A – Aari McDonald
This past season, McDonald led the Arizona women’s basketball team in scoring as a sophomore. In addition, she led the team to the WNIT Championship game where the team defeated Northwestern at McKale Center.
B – Basketball
Arizona men’s basketball did not have the best season this past year, but the team will say hello to a number of new faces in the nation’s No. 2 overall recruiting class on the court this year in hopes of making a large run in the post-season. As mentioned, women’s basketball won the WNIT and will now set their sights on making the NCAA Tournament.
C – Carlos Villarreal
As a cross country and track & field athlete, Villarreal won the award for the best junior male athlete at the CATSYS this past season and continues to dominate his long distance events in the 1600 meter and 800 meter run.
D – Devils
The Arizona Wildcats will have a rivalry week in each of their respective sports in the upcoming seasons where they will take on that one school up north. This past year, the Arizona football team lost to the Sun Devils at home in Tucson by blowing a 19-point fourth quarter lead.
E – Elizabeth Shelton
Shelton, a rising volleyball junior, was enjoying her best season this past year, but unfortunately, her season was cut short due to a concussion. When she was healthy, she was able to set career highs in kills/set, hitting percentages, and points/set, among other stats.
F – Freedom
As a student at the University of Arizona, there is no shortage of sporting events that you can attend. There is freedom to choose between sports including basketball, football, beach volleyball, and soccer, amongst others.
G – Geist
Jordan Geist has been dominating the field events ever since he stepped foot on campus two years ago. Geist won the sophomore male athlete of the year, where emcee Chris McGee joked about the large size of his forearms and biceps.
H – Harper
Rising senior Jessie Harper continues to dominate the softball field for the Wildcats. The team is currently contending for a postseason run on a national level. Last year, Harper was a part of the USA Softball Player of the Year Top 50 List.
I – Ira Lee
With a rough start to the previous season, rising junior Lee looks to make a bigger impact and hold a bigger role on the team this season as he is just one of two juniors on the team, along with Alex Barcello.
J – Josh Green
An integral part of Arizona’s top recruiting class, Green will step on the court this fall and look to bring a certain spark and passion to Arizona basketball that it has been missing for a little while now.
K – Kevin Sumlin
With the over-hyped, under-played start of the “new era”, Sumlin and his crew is looking to make a much bigger impact on the field this fall than his past season where the team went 5-7 and failed to make any bowl game.
L – Linemen
Arizona football had one of the best offensive lines in the Pac-12 last season as the group helped the Wildcats be the third best rushing attack with over 200 yards per game.
M – Mike Candrea
Candrea and his crew are currently vying for a national title, but for now, Candrea was recently awarded his 1600th career win, which puts him in elite collegiate softball company.
N – Nico Mannion
A rising freshman at UA, highly-recruited Mannion, along with Green, will step on the court this upcoming season and look to bring Arizona men’s basketball back to its national contender level.
O – Offense
With the addition of new recruits and the veterans coming back, Arizona sports looks to dominate on all sides of the offense boards this year, whether it be in basketball, softball, or volleyball.
P – Palomino-Cardoza
Senior Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza recently helped Arizona secure a huge victory over UCLA in the first match of the series with a diving catch in the seventh inning. She has been a dominant force on the softball team and her leadership will only continue to grow in the upcoming postseason.
Q – Quarterback
Senior Khalil Tate, along with Sumlin, will look to make a bigger spark on the football field this upcoming season. This will be Tate’s senior season as he looks to make one final push for a postseason run for Arizona.
R – Renovations
Arizona sports has been undergoing a series of renovations this past year, including the construction of the Cole and Jeannie Davis facility, valued at about 16.5 million dollars worth of renovations. Also, the Hillenbrand Stadium was recently renovated to including more seating and a more state-of-the-art facility.
S – Sean Miller
With a fairly uneventful season last year, Miller and his crew are looking to make something happen on the court this year with the addition of new recruits and returning veterans.
T – Tenure
Talking about tenure, head volleyball coach Dave Rubio will be entering his 28th season this year. Rubio currently sports a 512-321 (0.615) overall record and he has led the team to 14 20-win seasons and 20 NCAA appearances in his tenure here in Tucson.
U – Underdog
A sport that might not come to mind when you think of the University of Arizona is men’s wheelchair basketball, but this past season, the team was dubbed national champions as they won the Division 1 Wheelchair Basketball Tournament in Tallmadge, Ohio on March 24.
V – Volleyball
After a 22-11 overall record and first-round exit in the postseason to Missouri, Arizona volleyball is looking to make a bigger run this year as they signed Mahina Pua’a, the sister of current player, Emi Pua’a.
W – Women’s sports
All in all, it was very clear that Arizona’s women’s sports made a larger impact on Arizona Athletics this past year. From women’s basketball winning the WNIT title to softball sporting a twenty-one-game winning streak at one point in the season, the female athletes on campus sure know how to get the job done.
RELATED: UA women’s sports enjoy successful season across the board
X – X-factor
One of the x-factors for the Arizona men’s basketball team this season could be Zeke Nnaji. Standing at 6-foot-11, Nnaji is the No. 39 overall ranked prospect in his class, making him one of the four players inside the top 100 to commit to Arizona.
Y – Yu-Sang Hou
Sophomore Yu-Sang Hou has been one of the faces of Arizona women’s golf this past year. She was nominated for sophomore female athlete of the year but did not win. As a junior, she will look to have a more leadership-focused role on the team.
Z – ZonaZoo
Arizona students are invited to join the ZonaZoo, one of the best student sections in the entire nation. Members of this group attend sporting events get great seats at crowded sporting games, including football and basketball games. In 2015 and 2018, ZonaZoo won the NCSSA Loud and Proud award for the best student section in the nation.
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