Arizona AD Dave Heeke says end of July will be ‘key decision point’ for 2020 football season

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And a “global” testing agreement could be the key to starting on time

The Arizona Wildcats are set to open the 2020 football season in less than two months, hosting Hawaii on Aug. 29 in a “Week Zero” game.

That’s still the plan, according to athletic Dave Heeke, but the certainty of that game—and the entire season—happening as scheduled is a different story.

“We don’t know what the next day is going to bring,” Heeke said Tuesday during an interview on WildcatRadio 1290. “Every time we think we’ve got a little bit of a beat on it, understand what’s gonna happen, it changes on us.”

Arizona is eligible to begin preseason training camp on July 31, which is around when Heeke hopes the sport’s leaders come to a consensus on a variety of topics related to the 2020 season.

“I think we’re looking at the end of July as a real key decision point,” he said. “That’s going to be a clutch time.”

Heeke’s comments came a day after the UA announced it was pausing its re-entry plan for student-athletes in the wake of the state and Pima County’s major spike in coronavirus cases. Those who had already returned, all football players to this point, will continue to be able to participate in voluntary workouts after the school got confirmation that Governor Doug Ducey’s Monday executive order closing gyms statewide for 30 days didn’t apply to the athletic facilities.

Arizona will wait until after the Fourth of July weekend before reassessing whether to bring more athletes back, Heeke said. He said since workouts right now remain of the voluntary nature there’s no rush.

As of now, each school has set up its own protocols are far as bringing football players back to campus, including how it tests for COVID-19. In order for the season to happen without any notable changes it will require a “global” agreement on that topic, Heeke said.

“Can we come to an agreement on how we’re testing in the appropriate manner, so that when we play a football game—for that matter when we play a soccer game, when we play a volleyball game—that both teams and the staff around them and those involved in the game, that they’ve all been tested, and we all feel comfortable with the status?,” he said. “Are we comfortable with those testing protocols so that we can assure that we’ve done the very best that we can? If we’re all on par, we all feel really comfortable with that, I think we can move forward.”

If a uniform testing plan isn’t reached, Heeke said, that could lead to major uncertainty.

“Are we going to feel comfortable playing someone if … we’re not comfortable with the testing that they’ve done?,” he said. “Would we allow our teams to play against those teams? We hope we don’t get to that point. We hope we can play and that’s our intention. But those are the questions we’d have to ask if we couldn’t come to some national agreement on testing.”

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Arizona football workouts to continue despite statewide shutdown of gyms

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Arizona governor Doug Ducey on Monday announced a month-long shutdown of gyms as coronavirus cases surge in the state, but Arizona Wildcats athletic director Dave Heeke said the UA has consulted with the governor’s office and the closures will not affect the 83 UA student-athletes—all football players—who have already returned to campus for voluntary workouts.

Those will go on.

“Those are done in very controlled spaces, monitored,” Heeke explained Tuesday on WildcatsRadio1290. “These are not public facilities. We’ve done it with all the appropriate social distancing, all the appropriate sterilization techniques. We have much of our conditioning and an abundance of our weightlifting gear outside now in the football stadium. And really you come into your own individual little area. You do your workout, you leave, it’s sterilized. We have those protocols in place, so we can continue.”

The UA has paused its re-entry plan, however, announcing Monday that the rest of the student-athlete population will not return to campus until further notice. Soccer and volleyball players were scheduled to start trickling back in early July, as were the football team’s newcomers.

One of the 83 student-athletes on campus tested positive for COVID-19, but Heeke reiterated that was not the reason for the pause.

“We’re concerned about hospital beds and capacities,” he said. “And we thought it probably wasn’t best to bring people from different destinations, different spots around the country into Tucson. And, at the same time, just bring more people in that could potentially put more pressure on our healthcare system here locally.”

While the Arizona football, volleyball and soccer seasons are scheduled to start in late August, Heeke said there is “no rush” to resume re-entry.

“We’re still in just voluntary workouts,” he said. “I think everyone understood that and appreciated it. ... We take it kind of day by day, but we’ll probably get through the Fourth of July and see where we’re going and see where the trends are going. But our intention is to bring everyone back, our intention is to be ready to compete and have our athletes prepared to start school and to prepare to compete in the fall.”

The UA student-athlete who tested positive is in the school’s recovery protocol, which includes quarantining, treatment, contact tracing and testing before getting clearance to return for workouts.

“That was a very low-risk positive, so it had low-risk contact with folks,” Heeke said. “So we don’t have a real large concern even over that one test.”

In addition to the protocols inside the facilities, Heeke said all student-athletes are tested three times a week, extensively contact traced, and have to answer a medical questionnaire every time they arrive for workouts.

Anybody who “doesn’t feel that great needs to step back and go home,” Heeke said.

Two UA football players wondered why the team is on campus when school president Dr. Robert Robbins said normal students wouldn’t be allowed to return under these conditions. Heeke reminded listeners that these are voluntary workouts.

“So if anybody doesn’t feel comfortable, if anybody doesn’t want to be here, any of our student-athletes want to take a little bit of a break, they can do that and they all know that,” he said. “We have not had anyone do that yet, and they’re pretty excited to be back on campus. And they want to train. They want to have some structure in their lives.”

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Ryan Luther continuing pro career with Darussafaka in Turkey

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After a year in Latvia, former Arizona Wildcats forward Ryan Luther will continue his professional career in Turkey. The former Arizona Wildcats forward has agreed to a deal with Darussafaka, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

Ryan Luther turned down Varese to accept the proposal made by Darussafaka, I can confirm.@basketfaul first to report about agreement with Daçka

— Emiliano Carchia (@Carchia) June 30, 2020

Darussafaka plays in the Basketball Super League, the top league in Turkey. They were 13-10 before the coronavirus crisis canceled the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

After one season as a grad transfer at Arizona, Luther spent his rookie season as a professional with BK Ventspils, where the 24-year-old averaged 10.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 44 percent from 3.

