Tanner McDougal (12) has been playing baseball for as long as he can remember. His dad played baseball as well, so he grew up with the game. His love for the game drives him to play and do his best every time he steps onto the field.

Once he had officially signed with the University of Oregon last fall, he was overjoyed.

“Oregon has always been my dream school,” McDougal said. “I’m just excited to start playing for them.”

University of Oregon reached out to him in August of 2019 expressing interest, and McDougal committed to them by the end of the month. His family and friends are proud of him, but no one is prouder than his coach, Brian Whitaker.

“I’m over the moon about him,” Whitaker said. “As a coach, these are the things you dream about. You always want to win, but you also want to coach these kids into young men and teach them more than just the game.”

Now that he has signed, McDougal will continue in his high school baseball career until he graduates and then move on to his next steps at the University of Oregon.

He committed to Oregon as a junior, which doesn’t happen often. Some say that being committed to a school early can add extra pressure to perform, but McDougal is handling it all in stride.

“I just have to keep playing my same game the best I can,” McDougal said. “Nothing changes for me. I just have to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

With Covid-19 closing all schools last March, McDougal’s baseball season for the 2019-2020 school year was unfortunately cut short. As CCSD carried distance learning into the spring semester, many student athletes, including McDougal, were waiting with bated breath, hoping to go back to school to finish off what they started.

Though his junior season was cancelled, his hard work did not stop. He has been practicing on his own, working out with a personal trainer almost daily, and playing club baseball to top it all off. During the summer, McDougal traveled across the country, competing in tournaments to improve his game and stay Oregon ready.

“I played in Atlanta, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, and Milwaukee,” McDougal said.

With his added practice and Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara’s recent announcement to re-open schools and hold sports again, McDougal will get a shot to finish strong. Things have come full circle for him. Last March, schools were closed and sports were cancelled, but this March, McDougal gets one last hurrah as a Silverado Skyhawk before moving on to become an Oregon Duck.