Ryan Cooney spent his college career at the University of Oregon hearing comparisons to another former Duck infielder, Josh Kasevich. Now, the comparison has come full circle.
Cooney and Kasevich are teammates in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, and the only two Oregon Ducks ever drafted by the club.
There are plenty of parallels between the two. Both are hit-over-power middle infielders known for their work ethic, leadership, and aggressive style of play.
“In terms of work ethic and intensity, really comparable, almost identical,” University of Oregon Head Coach Mark Wasikowski said.
Both were two-time All-Conference selections who rank among the top 10 in numerous all-time Oregon statistical categories. Kasevich was Toronto’s second-round selection in 2022 after three seasons at Oregon. Cooney arrived in Eugene in 2024, two years after Kasevich’s departure, and put together a historic three-season career that included a trip to the Super Regionals in 2026 before Toronto selected him in the third round.
“The Blue Jays got great players, but they got two really good coaches. They’re going to have a positive impact on everyone in that locker room,” Wasikowski added. “They understand the game, they get it, they're smart, they're not going to be out prepared.”
Both players have also been praised for their leadership, first in the Oregon clubhouse and now in the Blue Jays organization.
The two are yet to meet, but are already quite familiar with each other. Cooney remembers hearing stories about Kasevich’s work ethic during his time at Oregon and the comparisons between the two started almost as soon as he stepped on campus.
“I heard the (comparisons) a little bit in college,” Cooney said. “It’s awesome to be compared to a guy like that and I hope to be somewhat of the player he is.”
Shortly after the Blue Jays selected Cooney in the third round of the 2026 MLB Draft, a text message popped up on his phone from Kasevich.
“After I got drafted he texted me and said ‘Congratulations, go Ducks, excited to have you in the Blue Jays organization’… it was really nice to hear that.”
The Blue Jays had been fans of Cooney for a while. Their relationship was strengthened at the MLB Draft Combine in Arizona this summer, where Cooney’s maturity and baseball IQ wowed the Blue Jays scouting staff during interviews, enough to make him Toronto’s third-round pick.
Kasevich spent 2026 knocking on the door of a big-league call-up, earning Triple-A Buffalo Bisons team MVP honors after batting .282 with 77 runs scored and a .727 OPS across 130 games.
After being drafted by the Blue Jays in 2022, Kasevich spent the final six weeks of that season in Dunedin, learning the professional baseball lifestyle in the Florida State League, just as Cooney did in 2026 when he mashed a pair of homers and drove in 10 runs across 23 games.
“It’s a really polished hitter who’s a contact bat,” Blue Jays Amateur Scouting Director Mark Traumta said of Cooney. “If the power comes, obviously that would be a bonus. We met with him at the combine and thought he had really good makeup, a very bright kid. We really like that pick.”