In 32 games (20 starts) with the Wildcats, Luther averaged 8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3.

He began his college career at Pittsburgh.

Luther will also play in The Basketball Tournament this summer as a member of Herd That, a team that primarily features former Marshall players. That 24-team, single elimination tournament begins on July 4 and runs through July 14. The winning team claims a $1 million prize.

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Arizona football players speak out about UA’s re-entry plan

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In case you missed it, the Arizona Wildcats announced Monday that they have paused their student-athlete re-entry plan due to the surging number of COVID-19 cases in Pima County.

Prior to that announcement, the UA had returned 83 student-athletes to campus for voluntary workouts, only one of which tested positive for coronavirus, a positivity rate much lower than the state and county as a whole.

While other UA student-athletes will not be reporting to campus for the time being, Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star is reporting that the UA is hoping its football players can resume workouts Wednesday if the state allows them.

Governor Doug Ducey on Monday implemented a month-long shutdown of gyms, bars, and movie theaters but, per Lev, UA officials are inquiring to see how they can comply and still continue their workouts:

Campus officials are seeking clarification from state government to find out if Governor Ducey's order about gyms applies to UA indoor workout facilities. If not, plan is to continue workouts tomorrow. If so, UA would have to adjust and utilize more outdoor areas.

— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) June 30, 2020

That has a pair of UA football players questioning the school’s re-entry plan, while two other players expressed general concerns about institutions not prioritizing their athletes’ heath:

Cornerbacks Malik Hausman and Bobby Wolfe:

So why me and my team on campus then? https://t.co/qbY5y0GSbt

— Malik Hausman (@LeekHausman) June 30, 2020

My momma said she coming to get me

— Malik Hausman (@LeekHausman) June 30, 2020

Never said i don’t feel safe. Just curious why we still on campus if no students can be here.. it’s deeper then what you think

— Malik Hausman (@LeekHausman) June 30, 2020

Defensive end Issaiah Johnson:

The NCAA and universities want us to play during a global pandemic so they won’t lose millions of dollars, but can’t/ won’t give us money? I’m not asking for 50k but you can’t break us off 3 bands?

— Zay (@issaiah_johnson) June 30, 2020

Linebacker/defensive end Kylan Wilborn:

College athletes need to speak up now more than ever! If you feel that you are being put at unnecessary risks by your institution, it’s your job to speak up on it. IT’S YOUR HEALTH!

— Meaty (@KYLANWILBORN) June 30, 2020

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What condition are Arizona’s kickers in?

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We check on each position group to give it a condition of either strong, stable, unstable, serious, or critical

Welcome to our series in which we try to determine if the Arizona Wildcats’ position groups are in strong, stable, unstable, serious, or critical condition heading into fall camp. Last up are the kickers.

• Returning Starters: Lucas Havrisik
• Backups: Nathan Halsell
• Key Departures: None
• New Additions: Tyler Loop

Lucas Havrisik came into the program tabbed as one of the strongest legs in the country. It was a huge win for then-special teams coach Charlie Ragle to snag him late in the process.

Havrisik showed off a huge leg as a true freshman and nailed some long field goals when called on. But since his freshman season things have started to go downhill. While it could just a mental barrier at this point, a good chunk of it can fall on coaching and it’s just an enormous elephant in the room at this point.

As a sophomore in 2018, Havrisik went 6-for-11 on field goals and even went 22-for-24 on extra points, which is a punch to the gut when special teams is as bad as it is.

Junior year wasn’t much better, with Havrisik going 10-for-17 on field goal attempts and missing two PATs once again, finishing the year 37-for-39. Taking chances on long kicks are fine and you have to take the situation in consideration when assessing his misses. But he went 1 for 3 on field goal attempts from 30 to 39 yards while also missing one in the 20- to 29-yard range.

It’s unfortunate because kicker is a position filled with immense pressure and things can easily spiral out of control. Havrisik has the leg, but there’s something off between the snap and contact that has really limited Arizona’s options in plus-territory and sometimes just killed any chance at generating or maintaining momentum.

Arizona returns long snapper Seth MacKellar, who was in his first year in the program so there should be more consistency and synergy there.

Kickoffs are great, Havrisik has the leg to force a load of touchbacks, especially when it can be more beneficial for teams to just take the knee inside the 25 and get the ball placed in a decent spot. No complaints there.

Special teams coach Jeremy Springer swapped between Havrisik and Josh Pollack a good amount in 2018, and maybe that will be the case if incoming freshman Tyler Loop can show he can make some kicks. Loop is the No. 8 placekicking recruit in the country, according to Kohl’s Kicking.

This bodes well for Arizona, and hopefully Loop can restore order as the placekicker, with Havrisik owning kickoffs.

Condition: Critical

It sucks because I don’t think talent is an issue. Things have just gone so far down the rabbit hole that it seems almost irreversible. Whether that’s the mental block or coaching, the entire unit is just in a brutal spot.

Arizona and Jeremy Springer need Havrisik to get back to his freshman self or for Loop to step up as a true freshman.

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4-star forward Alex Tchikou reclassifies to 2020, has Arizona in Top 8

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Four-star forward Alex Tchikou is reclassifying from 2021 and 2020, and has the Arizona Wildcats in his Top 8, he announced Monday via Tipton Edits. The other finalists are Oregon, Alabama, Saint Mary’s, St. John’s, USC, Florida State and Illinois.

2020 four-star Alex Tchikou is down to eight schools.

