Yaeger Announces Medical Retirement
06/29/20 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon women's basketball guard Morgan Yaeger announced via Instagram on Monday that she will medically retire and will not be returning to the team for a fifth year in 2020-21.
"It has been an extremely hard decision," Yaeger wrote in her announcement, "but since I am graduating this year, I have decided to return home to Australia to focus on getting physically and mentally healthy in hopes of pursuing any opportunities that may emerge there.
"It humbles me to say that I have been a part of one of the most impactful women's basketball teams in history."
Yaeger, who has been hampered by a back injury for the last few years, officially graduated earlier this month from the University of Oregon with an art degree. The Adelaide, Australia, native has expressed interest in coaching basketball or pursuing a career in graphic design in her future.
"We are extremely thankful to Morgan for everything she has given to our program over the last four years," said head coach Kelly Graves. "It's been tough watching her deal with this injury for so long, but she has been an incredible teammate and a huge part of our success. She leaves here as a three-time Pac-12 champion and a lifelong Duck, and I can't wait to see what's next for her moving forward."
Yaeger, who sat out the 2017-18 season due to injury, appeared in 76 total games over three active seasons with the Ducks. She scored 128 total points with 16 three-pointers while dishing out 43 assists.
Yaeger scored a career-high 11 points as a freshman in 2016-17 in a win at Arizona State, going 5-of-7 from the floor, and she enjoyed a breakout game off the bench in the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament semifinals with nine points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting against UCLA.
Part of the historic 2016 signing class that also included Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard, Yaeger won three straight Pac-12 regular-season championships with the Ducks and a pair of Pac-12 Tournament titles. Yaeger got a chance to play on the game's biggest stage in 2019, making her only field-goal attempt in the Final Four against Baylor.
"It has been an extremely hard decision," Yaeger wrote in her announcement, "but since I am graduating this year, I have decided to return home to Australia to focus on getting physically and mentally healthy in hopes of pursuing any opportunities that may emerge there.
"It humbles me to say that I have been a part of one of the most impactful women's basketball teams in history."
Yaeger, who has been hampered by a back injury for the last few years, officially graduated earlier this month from the University of Oregon with an art degree. The Adelaide, Australia, native has expressed interest in coaching basketball or pursuing a career in graphic design in her future.
"We are extremely thankful to Morgan for everything she has given to our program over the last four years," said head coach Kelly Graves. "It's been tough watching her deal with this injury for so long, but she has been an incredible teammate and a huge part of our success. She leaves here as a three-time Pac-12 champion and a lifelong Duck, and I can't wait to see what's next for her moving forward."
Yaeger, who sat out the 2017-18 season due to injury, appeared in 76 total games over three active seasons with the Ducks. She scored 128 total points with 16 three-pointers while dishing out 43 assists.
Yaeger scored a career-high 11 points as a freshman in 2016-17 in a win at Arizona State, going 5-of-7 from the floor, and she enjoyed a breakout game off the bench in the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament semifinals with nine points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting against UCLA.
Part of the historic 2016 signing class that also included Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard, Yaeger won three straight Pac-12 regular-season championships with the Ducks and a pair of Pac-12 Tournament titles. Yaeger got a chance to play on the game's biggest stage in 2019, making her only field-goal attempt in the Final Four against Baylor.
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