Wildcat Wrap: Has Oregon usurped Arizona as the Pac-12 favorite?

Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Monday which means it’s time to recap another week of Arizona Wildcats athletics. Let us know in the comment section if we missed anything.

Softball

• Former UA catcher Chelsea Goodacre won another championship in NPF, though she was out with an injury. Still, Goodacre was named the All-NPF Team after hitting .346/.372/.531 with three homers and 21 RBI when healthy.

Baseball

• Sophomore catcher Kobe Kato was named the Cal Ripken League Offensive Player of the Year.

M-V-P! M-V-P! Kobe Kato (Arizona) is the 2019 @CalRipkenLeague Offensive Player of the Year!

He set new records in AVG, OBP and walks, and was a key part of Big Train's offense all season long. Congratulations, Kobe! pic.twitter.com/ngppgScoPR

— Bethesda Big Train (@GoBigTrain) August 13, 2019

Volleyball

• Arizona is ranked 24th to start the season and was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12 by the conference’s coaches.
• Star setter Julia Patterson, the team’s most important player, hopes to lead Arizona to a top-three finish, then a deep run in the NCAA Tournament in her final season.
• Here’s the story of how middle blocker Devyn Cross went from an unknown recruit out of Edwards Air Force Base to an All-American honorable mention.
• Health and experience, two things the Wildcats didn’t have last year, are the keys to a successful 2019.

Soccer

• The Wildcats were picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12, one spot below where they finished last year.
• Internal expectations are much higher, with head coach Tony Amato saying this is the fittest team he’s ever had. It might be the most talented too.
• Arizona unofficially kicked off the season Friday with a 3-0 road win over San Diego. Kelcey Cavarra, Samantha Falasco and Iyana Zimmerman were the goal scorers. For a recap plus video of the goals, check out our game story.
• Arizona opens the regular season Thursday at home against Long Beach State. Expect there to be some fireworks. Literally:

Let's start the season with a bang

Join us for post-game fireworks at Thursday's @ArizonaSoccer opening match!

️ | https://t.co/Dkt2pK3mHp pic.twitter.com/sRi8ElRmYR

— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) August 19, 2019

Women’s basketball

• The Wildcats released their non-conference schedule. The only Power-5 opponent is Texas. We will have a breakdown coming soon.

Our non-conference slate is set!

Check it out ⬇️

| https://t.co/M0FauwIkYW#MadeForIt | #BearDown pic.twitter.com/HJjPXUZiMc

— Arizona Women's Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) August 15, 2019

• Former Wildcat and Ring of Honor member Ify Ibekwe won AfroBasket with Nigeria:

Congratulations to Ify Ibekwe on winning AfroBasket while representing Nigeria!

@FIBA#MadeForIt | #BearDown pic.twitter.com/DlRkfJtHox

— Arizona Women's Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) August 18, 2019

Football

• Wide receiver Thomas Marcus left the team, and is now at Montana State.
• Speaking of wideouts, UA legend Syndric Steptoe was hired in a player development role.
• Arizona Athletics produced the 41st-most revenue among public universities in 2017-18
• Theron Aych broke down Arizona’s inside receivers. Taylor Mazzone analyzed the inside guys.
• Pro Football Focus has a high opinion of Khalil Tate.
• First-time coach DeMarco Murray is fitting in nicely on the UA coaching staff. Probably even better than expected.
• Freshman running back Michael Wiley is in line to be immediate contributor, while Nathan Tilford is building confidence.
• Cody Creason, Scottie Young Jr. earned a spot on Pro Football Focus’ preseason All-Pac-12 team
• Are you tired of 3-man rushes? Well, there’s good news. Arizona plans to move to a four-man front this season. They finally have the depth and size to do it.
• JuCo products Trevon Mason, Myles Tapusoa are expected to bolster Arizona’s defensive line in 2019 — otherwise the Wildcats wouldn’t have recruited them.
• A “crazy story” brought ex-Richmond defensive back Samari Springs to Arizona, where he is expected to make an immediate impact.
• The “doldrums of camp” are over, and now Arizona is transitioning to Week 0’s opener at Hawaii.
• Two starting offensive line spots are up for grabs, but not because of a lack of options.
• Here are 5 breakout candidates for Arizona in 2019
• We made our final record predictions for the 2019 season.

Men’s basketball

• 5-star guard Nimari Burnett cut Arizona from consideration.
• 3-star forward Chibuzo Agbo committed to Texas Tech over Arizona, others
• Arizona is the only finalist that will not receive an official visit from 5-star guard Caleb Love which seems like a bad sign.
• After losing Brandon Williams, Adam Green wonders if Arizona is ever going to catch a break when it comes to injuries.
• Ryan Luther signed with BK Ventspils in Latvia.
• Both he and Justin Coleman received their master’s degrees in education this summer.
• Oregon made big headlines this week by landing two players for the 2019-20 season. The first was N’Faly Dante, a 6-foot-11 center who is ranked as the No. 14 player in the 2019 class. He reclassified from 2020.
• Same is true for Addison Patterson, a four-star shooting guard from Bella Vista Prep in Scottsdale. Oregon now has the top-ranked class in the Pac-12 and that doesn’t even include some of the highly-regarded transfers it added this offseason like UNLV’s Shakur Juiston and New Mexico’s Anthony Mathis.
• An Oregon writer explains why the Dante addition makes the Ducks the Pac-12 favorite. It certainly helps that Arizona will be without Williams.

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