@tcalex0 pic.twitter.com/ibEprDlPQb

— Tipton Edits (@TiptonEdits) June 29, 2020

Before reclassifying, the Frenchman was the No. 40 player in the 2021 class and No. 10 power forward, per 247Sports composite rankings. The 6-foot-11 forward recently moved to the United States and now attends Dream City Christian in Glendale, Arizona. Before that, he attended Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada.

Arizona currently has 14 players on scholarship for the 2020-21 campaign, one over the limit, so it’s unclear how they would have room for Tchikou, though UA coach Sean Miller has said Arizona’s scholarship crunch “will all work out.”

Here’s Tchikou’s 247Sports scouting report along with some highlights:

Very good size for position. Slender, chiseled frame with long arms. Outstanding athlete both laterally and vertically. Has elite defensive upside with combination of size, length and physical tools. Generally plays hard. Has range to three on offense but athleticism makes him best in transition. Can improve offensively within perimeter but has high ceiling as interior scorer given physical gifts. Shot selection needs work. Ceiling is extremely high but will need to improve skill to get there.

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Arizona Wildcats pause re-entry plan as coronavirus cases surge in Pima County

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One out of 83 student-athletes has tested positive

The Arizona Wildcats will pause their student-athlete re-entry plan due to the “increasing surge of positive COVID-19 cases in Pima County as well as the increased burden on the healthcare system,” the UA announced Monday.

The athletic department also announced that it has tested 83 student-athletes who have returned to campus for voluntary workouts and one tested positive for COVID-19.

The UA’s announcement comes the same day the state of Arizona announced a month-long shutdown of gyms, bars and movie theaters. The state reported a record 3,858 new cases on Sunday, raising the total to 73,908. More than 7,000 of those cases hail from Pima County.

The UA’s 1.2% positive rate is much lower than the 8.2% positive rate in Pima County.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have made this decision with campus and community partners to pause our re-entry process,” UA athletic director Dave Heeke said in a statement. “The health, safety and wellbeing of all members of our community is our number one priority. We will continue to work in conjunction with campus partners and our local government agencies to support and evaluate a safe and healthy return to campus.”

“Our mission has always been, first and foremost, the safety of our student-athletes, staff and community,” added Dr. Stephen Paul of C.AT.S. Medical Services. “Health and safety continue to be the guiding force in our re-entry process. We will continue to monitor the status and impact of COVID-19 in our community and our ongoing and safe training of student-athletes already on campus. Arizona Athletics will assess when to resume its re-entry process in collaboration with the guidelines and protocols of the University of Arizona, Pac-12 Conference, NCAA, and state and local government agencies.”

The UA has been returning its student-athletes in small waves, starting on June 15 with 20 football players, who all tested negative for coronavirus. 20 more players were supposed to join them on June 22 and 29 before the newcomers were set to arrive on July 6.

Soccer and volleyball players were scheduled to begin workouts on July 13 and 20. The college soccer season typically kicks off in mid-to-late August and football’s opener vs. Hawaii is Aug. 29, right around the time volleyball usually tips off its season, so this pause could put those start dates in jeopardy.

UA president Dr. Robert Robbins said last week that he would not re-open campus for the fall semester if he had to make that decision today.

Relatedly, Governor Doug Ducey announced Monday that Arizona schools will not re-open until at least Aug. 17, about two weeks later than usual. Classes at the UA are scheduled to begin Aug. 24.

“We cannot have a situation where we’re bringing students back to campus, asking our faculty and staff to come back to campus when we’re in truly an exponential growth of the number of cases here,” Robbins said.

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Allonzo Trier turns down interest from Cleveland Cavaliers, per report

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A young player who can score at all three levels, Allonzo Trier is likely to garner strong interest after being waived by the New York Knicks.

We already know one team that is intrigued.

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly made an offer to Trier—or at least strongly considered it—after he cleared waivers, but the former Arizona Wildcats standout wasn’t on the same page.

“While they revisited a deal with Trier after he cleared waivers, the former Knicks guard was looking for more money and a different contract structure than the Cavs were willing to give,” wrote Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Members of the front office also questioned his fit alongside young guards Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Collin Sexton.”

Trier was in the final year of a two-year, $7 million deal before being waived by the Knicks late last week. This is an interesting time to be a free agent. Not only is Trier ineligible for the postseason because he was waived after March 1, but next season’s NBA salary cap could dip due to the lost revenue from the coronavirus crisis.

Trier shouldn’t have a problem finding a home, though. In 88 career NBA games, the 24-year-old has averaged just under 10 points per game, while shooting a crisp 48 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3 and 80 percent from the free-throw line.

The other parts of his game remain a work in progress, but at minimum he can be a microwave scorer off the bench.

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These Arizona Wildcats are on MLB 60-man rosters in 2020

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Sunday was the deadline for all 30 Major League Baseball clubs to submit their spring training players pools, which can include as many as 60 players.

A player must be in the pool in order to be MLB eligible in 2020, though teams will only carry 30 players for the first two weeks of the season, 28 players for the next two weeks, and then drop to 26 players the rest of the season.

As of now, players are expected to report for spring training by July 1 and Opening Day is scheduled for July 23 or 24.

Here are the former Arizona Wildcats on 60-man rosters. If we missed one, let us know!

Kevin Ginkel, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks

A strikeout machine, Ginkel made his MLB debut in 2019 and immediately thrived in a setup role for the Diamondbacks. The 26-year-old right-hander allowed just four earned runs in 24.1 innings, fanning 28 batters. Before being promoted to the big leagues, Ginkel was logging a video-game-like 19.4 strikeouts per nine innings in AAA Reno.

