Better fields. New staff. Updated equipment. Gifts from alumni, parents, and athletics boosters are combining with strategic investments by the university to change the game for Willamette student athletes.
They’re funding state-of-the-art playing fields for baseball and softball, for example. These new fields replace flood-prone grass and dirt with synthetic turf, which is easier to maintain and provides better drainage, allowing home play and practice through Oregon’s long rainy season.
The new fields also have lighting. This enables games and practice after dark, which minimizes missed class time and allows for more scheduling flexibility.
The baseball field is now complete. Work on the softball field will begin in the months ahead.
On May 9, Bearcats past and present met on home plate to dedicate the baseball field, named in honor of Bill Trenbeath, former Willamette coach and athletic director.
Gifts from Trenbeath’s former players, together with investments by the university and the State of Oregon, funded the two new fields. As President Steve Thorsett said at the Trenbeath Field dedication, “Projects like this are only possible through generosity and shared vision.”
In addition to serving Bearcats baseball and softball, the fields will be available to the Salem-Keizer Public Schools, community groups, and other Willamette teams. Already, the baseball field became the perfect place for the Bearcats track team to warm up before a major invitational this spring. The Mavericks Independent Baseball League will play some games on Trenbeath Field this summer, too, bringing fans, families, and visitors to downtown Salem.
Key New Hires
In December 2025, Brett Franz became associate athletic director for compliance and recruitment, following a successful 20-year coaching career at Willamette. In his new role Franz develops strategies that attract top-tier student athletes to Willamette and promote their academic and athletic success on campus.
The athletics program also welcomed a new trainer in recent months. This gives Willamette one of the best athlete-to-trainer ratios in the Northwest Conference—and the lowest among conference schools with football programs, says Athletic Director Leslie Shevlin.
Modern Swimming Blocks
More changes are coming. A gift from anonymous donors will soon replace the swimming blocks in Sparks Athletic Center with new blocks that boast plastic wedges, the standard in championship meets.
“They help swimmers get off the block a little faster,” Shevlin says. The blocks will be installed prior to the fall season.
More Improvements, Year After Year
The new, $1 million Poppert Endowment funds $50,000 per year for athletics capital support and maintenance.
Created by the late Claris C. Poppert BA’57, a life trustee of the university, and Corky Poppert, the endowment will bring new basketball hoops to Gordie James Court in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, university funding has supported upgrades to game day equipment, as well as travel for teams and individual athletes who progress to the Northwest Conference tournament—such as the volleyball, men’s basketball, and lacrosse teams this year, Shevlin says.
Step by step, such investments lift up the athletics program as a whole. “Student athletes and coaches see that,” Shevlin says. “And when you look in the faces of these young people, when you see them challenged, when you see them succeed, when you see a transformative experience, the impact is clear.”
