Oregon’s Dana Altman Updates Timeline for Jackson Shelstad’s Injury Return

Dana Altman and the Ducks seem hopeful they will be getting Shelstad back by the time the Players Era Festival begins in late November. College basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported that Altman thinks there is a chance Shelstad could even be on the floor before then. 

“We’d like to get him back for a game before Vegas if possible,” Altman said.

When Shelstad broke his hand in early October, the estimated time out was 4-6 weeks. This put his availably for the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas in jeopardy. The Ducks will begin this tournament against the No. 20 Auburn Tigers on Nov. 24. They have four games before it gets underway; Nov. 4 vs. Hawaii, Nov. 7 vs. Rice, Nov. 12 vs. South Dakota State, and Nov. 17 vs Oregon State. 

It would be ideal if Shelstad would be able to get a tune up against Oregon State before the Players Era, which will be a handful of games that would go a long way to beefing up Oregon’s resume. 

Last season, the Ducks went 3-0 in the Players Era with wins over three NCAA tournament teams in Texas A&M, San Diego State, and Alabama. This was a big reason why the Ducks had a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament last season. 

Oregon finished the season with a 25-10 record and were eventually eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Top Scorers Returning for Ducks 

Unlike the past few seasons, Oregon will enter the 2025-26 college basketball season with their two leading scorers from the year prior returning; Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad.

Bittle averaged 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 2024-25. He was named third-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defense.

Shelstad was right behind him in the stat sheet at 13.7 points and 2.7 assists per game. Shelstad was also named third-team All-Big Ten.

Bittle is going into his fifth and final season in Eugene. Shelstad will be in year three.