Mark Melancon, RP, Atlanta Braves

The veteran reliever was dealt by the San Francisco Giants to the Braves at the trade deadline last July and posted a 3.68 ERA in 21 innings. The 35-year-old right-hander used to be an elite reliever but has not posted an ERA under 3.23 since 2016. He is in the final year of a four-year, $62 million contract.

Scott Kingery, UT, Philadelphia Phillies

Kingery, 26, is entering his third season in the majors after being selected in the second round of the 2015 draft. His 2019 campaign was his best yet after he slashed .258/.315/.474 with 19 homers, 34 doubles, 15 stolen bases and 55 RBI in 126 games. He can play virtually every position on the diamond.

Kevin Newman, INF, Pittsburgh Pirates

The best player on this list, Newman slashed .308/.353/.446 last season with 12 homers, six triples, 20 doubles, and 16 stolen bases in 130 games. It was his second season in the bigs after he was the 19th overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft.

Jared Oliva, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

The 24-year-old has had a solid track record in the minors so far, hitting .274/.348/.403 in over 1,000 career at-bats. But he has never made it past AA and is listed on the Pirates’ “taxi squad” meaning he’ll likely only make his debut in the majors in an emergency situation.

Bobby Dalbec, 3B, Boston Red Sox

The 25-year-old has yet to make his MLB debut, but he has been one of the best power hitters in the minor leagues over the last few years. The former fourth-round pick spent most of the 2019 season in AA Portland, hitting .234/.371/.454 with 20 homers before promoted to AAA Pawtucket, where he hit .257/.301/.478 with seven homers in 30 games. The Red Sox have a borderline All-Star at the hot corner already in Rafael Devers, so it will be difficult for Dalbec to crack the active roster.

Jett Bandy, C, Boston Red Sox

Bandy spent the 2019 season in AAA but before that split his first four seasons in the majors with the Angels and Brewers. Mostly a backup, he’s hit .218/.282/.365 in 444 career at-bats.

Brandon Dixon, 1B/OF, Detroit Tigers

A member of the 2012 national championship team, Dixon is entering his third season in the big leagues (assuming he makes Detroit’s Opening Day roster). In 2019, he hit .248/.290/.435 with 15 homers, 20 doubles and 52 RBI.

Joey Rickard, OF, San Francisco Giants

Another member of the 2012 title team, Rickard is entering his fifth season in the majors and his second with the Giants. Previously with the Orioles, Rickard has more or less been a replacement-level player, hitting .247/.301/.373 in 343 career games.

Robert Refsnyder, UT, Texas Rangers

The MVP of that national championship run, Refsnyder has not appeared in the majors since 2018. He played for three AL East teams—Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays—in four seasons, slashing .218/.308/.302 in 367 at-bats. Refsnyder has played first, second and both corner outfield spots in the majors.

Willie Calhoun, OF, Texas Rangers

We’re applying the term “former Wildcat” lightly here since Calhoun was kicked off the UA baseball team after one season, but he’s been a solid hitter for the Rangers. In 2019, the 25-year-old slashed .269/.323/.524 with 21 homers, 14 doubles and 48 RBI in 83 games.

Daniel Ponce de Leon, SP, St. Louis Cardinals

Another hardly-an-Arizona-Wildcat, Ponce de Leon pitched three innings as a freshman before transferring to Cypress Junior College. He’s been a solid, albeit infrequent, starter for the Cardinals the last two seasons, posting a 3.31 ERA in 24 games (12 starts).

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Taking Stock 2020: How Arizona baseball is looking under coach Jay Johnson

Courtesy Arizona Athletics

We haven’t had college sports for more than three months now due to the coronavirus pandemic, making this the longest offseason ever. Literally, not just figuratively.

But with student-athletes returning to campuses across the country, it looks like our long national nightmare might be over sometime soon.

So now is as good a time as ever to take a look at each of the Arizona Wildcats’ 19 different men’s and women’s programs to see what shape they’re in and what prospects they have for the near future.

To help prepare you for the 2020-21 seasons of Arizona’s 19 different men’s and women’s programs

Over the next few weeks we’ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he/she arrived and comparing it to now (as well as looking at this season and beyond).

NOTE: The information in the ‘before’ section has been repurposed from last year’s series to provide continuity.

Next up: Jay Johnson’s baseball team

How it looked before

Andy Lopez piloted Arizona to its fourth NCAA title in 2012, a dominant postseason run in which the Wildcats won all 10 games and allowed just eight runs in five College World Series contests. But the next three seasons saw Arizona regress considerably, leading to Lopez’s retirement after the 2015 season.

It took only two weeks for Arizona to find his successor in Johnson, who was coming off a 41-win season at Nevada but whose reputation was first established as an assistant at San Diego where he coached and help recruit future MLB star Kris Bryant.

Where things stand now

Johnson’s tenure started off with a bang, as Arizona reached the CWS championship series in 2016 where it fell in three games to Coastal Carolina. Since then, however, the results have been on a steady decline including consecutive postseason-less efforts in 2018 and 2019.

The 2020 campaign had been targeted as when things would turn around, and the early returns indicated that was going to happen with the Wildcats starting 10-5 including a key road win at Texas. The addition of pitching coach Nate Yeskie from Oregon State was a huge one, with Arizona’s arms looking much improved early on.

Then the pandemic happened, shutting the season down just before the start of Pac-12 play, and any hope of getting back to the playoffs was put on hold until at least 2021.

That brought to an abrupt end the stellar career of career Austin Wells, the 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year who ended up going in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft to the New York Yankees. He and utilityman Matthew Dyer (4^th round, New York Mets) were the only Wildcats taken in the coronavirus-shortened five-round draft, while only one member of Arizona’s strong recruiting class was expected to sign a pro contract after getting drafted.

