Oregon Ducks Lose 5-Star Recruit Kodi Greene To Washington Huskies: Rankings Tumble

It has been an unusually tough spring in the recruiting world for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks. The Ducks were dealt a blow on Thursday morning, with the news coming out from Brandon Huffman from 247Sports that five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene is switching his commitment from Oregon to Big Ten rival Washington Huskies.

Greene's flip to Washington stings, but should not come as that big of a surprise to Ducks fans. The five-star offensive tackle's brother, Kayden Greene, is a walk-on redshirt freshman defensive back at Washington. Greene is also from Washington, spending his first two high school seasons playing at Eastside Catholic in Sammamish, Washington.

Greene, who stands at 6-6, was the No.4 offensive tackle in the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 rankings. Greene is the No.5 player in the state of California and was the highest ranked recruit (No.10 nationally according to On.3) for the Ducks in their 2026 class. This will certainley drop the Ducks On3 recruiting rankings. The Ducks were listed at No.3 for the 2026 class before the Greene flip.

MORE: NFL Rumors: Pittsburgh Steelers To Trade George Pickens? Star Unfollows Team On Instagram

MORE: No. 1 Overall Recruit Jackson Cantwell To Commit To Georgia Bulldogs Over Oregon Ducks?

MORE: Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert Surprising Teammates Mike Williams, Tyler Conklin At Practice

While the Ducks will most certainley push to flip back Greene to Eugene, the Kodi Greene sweepstakes may be a lost cause when you consider the proximity of UW to his hometown and the fact his brother will be donning the purple and gold next season.

The Ducks were dealt another blow this morning for the 2026 class, with offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell being predicted to pen his signature for Georgia. The Ducks had been heavily recruiting Jackson throughout the winter and have plans to host Jackson at the spring game in Eugene this weekend. The Cantwell prediction makes it two five-star offensive tackles that have fallen through the cracks in the 2026 class.

Perhaps the most damaging part of the Greene flip is what this means for the Mater Dei-Eugene pipeline that Dan Lanning has carefully cultivated over the years. Greene is the second Mater Dei Monarch in the 2026 class to flip away from the Ducks after four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui flipped to USC.

As far as the updated 2026 On3 rankings go, the Ducks slid quite a bit, they have now fallen to No.3 in the Big Ten, behind USC and Ohio State. They also fell to No. 7 nationally. The Ducks are still in the mix for the best quarterback in the 2026 class, with Jared Curtis set to commit to either Oregon or Georgia on May 5.

With the Kodi Greene flip, the Ducks are now left with just one five-star athlete, Kendre Harrison, committed to them in the 2026 class. Harrison is regarded as the nation's top tight end by every media outlet.

How does Lanning and Oregon evaluate NIL with players in an increasingly competitive environment?

“In a landscape where you can take care of players, that's what we want to be. I don't want to get anybody at a discount," Lanning told Oregon Ducks on SI reporter Bri Amaranthus. "I don't want to say, 'Oh you came here and worked for cheap.' If they do a great job, they deserve to reap the benefits of that. They're the ones filling the stands. And we've been able to be competitive from that environment."

"We're probably not always the highest bidder. In fact, I know we aren't. But I know that we're able to be competitive and fair with our players and create great opportunities for them,” Lanning continued.

Oregon's 2026 recruiting class ranking will take a hit with this flip but plenty of time left on the recruiting trail.