LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Oregon’s softball staff, led by coach Melyssa Lombardi, has been selected as the 2025 ATEC/NFCA Mountain Region Staff of the Year the NFCA announced on Friday.
It is the second straight year that Oregon has received an NFCA Regional award.
The 2025 team went 54-10, won the Big Ten Conference with a 19-3 record and advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2018.
Along the way, the Ducks went 5-0 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, knocking off No. 5 Tennessee (1-0), No. 25 San Diego State (7-2) and No. 22 Missouri (11-3). Oregon won all eight of its Big Ten Conference regular season series and swept five of them.
The Ducks reached their first WCWS in seven years by winning three elimination games at the Eugene Regional. After falling to Stanford on the second day of the regional, Oregon defeated Weber State (9-1) and the Cardinal twice (15-5, 10-7) to move on to the Super Regional.
The Ducks won the best-of-three series against Liberty with an eight-inning 3-2 victory, followed by a 13-1 series clinching win. Oregon went 1-2 at the WCWS, beating Ole Miss, 6-5, in 10 innings.
Oregon ranked in the top 10 nationally in batting average (.345), fielding percentage (.980), hits (583), RBI (438), runs per game (7.67), stolen bases (175) and strikeouts per seven innings (7.69). The Ducks ranked in the top three in 16-of-20 Big Ten statistical categories.
Oregon established single-season school records for steals, runs (491), RBI, total bases (970), sacrifice flies (25), runs per game and fielding percentage.
The Ducks had three NFCA All-Americans – pitcher Lyndsey Grein, outfielder Kedre Luschar and infielder Rylee McCoy as well as the Golden Shoe winner as the nation’s best base stealer, Kai Luschar, who set a league record with 60 stolen bases. Seven Ducks were named to both the all-Big Ten teams and the NFCA all-Mountain Region teams.
Lombardi’s staff includes fourth-year associate head coach Sam Marder and assistant coaches Sydney Romero (second year) and Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza (fourth season).
– www.GoDucks.com –