In other words, Arizona should be loaded in 2021, maybe even moreso than it was this year. That means Johnson is under even more pressure to produce a winning team, particularly with a contract that only runs through 2023.

One big question

Will the oversized roster be a plus or a minus? The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to all spring sports student-athletes in the wake of the shutdown, which means Arizona’s baseball roster will be much bigger than usual. Two of its four seniors are set to return, while the majority of its draft-eligible upperclassmen are also returning. Throw in the 2020 recruiting class and that dugout is going to be packed.

Thankfully, legislation was passed earlier this month that lifted the cap on roster size (previously 35) for one season while also increasing the number of players that can receive scholarship money from 27 to 32. There’s only 11.7 scholarships to go around, though, so some players may be paying more out of pocket than a year ago to be in school.

There are still only nine positions in the field, nine spots in the batting order and 56 games in a regular season—though the Pac-12 has added a conference tournament for late May—so Johnson will have to figure out a way to get all of his talent into the game without upsetting anyone.

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3-star LB KC Ossai, brother of Texas Longhorns star, includes Arizona in top 8

The month of June has been scorching for the Arizona Wildcats on the recruiting trail, with eight players committing to the Class of 2021. Several other prospects have included the UA among their top choices, the latest being the younger brother of one of the top linebackers in the Big 12.

KC Ossai, a 3-star linebacker from Conroe, Texas, has the Wildcats in his top eight:

Top 8 Top 8 Top 8 ALL GLORY TO GOD ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/FCrGrfMNiU

— KC Ossai (@ossai_kc) June 28, 2020

Arizona is the only power-conference team among the finalists for the 6-foot-1, 222-pound Ossai, whose older brother Joseph Ossai led the Texas Longhorns with 90 tackles last season as a sophomore. The others are Group of Five members Air Force, Army, Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas and UTSA as well as FCS schools Fordham and Missouri State.

Ossai is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1,198 player in the 2021 recruiting class, as well as the 48th-best inside linebacker and the No. 181 prospect from Texas. A two-sport athlete at Oak Ridge High School, he has two older brothers playing linebacker in college, as Phillip Ossai is entering his second year at Houston Baptist.

Arizona currently has 11 commitments for 2021, giving it the No. 65 class in the country and No. 6 among Pac-12 schools.

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Former Arizona DE Justin Belknap to transfer to Montana

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Justin Belknap was among the Arizona Wildcats players who participated in Senior Night last November, but not long after he wasn’t done playing college football.

Now he’s found a place to finish his career.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end announced on Twitter Sunday that he’d be playing this fall for Montana, an FCS school. That means Belknap was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA after spending five years with the UA.

Belknap appeared in all 12 games last season for Arizona, starting twice, recording nine tackles with a sack. For his career he had 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in 38 games (26 starts).

A former walk-on linebacker, Belknap suffered a season-ending foot injury early in the 2018 campaign that enabled him to apply for a medical redshirt since he had used his normal redshirt year in 2015.

Seven of the nine scholarship players who left Arizona during or after the 2019 season have found new homes, three in the state of Montana. Wide receiver Thomas Marcus and safety Chacho Ulloa are set to play for FCS Montana State, while linebacker Day Day Coleman is at Stephen F. Austin, safety Scottie Young Jr. is at West Virginia, safety Troy Young is at UAB and tight end Jake Peters is at Colorado.

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Taking Stock 2020: How Arizona football is looking under coach Kevin Sumlin

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

We haven’t had college sports for more than three months now due to the coronavirus pandemic, making this the longest offseason ever. Literally, not just figuratively.

But with student-athletes returning to campuses across the country, it looks like our long national nightmare might be over sometime soon.

So now is as good a time as ever to take a look at each of the Arizona Wildcats’ 19 different men’s and women’s programs to see what shape they’re in and what prospects they have for the near future.

To help prepare you for the 2020-21 seasons of Arizona’s 19 different men’s and women’s programs

Over the next few weeks we’ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he/she arrived and comparing it to now while also looking at this season and beyond.

NOTE: The information in the ‘before’ section has been repurposed from last year’s series to provide continuity.

First up: Kevin Sumlin’s football team

How it looked before

Sumlin came on board in January 2018, a hire that came shortly after Rich Rodriguez was forced out after six seasons despite a 43-35 record and five bowl games (as well as a Pac-12 South Division title). Allegations of workplace sexual harassment against RichRod—which haven’t been substantiated—no doubt contributed to the move, but the school cited only on-field performance for their decision to make a change.

Sumlin had been fired a few months earlier by Texas A&M despite going 51-26 in six seasons, collecting a nice $10.4 million buyout in the process. Arizona was able to offer him a soft place to land where he signed a five-year, $14.5 million contract with the Wildcats, earning $2 million each for his first two seasons, while in 2020 that pay jumps to $3.5 million (not including any reductions prompted by COVID-19 budget cuts).

Where things stand now

Two years into the Sumlin era, it’s fair to say this hasn’t been a good hire. Arizona won five games in 2018 and just four last season, dropping its final seven games after a 4-1 start to mark the first time the program has had consecutive bowl-less seasons since the mid-2000s.

The first year could easily be blamed on transitioning to a completely different coaching staff and philosophy, but 2019 can’t be written off that easily. More of Sumlin’s own players got involved, and while those guys showed plenty of promise the second season was still a major step back.

Khalil Tate’s fall from grace continued, although that did allow Grant Gunnell to get a jump start on what should be a tremendous career, while the defense imploded to the point that Sumlin fired his defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and defensive line coach during that season-ending seven-game skid.

