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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

An A-Z guide to Arizona Athletics

University+of+Arizona+fans+get+to+wave+around+light+up+foam+sticks+for+introductions+on+Saturday+Feb.+19+in+the+McKale+Center.+The+fans+would+be+a+large+factor+in+the+win+over+University+of+Oregon+as+they+were+loud+all+game.%C2%A0
Marison Bilagody

University of Arizona fans get to wave around light up foam sticks for introductions on Saturday Feb. 19 in the McKale Center. The fans would be a large factor in the win over University of Oregon as they were loud all game. 

*Editor’s note: This article was produced as part of the Daily Wildcat 2022 Campus Guide — the perfect resource for any incoming Wildcat. Whether you’re trying to find important dates, looking for a club to join or are interested in UA history and traditions, we’ll be there to help you get through your first semester. Welcome to the University of Arizona!


A. Andre Iguodala

Andre Iguodala, or as the fans know him “Iggy,” attended Arizona from 2002-04 and was on the first team All Pac-12 team. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers No.9 overall in the 2004 NBA draft and spent nine seasons in Philly before changing his identity. He was known as a score-first player at the start of his career but shifted his focus to being the best supporting player to his all-star teammates. He recently won his fourth NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors and after 18 years in the league, Iggy is likely calling it a career.

B. Tedy Bruschi

Tedy Bruschi was a Wildcat from 1991-95 where he was a two time first team All-American and Pac-10 defensive player of the year in 1995. He was taken in the third round of the NFL draft by the New England Patriots. He won three Super Bowls and made one Pro-Bowl during his 13 year NFL career. Currently he is the senior advisor to Arizona head football coach Jedd Fisch.

C. Chuck Cecil

Chuck Cecil was a walk-on at Arizona as a freshmen but became the Pac-10 defensive player of the year before he was done college. He had a seven year NFL career playing for the Green Bay Packers, Phoenix Cardinals and the Houston Oilers. A year ago Fisch added Cecil to his new coaching staff as their defensive backs coach.

D. Draft

Three players from the 2022 Arizona men’s basketball team were selected in the 2022 NBA draft that took place in June. Bennedict Mathurin went to the Indiana Pacers No.6, Dalen Terry was picked by the Chicago Bulls No.18 and Christian Koloko was taken by the Toronto Raptors No.35 in the Draft.

E. Sean Elliot

Sean Elliot is an all-time great Wildcat basketball player. His No. 32 is retired in McKale Center. He was a two-time first-team All-American before being selected with the third pick in the 1989 draft by the San Antonio Spurs. He had a very good 12-year career with the Spurs while making two all-star teams and winning an NBA Championship in 1999.

F. Jedd Fisch

Jedd Fisch is entering his second season in Tucson and after a 1-11 first year he looks to continue building the Wildcat program. Fisch’s 2022 recruiting class was the 25th best class in the country. That included landing the program’s best prospect ever in Tetairoa McMillan who is a four-star wide receiver.

G. Rob Gronkowski

Rob Gronkowski played in Tucson from 2007-09 and earned all-Pac-12 honors. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft and became one of the best tight ends of all time during his nine seasons alongside Tom Brady. After winning his third super bowl, Gronkowski decided to retire but then joined Brady for two years in Tampa Bay. Gronk recently announced that he is officially retired and will not be entertaining another return to the football field.

Jedd Fisch congratulates Rob Gronkowski on his win. Gronkowski’s team defeated Bruschi’s team 17-13 at the Spring Game on Saturday, April 24 in Tucson, Ariz.
Jedd Fisch congratulates Rob Gronkowski on his win. Gronkowski’s team defeated Bruschi’s team 17-13 at the Spring Game on Saturday, April 24 in Tucson, Ariz.

H. Hanah Bowen and Hannah Martinez

Hanah Bowen and Hannah Martinez finished their redshirt senior seasons with a trip to the Women’s College World Series. It was an up-and-down season for Arizona softball, usually a staple to make the playoffs over the past 35 years, as they were in their first season without legendary coach Mike Candrea who retired in June of 2021. With Bowen, Martinez and others moving on, there are currently just 13 players on the softball roster, so the transfer portal will be important for Arizona to retool for next season.

I. Iliana Hocking

Iliana Hocking is a fifth-year midfielder on the Arizona soccer team. In 2021, Hocking started 11 of the 12 games she played in for a total of 677 minutes on the pitch this past season. The soccer team finished with a record of 9-5-1 last season, and they will look to improve on that and climb higher than their current 12th place rank in the Pac-12.

J. Jordan McCloud

Coming off season-ending ankle and knee injuries last fall against UCLA, Jordan McCloud is ready to throw his hat in the ring for starting QB this fall. McCloud will be in competition with Will Plummer and Gunner Cruz, as well as Jayden de Laura who transferred in from Washington State. McCloud only appeared in three games before getting hurt, completing 48 of 72 passes for 481 yards with 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

K. Kerr Krissa

The definition of a player you love to have on your team, but you’d hate to play against. Krissa, the pesky sharpshooter, is coming off a strong sophomore season for Tommy Lloyd’s basketball team, averaging 9.7 points. 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds. Krissa is a fiery ball of energy who relishes talking trash to the opposing team’s fans after making a big shot. He doesn’t back down from anybody despite being only 6-foot-3. An integral piece of the 2021 Sweet Sixteen team, Krissa spaces the floor out beyond the 3-point line for his teammates and looks to get them involved by breaking down defenders off the dribble as well.

