magda Skarbonkiewicz in women’s fencing, a former Jesuit High School, along with Pieter Quinton in men’s rowing, a Grant High School alum. Beaverton’s Cameron Brink was selected to compete on the women’s 3×3 basketball team, but she tore her ACL during the WNBA season and had to miss.

8. OSU baseball and Travis Bazzana goes No. 1

Another memorable year on the diamond in Corvallis took place with Oregon State going 45-16 and making it to the NCAA Super Regionals.

In the final year of the Pac-12 conference, the Beavers fizzled out in the conference tournament, but still ended up hosting a regional where they went 3-0 to advance to play Kentucky in the Supers. OSU was swept by the Wildcats in two games to end its season.

However, the fun didn’t end there as star senior Travis Bazzana was later taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Guardians on July 14.

Bazzana became the first second baseman to ever be picked No. 1, along with being the first Australian player to go first. He was the second Beaver to be selected first, joining Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman who was selected first in 2019.

Bazzana was assigned to the High-A Lake County Captains and played in 27 games. He hit .238 with an OBP of .369 and slugged .396 while picking up 12 RBIs, three home runs, five stolen bases and 20 runs scored.

7. Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Portland

The eyes of the women’s college basketball world descended upon Portland with the NCAA tournament bringing the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games to the Rose City.

Some of the game’s biggest stars took the court at the Moda Center, including Stanford’s Cameron Brink (from Beaverton), Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers and USC’s Juju Watkins.

Ultimately, North Carolina State and UConn emerged victorious from the two regionals and advanced to the Final Four, but not without some antics making headlines first.

After a couple days of games played, tournament organizers finally realized a mistake had been made with one of the three-point arches being shorter than it’s supposed to be.

Despite the inaccuracy being found less than an hour before tipoff, Texas and NC State agreed to play their Elite Eight game anyway, which was won by the Wolfpack. The NCAA chalked the error up to court supplier Connor Sports and not anything to do with Portland specifically.

That’s good news as Portland is set to host the women’s Final Four in 2030, along with more regional action in 2028.

Following the tournament though, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, the now all-time leader in coaching wins in NCAA basketball history, said Portland will make a great Final Four host.

“I think that the fans that have come out have proven that they can host events here,” Auriemma said of Portland as host city. “I think this part of the country is kind of basketball crazed to a certain extent. There (hasn’t) been enough opportunities up here to have those events, so I’m happy that there are.”

6. Trail Blazers legend Bill Walton dies

One of the biggest icons, literally and figuratively, in Portland Trail Blazers history passed away May 27 due to an ongoing battle with colon cancer. Bill Walton was 71.

“Big Red,” as the 7-footer became to be known as for his tall stature and red hair, helped bring the first and only NBA title in Blazers history to the city back in 1977.

Portland defeated Philadelphia in six games, winning the last four after dropping the first two. Walton averaged 18.5 points, 19 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.7 blocks in the series, earning Finals MVP.

Walton’s relationship with the Blazers grew sour after the title though, ultimately resulting in the big man leaving and winning another title with Boston in 1986.

However, he would return and make amends with the city and become a champion of the Pacific Northwest despite his San Diego roots.

Walton also went on to have a remarkable broadcast career, championing the Pac-12 and all of its member schools.

The Blazers are honoring Walton this season with a tie-dye band across one shoulder sleeve of their jerseys, and will also have a tribute night March 9 with the Detroit Pistons in town. Walton’s son Luke is currently an assistant with the Pistons.

5. Christine Sinclair retires from women’s soccer

A Portland women’s soccer legend called it a career with Portland Thorns forward Christine Sinclair retiring after this past season ended.

Sinclair, 41, spent the past 12 seasons with the Thorns as a founding player following a storied career in college at the University of Portland from 2001-2005.

Her longevity and high-level play has allowed her to be the franchise leader in goals scored with 64, along with games played (195) and games started (176). Her 64 goals is the third most in NWSL history.

Sinclair finished her time on the Bluff with 110 goals and 32 assists in 94 matches, giving her 252 total points. Her goals and points remain the all-time career record at UP while her assists still sits in eighth all-time at UP.

Her play helped the Pilots win national titles in 2002 and 2005 and helped put the Pilots program on the map as one of the nation’s best overall programs.

At each stop after she’s been a winner, taking the USL W-League crown with the Whitecaps in 2006, two titles in 2010 and 2011 with the Gold Pride and Flash in the WPS and three NWSL titles with the Thorns in 2013, 2017 and 2022.

Sinclair is by far the leading goal scorer for the Canadian national team with 190 goals and she also leads in assists (54) and appearances (331). Her 190 goals are the most international goals, male or female, in international soccer history.

Canada won the Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games under Sinclair’s leadership, the country’s first gold in women’s soccer.

And just this week, her teammate in Becky Sauerbrunn also announced her retirement after a 16-year career, the last four spent in Portland.