Year 3 is no doubt a make-or-break one for Sumlin and his staff, including an overhauled defensive group that includes new defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads. RichRod leftovers figure to make up the minority of key contributors, so that will no longer be an excuse to lean on, though the pandemic may unintentionally provide Sumlin et. al with additional leeway, since the athletic department faces a major budget shortfall and the last thing it could probably afford to do is buy out a football coach while hiring another.

Whether 2020 is the last season that Sumlin coaches Arizona remains to be seen, but if substantial improvement isn’t seen this fall the program could be locked into a downward spiral it may never come out of.

One big question

Can the Wildcats develop talent? Arizona’s 2020 recruiting class is the worst in the Pac-12, according to 247Sports, while Sumlin’s first full class in 2019 was 11^th out of 12 in the league. Only five programs from the power conferences had a lower-ranked 2020 class, and the Wildcats’ group was behind one non-P5 team (Cincinnati).

The still-gestating 2021 class sits sixth in the Pac-12 and 65^th overall, yet of the 11 players Arizona has commitments from only two are currently ranked among the top 1,000 prospects in the country. For several, the Wildcats are the only P5 school to have offered them to this point.

Recruiting rankings are subjective and by no means predictive of success, but they do serve as a baseline for talent evaluation, and as a whole Arizona is lacking. And with no indication the Wildcats will suddenly be in the running for 4- and 5-star prospects, this means Sumlin and his staff must develop their lesser-regarded recruits and maximize their potential.

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Gina Snyder hopes leading Bradenton Slice is first step of long coaching career

Gina Snyder is on the bottom left

Gina Snyder hopes this summer will mark the beginning of a long coaching career. The former Arizona pitcher is serving as the head coach of the Bradenton Slice in their inaugural season in the Florida Gulf Coast League, an opportunity that “fell into her lap.”

“The owner (Ryan Moore) is actually a huge baseball guy, and he saw that I threw out the first pitch at one of the Arizona Diamondbacks games, and that’s kind of how it came about,” Snyder said. “He reached out to me on Twitter, and I didn’t even really have to think about it. I was like, ‘of course.’”

Snyder wants to give back to the next generation of players. After graduating from the UA in 2019, she started giving lessons at the Hitting Factory in Marana and working for National Scouting Report, a recruiting service that connects prospects with colleges.

Snyder had thought about going into coaching too, but it never seemed realistic until Moore came along.

“The jump to coaching felt too big of a jump, and so I really needed that push, like someone to really reach out to me first,” Snyder said. “So once that happened I was like, you know what, I know you’re not supposed to wait for stuff, but I guess it’s in God’s hands and He knew I needed that push. And I felt like it was a sign that if they think I’m ready, then I’m ready.“

While this is Snyder’s first coaching position at any level, she was more excited than nervous to lead the Slice.

It turns out she was well-prepared, too. Playing two seasons under Hall of Fame coach Mike Candrea gave her a strong base to build on when the Slice opened mini-camp on June 15.

“I pick up on a lot on the base running and infield stuff,” Snyder said. “I mean, I ran a practice and I basically used his practice plan. ... We would do hitting in the morning at one of the facilities, and then I would run a defense practice where we would do some ground ball work, infield/outfield work and then do some play situations. ... It kind of all would fall into place and I just felt like I knew what I was doing.”

Which is good because Snyder only has one assistant coach to lean on. Her pregame responsibilities include (but are certainly not limited to) throwing front toss and batting practice, then filling out the lineup card, which isn’t as easy as it looks.

“I don’t have a ton of depth, but it’s really finding where they fit the best, especially because a lot of these girls have never played together,” Snyder said.

The Slice have 14 college players (mostly from Division I programs) who are hoping to improve and recalibrate after their 2020 seasons were cut short by the coronavirus crisis.

Snyder didn’t recruit them, but they’ve already formed a tight bond. That Snyder is only a year removed from her playing days makes her a relatable coach. She constantly checks in with her players to see how they’re feeling mentally and physically, and they’re honest with her.

“They tell me stuff that I know that they probably don’t tell their college coaches,” Snyder said. “They’ll reach out to say like, ‘hey, we appreciate how open you are.’ Because I’ll tell them I just want you guys to get better. To my fast girls for example, I’m like, ‘if you think you can make it, go.’ And they’re like, ‘really? Just go? ‘And I’m like, ‘yeah, you’re fast, you know your speed.’ I challenge these girls and I definitely let them play loose, and really I think that’s something players need to understand is that they need to understand themselves, not be so robotic.”

Snyder likes to challenge herself too. So far, she’s been coaching first base and calling pitches during games. Saturday, she planned to coach third base for the first time, which means controlling the Slice’s running game. Not the easiest ordeal for a former pitcher.

“That was the one thing I was nervous about...so I pretty much said we’ll see how it goes, but I think I’m ready now,” Snyder said.

The Slice are 4-5 through nine games and, weather permitting, will play more than 20 times before closing their season in late July. Temperature checks and social distancing measures are in place to help keep the players healthy.

Snyder will continue coaching in the fall as a graduate assistant at a Division I program, the specifics of which will be announced at a later date. From there, she can work her way up to an assistant coaching position, and maybe one day she’ll be one of the 251 D1 head coaches.

That will require hard work, patience and a little bit of luck, but Snyder has beaten the odds before. This is the same person who saw her playing career come to a halt at Purdue because of a debilitating illness, only to resume it as a walk-on at Arizona after she retaught herself how to pitch in her backyard.

Coaching, she’s convinced, is her next calling.

“I’ve never felt so happy since my last game at Arizona,” Snyder said. “I kind of went through that weird phase after college where you really just don’t have a purpose, and I think what was holding me back was feeling that I just wasn’t good enough. But it’s definitely the path that I want to take now, and I know for sure that it’s gonna be worth it.”