Caitlin Lowe is the current assistant coach for Arizona's softball team. Pictured above is Lowe during the game against Cal State Fullerton on May 27, 2007. (Courtesy of Stan Liu/Arizona Athletics)
Caitlin Lowe is the current assistant coach for Arizona’s softball team. Pictured above is Lowe during the game against Cal State Fullerton on May 27, 2007. (Courtesy of Stan Liu/Arizona Athletics)

L. Caitlin Lowe

Caitlin Lowe played on the Arizona softball team from 2004-07 as well as in the Olympics from 2005-08 with Team USA. She was awarded first team All-American all four years of her college career, which only one other person has also achieved. After graduating from the UA in 2007, she took home an Olympic silver medal in 2008. Lowe then came back to Arizona to work with the softball team for nine years under the legendary softball coach Mike Candrea. After he retired, she was promoted to the team’s new head coach in the summer of 2021. She took the Wildcats to the 2022 Women’s College World Series to wrap up her first year as head coach.

M. March Madness

As a college basketball fan, equally the most hectic and exciting time of the year to tune in to watch is during March Madness. The Arizona women’s basketball team won its first-round match-up last March against University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but their season would come to an end next round with a loss to UNC. The men’s team would make it to the Sweet Sixteen after picking up wins against Wright State and TCU, but Houston would eventually put an end to their season. In 2021, head women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes took the Wildcats all the way to the Final Four, but lost against Stanford.

Coach Adia Barnes cuts the championship net after the women's basketball team beat out Northwestern on Apr. 6 in Tucson, Ariz.
Coach Adia Barnes cuts the championship net after the women’s basketball team beat out Northwestern on Apr. 6 in Tucson, Ariz.

N. Noah Fifita

One of the headliners of this 2022 football recruiting class that ranks No. 1 in the Pac-12 according to Rivals, Fifita figures to be a future staple under center as the starting quarterback for the Arizona football team. Fifita threw for just under 3,000 yards and 34 touchdowns during his senior year last season at Servite High School in California.

O. Tanner O’Tremba

One of the leaders of the Wildcats baseball team the last couple of seasons, O’Tremba earned Pac-12 All-Conference honors this past season hitting .351 with 11 home runs and 21 doubles. In the Coral Gables Regional this past year, he went 6-for-17 at the plate across four games with four RBIs.

P. Pelle Larsson

The Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year this past season, Larsson played in all 37 games and made two starts where he averaged just over 7 points and three rebounds while shooting just under 50% from the field. He posted double-digit points in nine games and should play a bigger role for Lloyd and Arizona this season following the departures of Mathurin and Terry.

Q. Quarterback

Fisch made a splash this offseason by acquiring de Laura in the transfer portal from Washington State. He was the 2021 Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year where he threw for 2,798 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. He figures to likely start for the Wildcats this season despite having some competition in the QB room.

R. Alfonso Rivas

As a former Arizona baseball player, Rivas played in Tucson during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He made his MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs last season and is hitting .238 with three home runs across 151 at-bats so far this season.

S. Daniel Susac

The Arizona catcher racked up the accolades during his two years behind the plate in Tucson. As one of the core players who stayed in Arizona during the transition from Jay Johnson to Chip Hale as head coach, Susac was a Unanimous All-American this past season. He led the team in average hitting .366 at the plate with 12 home runs, 61 RBIs and 100 total hits on the year. He was as consistent of a hitter as it gets for the Wildcats and will hear his name called as a first-round pick in the MLB draft this year in July.

The Arizona men's basketball team huddles up during a timeout on March 20, 2022 versus TCU in the Round of 32 during the NCAA Tournament.
The Arizona men’s basketball team huddles up during a timeout on March 20, 2022 versus TCU in the Round of 32 during the NCAA Tournament.

T. Dalen Terry

As one of the three Arizona basketball players who heard his name get called in the 2022 NBA draft, Terry was selected No. 18 overall by the Chicago Bulls. In his first Summer League game, Terry scored 9 points with six assists and five rebounds across 31 minutes of play. He went on to score 13 points and 14 points in his next two Summer League games respectively. As part of the run to the Sweet Sixteen this past season with the Wildcats, Terry was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.

U. Umpire

Arizona’s softball team is out of this world. The team made it deep into the NCAA World Series last season. Exciting news, Arizona will be the host team of the Pac-12 Championship in May 2023.

W. Wrestling

Many people do not know that the University of Arizona has a wrestling team that was started by a group of students as a club. It is recognized by the NCWA and is hoping to eventually be recognized by the NCAA as a Division I sport.

X. XP

Kyle Ostendorp, kicker for Arizona’s football team, is predicted to help our team win some games with the kicking of extra points after touchdowns. Hopefully, he will get a lot more attempts this season as the offense looks to score a bunch more touchdowns this year.

Y. Yellow Card

Arizona’s soccer team will be playing their first Pac-12 home game of the season against the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Sept. 4. You won’t want to miss our girls going head to head against the Blazers.

Z. Zamboni

Arizona men’s hockey team currently plays off-campus at the Tucson Convention Center. Big plans for 2024 as the men’s team will have their own home. It will be called Mosaic Quarter Iceplex at Kino Sports & Entertainment Complex where the Zambonis will resurface the ice and our Wildcat players will be ready to show off in the new facility.


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