Webfoot Awards: Nominees for Best Newcomer

First up in this year’s Webfoot Awards is Best Newcomer. For this category we will consider both players who transferred in as well as freshman eligible for the award. Be sure to vote at the bottom of the page and check back next week to see who wins!

Tyler Dorsey - Men's Basketball

What a relief it was for fans of Oregon basketball when Dorsey announced he would be returning to Eugene for his sophomore season. The guard tried his luck in the NBA draft process but along with Dillon Brooks, decided it was time to return to Eugene.

The freshman guard had a great season for the Ducks as he seemed to improve at a constant rate as the season went on. Dorsey was named to the all-conference freshman team as well as the all Pac-12 tournament team. Through the season, Dorsey averaged 13.4 points per game shooting over 40% from three. He also chipped in 4.3 rebounds and two assists per game.

Dorsey’s best performance arguably came in the Pac-12 tournament championship game against Utah where he put up 23 points and 9 rebounds. His high point total on the season was 25 which he did so against both Western Oregon and Oregon State. Averaging 3 points less in the NCAA tournament than his season total might have played a part in Dorsey returning, but regardless the Ducks have a lot to look forward to with him back out on the court.

Chris Boucher - Men's Basketball

Another men's basketball player joins Dorsey on this list, as Chris “the Swatterboy” Boucher had a phenomenal first season in Eugene.  Boucher quietly entered the season as a junior college transfer from Northwest College in Wyoming.

In his first season as a Duck, Boucher set the school record for blocks in a season with 110, where he surpassed teammate Jordan Bell for the record. The Swatterboy also made his make from beyond the three-point line where he hit 39 on the year. He recorded his season high in points with 26 on the road against Arizona State in a game where the Ducks needed his offensive spark to get going.

On the season, Boucher averaged 12.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.89 blocks per game, which was good for seventh in the nation. Not only did the big man have a great season, but also he will be back in green and yellow for another one as his petition for the NCAA granted another year.

Vernon Adams Jr. - Football

Not very often that someone who plays in less than 75% of a team’s games be up for newcomer. Adams does just that however, as thanks to his stellar season (when healthy) in Eugene.

When playing in more than half of the game for Oregon, the Ducks record was 8-1 with the lone loss coming in the last minute to College Football Playoff participant Michigan State. Of course in the two games where Adam went out with an injury things didn’t turn out so well, but lets not talk about that.

In his one and only year in Eugene, Adams posted 26 passing touchdowns to just six interceptions with a nearly 65% completion percentage. In addition, Adams put up 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns. There’s no telling how the season could have turned out with a healthy Adams all season, and on the flip side, things sure looked dire without him last season. Vernon is now applying his trade in Canada while adjusting to life in the CFL with the Montreal Allouettes.

Maite Cazorla - Women's Basketball

With all the talk of the Oregon men’s basketball team this season, lost in translation was the impact that freshman Maite Cazorla had on the women’s basketball team. Behind seniors  Jillian Alleyne and Lexi Peterson, Cazorla was third in scoring for the Ducks with her 11.7 points per game.

More impressive however from the Spanish point guard were the nearly six assists per game that she averaged this season. Cazorla helped pick up the slack for the Ducks after the season ending injury to Alleyne en route to leading the Ducks to the NIT final. The point guard will look to play yet another large role next season as the Ducks look to have a very promising year with a top five rated recruiting class coming in.