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If you want to help support Snyder and the Slice, you can donate here.

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What condition are Arizona’s cornerbacks in?

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

We check on each position group to give it a condition of either strong, stable, unstable, serious, or critical

Welcome to our new series in which we try to determine if the Arizona Wildcats’ position groups are in strong, stable, unstable, serious, or critical condition heading into fall camp. Next up are the corners.

• Returning Starters: Lorenzo Burns, Christian Roland-Wallace
• Backups: McKenzie Barnes, Malik Hausman, Bobby Wolfe
• Key Departures: Jace Whittaker
• New Additions: Khary Crump, Edric Whitley

Arizona returns a fairly small group at cornerback but technically return two starters as Jace Whittaker spent his fifth and final year at safety last season.

Lorenzo Burns has a shot to be an All-Pac-12 cornerback this season and a big time piece on the defense. I feel like he has been overshadowed by the likes of Colin Schooler, Tony Fields, Scottie Young and Jace Whittaker. Now I think a lot more will start to notice Burns.

But the starters are only as strong as Christian Roland-Wallace. His freshman season saw some ups and downs but for the most part was solid considering his true freshman status. He’ll continue to learn and grow, using his athleticism to give him some big upside.

The rest of the secondary is in an interesting situation given the coaching change. Personally I feel like cornerback can be a fickle position where coaching, techniques and preferences can change from coach to coach. It can be subjective and we’ll see how Greg Burns asses his group.

Arizona brings in two corner prospects, who were both recruited by Demetrice Martin. Burns now has a smaller but scrappy corner in Khary Crump to help provide some depth and Edric Whitley who at one point was a four-star prospect according to 247Sports. Both had a strong offer mixed in their list, Crump with Oregon and Whitley with Miami. They have a great opportunity, but I’m not sure that either step into a major role immediately.

McKenzie Barnes had a pretty strong role as a true freshman, playing significant snaps at corner. As a sophomore he played more of a special teams role, so the hope is that he gets back into a rotational role because Arizona needs to use all the experience they have. Barnes is an incredibly long corner and still has an immense amount of upside to be CB3.

Entering his fourth year in the program, Malik Hausman has yet to play more than a handful of snaps. Where he stacks up against the two incoming freshmen stack up will be interesting to watch.

Bobby Wolfe is a wildcard here. I have mentioned that he is the most likely of anyone to move to safety to help the depth there. While he could be used at corner, safety feels like a more natural position. He played a decent amount last season, burning his redshirt status but there is still a lot more to be desired considering the huge upside and raw talent he holds. I’d expect his sophomore campaign to show a big jump.

Condition: Unstable

The position group as a whole isn’t in a great spot but it isn’t in a terrible spot either. Lorenzo Burns should continue to rise and hopefully Roland-Wallace will make a nice jump in year two, leaving a good starting duo. Barnes is a good rotational piece making a pretty good top three.

I imagine Wolfe will be either splitting time between corner and safety or moving to safety for good leaving this group incredibly thin. It’s a situation that is asking a true freshman to step up early and I’m not sure if either are Pac-12 ready especially given a smaller summer window for acclimation as well.

You could make an argument for stable but the depth and lack of experience overall, outside of Burns, makes me a little uncertain. Just hope these top three guys can stay healthy all season.

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JuCo defensive end Alex Navarro-Silva commits to Arizona

The Arizona Wildcats added another defender to their 2021 recruiting class, landing a commitment from junior college defensive end Alex Navarro-Silva on Saturday.

Navarro-Silva attends Riverside City College in Southern California. Listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Navarro-Silva logged 40 tackles (5.5 for loss) and 2.5 sacks in 2019 as RCC won its first state championship in 30 years.

After talking to coach Buh and headcoach Sumlin I have decided to commit to The University of Arizona. Big shout out to the Don Lugo family, and the RCC family. I’m blessed to be in the situation I am in because of my parents and the man up above. #beardown pic.twitter.com/LJZ93kL6gl

— Alex (@metalmouthalex) June 27, 2020

Before Navarro-Silva went to RCC, he prepped at Don Lugo High School in Chino, California, where as a senior he racked up 17 tackles for loss, including 10 sacks. It’s unclear who else was recruiting him.

Navarro-Silva becomes Arizona’s 11th 2021 commit and eighth on defense. The Wildcats just landed three-star tight end Colby Powers on Friday. The class ranks 64th in the country and sixth in the Pac-12.

Here are Navarro-Silva’s RCC highlights:

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UA president less confident in-person classes will resume in fall semester

Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Could this affect the 2020 football season?

As the first state within the Pac-12 footprint to fully “re-open” after the coronavirus-prompted shutdown, Arizona and ASU seemed poised to be the trendsetter for the rest of the conference when it came to bringing student-athletes back to campus.

Now the UA president is questioning whether his school should have in-person classes when the fall semester begins Aug. 24, a decision that would no doubt impact Arizona Wildcats sports.

“If I had to say today would we re-open? No, because ... the ICUs are full,” Dr. Robert Robbins said at a press conference Thursday (via the Arizona Daily Star). “We cannot have a situation where we’re bringing students back to campus, asking our faculty and staff to come back to campus when we’re in truly an exponential growth of the number of cases here.”

Arizona has become a major hotspot for COVID-19 cases, with another 3,428 reported on Friday. The state’s total count of 66,458 cases is up 233 percent since the beginning of June.

Yet amid that rise, Arizona football players have been returning to campus in small groups. The first batch of 20, all of whom remained in Tucson after the campus was shut down in March, began voluntary workouts on June 15 with a second group joining them on June 22 and additional groups set to begin next Monday and July 6.