4. Portland’s best prep moments

There are many Portland-proper prep winners each year, but a few stood above the rest in 2024.

Starting back in February, Ida B. Wells’ Zorina Johnson and Cleveland’s Isabel Herring each won individual state wrestling titles. And both are sure to be back for the 2025 state tournament.

A few weeks later, Central Catholic boys basketball broke a 30-year state title drought with an 85-76 win over Roosevelt. The Roughriders made the big-school state final for the first time since 1949.

In the spring, Lincoln’s Will Semler cemented himself in the boys tennis record book with a third individual state title, a feat that has only been accomplished by 11 other boys tennis players in state history.

Joining him in the record books was McDaniel’s Maleigha Canaday-Elliott, who won the 6A girls triple jump title for a second time by setting a new state record at 41 feet, 2.25 inches.

Then, in the fall, the Lincoln girls cross country team took home first place for the program’s second-ever state crown after finishing second six times since the last state title in 1978.

There have been plenty of other highlights over the year as well, including the Benson girls basketball team upsetting Clackamas in the state semifinals, more state track and field champions, Grant volleyball making the state tournament for the first time in program history and David Douglas girls soccer winning a playoff match for the first time in program history.

3. Portland awarded WNBA team

Portland has long argued its the best city for women’s sports, and the WNBA agreed by awarding the league’s 15th franchise to the Rose City back in September.

RAJ Sports, owners of the Portland Thorns and led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Merage, will be the owners of the new franchise that is still mulling over a team name heading into 2025.

The efforts were a long-time coming ever since the Portland Fire were extinguished back in 2002.

Portland originally thought the announcement would come sooner in 2024, but WNBA Kathy Engelbert originally claimed construction plans for the Moda Center and Rose Quarter were the main reason for delaying a team to Portland.

Turns out, it was more about finding a new owner with a stronger financial standing, and the Merage family was it as the two siblings’ father is also a part-owner of the Sacramento Kings.

With an owner in place, 2025 will be an exciting one as more details about the team are finalized, hires begin to emerge and the team ultimately begins play in 2026.

2. Oregon football goes undefeated

In the new era of the 12-team playoff, the Oregon Ducks are setting the tone as the lone undefeated squad and the No. 1-ranked squad thanks to a 13-0 regular season record.

After a shaky start to the season against the likes of Idaho and Boise State, the Ducks quickly turned things around and have been the unquestioned No. 1 team in the country since knocking off Ohio State back on Oct. 12.

Oregon mostly cruised through the rest of the schedule, needing a late defensive stand to escape Wisconsin with a win as the only real scary moment.

And in the Big Ten title game against Penn State, the Ducks got the job done to win the conference title in their first year as members to further cement their status as title favorites.

The Ducks are ranked inside the top 15 in numerous offensive and defensive statistics and are led by quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who is fresh off finishing in third for the Heisman Trophy.

The playoffs for UO begin in the quarterfinals after receiving a first-round bye. It will play the winner between No. 9 Tennessee and No. 8 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 looking to make the 2024 season into a memorable 2025 postseason.

1. Oregon State women’s hoops goes to Elite Eight

No story quite captured 2024 more than the Oregon State women’s basketball team as it went on to the Elite Eight despite heavy doubts coming into the season.

Picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 by the conferences’ coaches and ninth by the media in the preseason, the Beavers instead turned in a 24-8 regular season along with a 12-6 Pac-12 record to not only make the NCAA tournament, but set themselves up for a run.

Hosting the first and second rounds, OSU dispatched Eastern Washington and Nebraska with relative ease to make the Sweet 16.

In Albany, New York, the Beavers kept winning with an upset of Notre Dame to move to the Elite Eight against No. 1 overall seed South Carolina.

OSU came up short in the 70-58 loss, but the season set a standard for head coach Scott Rueck and his Beavers program.

However, what came after was nearly as memorable with pretty much the entire roster hitting the portal.

The leader of the pack, Talia von Oelhoffen, hit the portal first and is now playing at USC. Center Raegan Beers moved on to Oklahoma, Timea Gardiner is at UCLA and Medford-local Donovyn Hunter is now at TCU, along with plenty of others scattered around the country.

From Elite Eight to less than eight players on the roster at one point, the Beavers for the 2024-2025 season are nearly a whole new squad.

But if there’s one thing 2024 taught us, it’s that Rueck and his staff will find a way. So we’ll see what 2025 has in store for Oregon State fans and for everyone in the Beaver State.

Honorable mentions

Hillsboro Hops secure funding to build a new stadium.

Portland women’s basketball upsets Gonzaga in WCC title game to make the NCAA tournament.

Timbers flame out in postseason match against Vancouver, and the off-field debacle that came after.

Portland Trail Blazers draft two-time national champion with UConn in Donovan Clingan.