Oregon State's Rataj Named WCC Player of the Week
Whether or not Wayne Tinkle's Beavers reach the NCAA tournament, one of his players continues to rack up accolades.
Michael Rataj has had a season to remember. Monday, the West Coast Conference announced that the German wing was named their Player of the Week.
It is the third time this season that Rataj has earned this honor, drawing a comparison to an orange & black legend of season's past. Rataj's three player of the week awards ties him with The Glove Gary Payton Sr.'s three Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week awards during the 1989-90 season.
Rataj recorded a pair of double-doubles last week, scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds at Pepperdine on Thursday, before tallying 29 points and 10 boards on Saturday at San Diego. Overall, he shot 57.6 percent from the floor and 60 percent from 3-point range in those games.
On the season, he marks 2nd in the West Coast Conference in points-per-game.
With Rataj leading the way, Wayne Tinkle's 2024-25 Oregon State Beavers have won 20 games, reaching that number for the first time since their Elite Eight run in 2020-21, and the first time a Beaver team has won 20 games in the regular season since the aforementioned Payton-led squad in 1989-90.
Oregon State wraps up the regular season this week , welcoming San Francisco to Gill Coliseum on Wednesday night, before battling at St Mary's on Saturday night.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.