2024 was definitely strange for those in the Oregon State Athletics world.
The Beavers started the year off still with a lot of uncertainties for the future. The only thing that was certain was that a solution was needed.
This was due to the fact that the PAC-12 conference went from 12 schools to two with 10 schools departing for other conferences. Revenue was a big reason for this.
Early September is when the first signs of life surfaced, with four teams joining the Pac-12 for the future, Boise State University, Colorado State University, Fresno State University and San Diego State University. Not much later, Gonzaga University joined, as well as Utah State. Since Gonzaga does not have a football team, one more school is needed for the conference to stay alive, with the school needing a football team.
During the 2024 athletic year, OSU found ways to shine apart from its challenges.
A football offensive tackle from the Beavers got drafted in the first round of the National Football League for the first time since 2014 with Brandin Cooks.
Australia native Travis Bazzana was the No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft. Jade Carey, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic individual floor gold medalist went to Paris and back to the Olympics, medaling individually with a bronze medal in vault and a gold medal in the team finals. Lastly, the women’s basketball team went on a run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA March Madness tournament.
Football
Football came almost as everyone predicted. Most players left for other teams, with the year starting with quarterback DJ Uiagalelei transferring to Florida State University on New Year’s Day.
“I want to start by thanking the Beaver’s passionate and unbelievable fan base and how supportive you’ve all been welcoming me with open arms,” Uiagalelei said in a post on Instagram. “With that being said, I’ve entered my name into the transfer portal,” Uiagalelei finished off the post by saying. Thirty-two days later he committed to Florida State University.
A few months after losing Uiagalelei, one of the Beavers’ top players, Taliese Fuaga, went to the NFL Draft, where he was selected fourteenth to the New Orleans Saints.
“It was kinda surprising, I didn’t expect it, but I’m glad the Saints picked me up,” Fuaga said in his first interview with the Saints. “It means a lot,” Fuaga continued on being the only offensive lineman drafted in the first round in Oregon State history. “It’s only because of those guys paving the way for me, and Oregon State has always been a tough, great school, and I can’t thank them enough.”
The actual 2024 season didn’t go as well as Beaver fans would have liked. It started off well, going 4-1 through five games with the only blemish being to in-state rival University of Oregon, the only FBS team to go undefeated this regular season. After that start though, the team lost seven of the next eight games, with the lone winning coming in the “Pac-12 Championship” against Washington State University.
Women’s Basketball
The Beavers women’s basketball team’s success was one of the greatest highlights of the year, making their run all the way to the Elite Eight in the NCAA March Madness tournament. They made history, being the third team in program history to do so. A banner of their run now hangs atop the ceiling of Gill Coliseum.
“With Talia (Von Oelhoffen) just leading this team this whole season, and staying with it as you said when she could have transferred and believing what Scott (Rueck) has built here is incredible,” Raegan Beers, now at the University of Oklahoma said during their run. “So we would not be here without Talia (Von Oelhoffen).”
Led by Beers and Von Oelhoffen, the team made their furthest run since the 2018 season. However, with this, all good things have to come to an end, with all but five players transferring or graduating in the last season of the then-world-known Pac-12.
In a conference where seven players got drafted, including the No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink from Stanford, the Beavers finished fourth in the conference, and eighth in the nation, their highest ranking since January of 2020, and their best end to a season since 2016. Picked to finish 10th in the conference, the Beavers made those analysts look silly with their amazing run in March.
Gymnastics
Jade Carey trained in the 2024 season in elite and college to compete all-around for the Beavers and work to make another Olympic squad. She did just that and made it to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Carey added another gold medal, winning first place in the team finals in participation with the U.S. women’s team, naming themselves the “Golden Girls.”
Individually, Carey competed in the vault finals in Paris and placed third, coming home with an additional bronze medal.
Carey now returns to OSU for her senior season in hopes of furthering her collegiate accolades after winning gold and bronze medals just a few months ago.
“OSU has been more than just a university. It has been my home, my family and my source of strength,” Carey said during her speech at her welcome home celebration.
Baseball
Baseball continued its dominance, making the NCAA tournament for the seventh straight year, (excluding the 2020 season). They also became NCAA regional champions again, missing out last year, after making it in 2022. Led by Australian star Travis Bazzana, the team ended their glorified run after losing back-to-back games to the University of Kentucky.
The biggest highlight of the season, though, came in the MLB draft when Travis Bazzana became the first Australian to go number one overall in the draft when the Cleveland Guardians selected him.
“It’s hard to have success in anything if you don’t believe in it early on,” Bazzana said in an interview with media after being selected with the first pick. “You got to be the first person to believe what you want to do.”
The lefty broke multiple records throughout his career at Oregon State, most notably holding the most career hits and most career home runs. He also becomes the highest-Beaver drafted to the MLB draft since Adley Rutchman went first to the Baltimore Orioles in 2019.
“Seeing his name go first overall to a phenomenal organization,” Oregon State head coach Mitch Canham said in an interview after the draft. “To know that one of our young men is going to an organization that he is going to be pushed and thrive, there is just so many moments to that.”
Along with Bazzana, Aiden May went in the second round, Jacob Kmatz in the fifth, Bridger Holmes and Elijah Hainline in the seventh, Mason Guerra in the fourteenth, and Micah McDowell in the seventeenth.