Just 10 days before first pitch of the 2025 season, Oregon baseball pitcher Cole Fisher suffered a major injury to his spine.
While lifting weights with the team on Feb. 4, the junior transfer from Millersville University felt his ankle give out beneath him. 210 pounds of weight then fell on his back, fracturing his L1 vertebrae and compressing his spinal cord.
Fisher was immediately transferred to a Eugene area hospital where he underwent emergency surgery that included a spinal fusion, according to a GoFundMe set up by his family that had raised nearly $22,000 as of Monday morning.
“Cole is a valued member of our baseball program, and we remain in close contact with him and his family,” Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski said in a written statement. “He is a tremendous young man who is greatly loved and respected by his teammates, and we look forward to supporting Cole any way we can throughout his progress. We look forward to his full recovery.”
Fisher is recovering at the Craig Hospital in Colorado, with more updates to come on the prognosis and a timeline for his potential return to baseball. Depending on numerous factors with a serious injury, Fisher’s recovery could last several months.
On the day of the accident, Fisher’s family was flown out to Oregon from their home in Horsham, Pennsylvania. The Fisher family’s flights and accommodations in Eugene were fully paid for by UO, and an athletic department spokesperson said all of Fisher’s medical expenses beyond what is covered by primary insurance will also be paid for by UO as this was an athletics-related injury.
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