Bryce Boettcher, the two-sport star who led Oregon’s football team in tackles after being drafted in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Houston Astros, will bypass his baseball career to play another season for the Ducks in 2025.
Boettcher announced his intentions in a social media post on Tuesday night. Oregon secured a waiver for an additional year of football eligibility for Boettcher, who did not join the team until his sophomore season.
On the day Houston drafted Boettcher, amateur scouting director Cam Pendino said the team had an agreement that Boettcher could play the 2024 football season before reporting to spring training in February. Boettcher received a $150,000 signing bonus upon signing with the Astros following the draft.
Unfinished Business. #qqmf 🦆 pic.twitter.com/sHVDjUB7aT
— Bryce Boettcher (@bryce_boettcher) January 8, 2025
The Astros will retain Boettcher’s baseball rights but will place him on the restricted list in the coming days. According to the team, Boettcher was given the option of reporting to the Astros in 2025 and then returning to Oregon in time for football season.
Boettcher “has decided to focus on preparing for the upcoming football season,” according to the Astros. He will re-evaluate his options after the season, one of which includes reporting to the Astros in 2026. Boettcher is out of college baseball eligibility.
Boettcher, a middle linebacker, began his football career as a walk-on and blossomed into one of Oregon’s most heralded defensive players. He logged 94 tackles, two sacks and an interception en route to winning the Burlsworth Trophy, awarded annually to the country’s best football player who began their career as a walk-on.
On the diamond, Boettcher won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award for his play in center field while slashing .276/.372/.500 across 56 games with the Ducks.
“What we see is a really, really premium athlete who’s going to play a really good center field,” Pendino said on the day Boettcher was drafted. “He has an innate feel to make a lot of contact and he’s got bat speed, and we think we can take those traits and we can help polish him up and develop him. Once he commits full time to baseball, we think the talent is much greater than the 13th round, so we’re pretty excited to get him.”
Now, it’s worth wondering if the Astros ever will.
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(Photo: Ben Lonergan / USA Today)