UA athletic director Dave Heeke said last week that none of the first group of players tested positive for COVID-19, while no information has been released on the second group. Several schools across the country have announced multiple players testing positive, leading programs like Kansas State to temporarily pause workouts.

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3-star TE/QB Colby Powers commits to Arizona

Photo via @colbypowers8 on Twitter

The Arizona Wildcats have been stacking upon on defensive recruits lately, but they ventured to the other side of the ball for their latest commitment, picking up a pledge from three-star quarterback/tight end Colby Powers on Friday.

Self-listed at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, Powers attends Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He is not ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings, but the site’s own rankings peg him as the No. 109 tight end in the country.

COMMITTED #BEARDOWN pic.twitter.com/6CZylaahR4

— Colby Powers (@colbypowers8) June 27, 2020

Powers also held offers from Colorado, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico, UTSA, Houston Baptist and Incarnate Word. The Wildcats just offered him on Tuesday. His older brother Bryson is a safety at Tulsa.

Colby has a versatile skill set. In 2019, he completed 91 of 159 passes (57.1%) for 1,329 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 304 yards and nine touchdowns, is known to be a good blocker, and has some interesting tools as a receiver, even though he’s only caught one pass for 16 yards in high school:

Always getting better. pic.twitter.com/ADl8wxbqLy

— Colby Powers (@colbypowers8) April 4, 2020

Powers becomes Arizona’s 10th 2021 commit, but only the third on offense. All 10 recruits have committed since the beginning of May. Prior to his commitment, Arizona’s class ranked 66th in the country and sixth in the Pac-12.

Here are his junior year highlights:

Fun fact: Powers also plays baseball.

Colby Power strokes a double for @_NLbaseball 2021. #FiveToolHitting

Klein Collins (TX) 2021 #uncommitted pic.twitter.com/MNWprUMtv5

— ✭Five Tool Texas✭ (@FiveToolTexas) June 21, 2020

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Knicks waive Allonzo Trier a day after releasing Kadeem Allen

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

The New York Knicks’ new front office is purging itself of all things Arizona Wildcats, it seems. A day after cutting Kadeem Allen, the club waived his former UA teammate Allonzo Trier, according to SNY’s Ian Begley:

Knicks have claimed ex-Net Theo Pinson, per SNY sources. New York will waive Allonzo Trier to make room for Pinson, sources say.

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 26, 2020

Trier was in the final year of a two-year, $7 million contract. The 24-year-old swingman was averaging 6.5 points in 12.1 minutes before the coronavirus crisis postponed the 2019-20 season, shooting 48 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3 and 79 percent from the charity stripe.

Trier only appeared in 24 games, missing time with a nagging hamstring injury.

That pales in comparison to what he did as an undrafted rookie in 2018-19 when he averaged 10.9 points across 66 games with an impressive shooting line of .448/.394/.803. Of course, the key to Trier’s longevity in the NBA will hinge on his ability to impact the game when he is not scoring. In 2019-20, he had the worst defensive rating among Knicks rotation players.

The good news is Trier being waived means he might be able to join a contender when the NBA season resumes in Orlando next month, though some are saying he will be ineligible for the postseason since he was waived after March 1 (the same would be true for Allen as well).

Due to their record, the Knicks (21-45) are one of eight teams not heading to Disney World to conclude the season.

Teams with a TPE large enough to grab Allonzo Trier off waivers:

Golden State
Memphis
Oklahoma City
Cleveland
Portland
Houston
Miami
LA Clippers

He would not be playoff-eligible this year, since he was waived after March 1.

— Jeff Siegel (@jgsiegel) June 26, 2020

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Arizona WR Jamarye Joiner has boot removed from surgically repaired left foot

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

One of the Arizona Wildcats’ most promising young players is making progress toward being ready for the 2020 season—if it even happens—after undergoing offseason foot surgery.

Wide receiver Jamarye Joiner, who had a breakout year in 2019 after being converted from quarterback just a few months earlier, is now walking without a boot on his left foot according to his mother’s Twitter account.

Boot came off today and is able to walk on it! With continued therapy he will surely be ready for the season! @Jamaryejoiner #10 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Q9LOFDwzt3

— ⬇️ Mom (@vailtrackclub) June 26, 2020

Joiner was held out of spring practice with a Jones fracture in his left foot. He had surgery to repair the injury on May 12, and with the boot off he can begin rehabilitation. Whether that means he’d be in line to play in Arizona’s scheduled 2020 opener Aug. 29 against Hawaii remains to be seen.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Joiner led Arizona in receiving yards (552) and touchdowns (5) last year, finishing with a bang by catching seven passes for 140 yards and two scores against ASU.

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What condition are Arizona’s punters in?

Photo by Chris Coduto/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

We check on each position group to give it a condition of either strong, stable, unstable, serious, or critical

Welcome to our new series in which we try to determine if the Arizona Wildcats’ position groups are in strong, stable, unstable, serious, or critical condition heading into fall camp. Next up are the punters.

• Returning Starters: None
• Returning Backups: Kyle Ostendorp, Jacob Meeker-Hackett
• Key Departures: Matt Aragon, Cameron Weinberg
• New Additions: None

Arizona essentially started last season with veteran Matt Aragon and ended with true freshman Kyle Ostendorp. With Aragon gone, it leaves the door wide open for Ostendorp to take over the starting role.

Ostendorp, who is on scholarship, appeared in six games and punted 21 times for 833 yards. It leaves an average of 39.67 yards, which isn’t exactly inspiring considering that would put Arizona outside the top-100 nationally.

2014 feels like so long ago when Drew Riggleman was blasting punts for over 46 yards and was ranked fourth in the nation. Only six yards can separate a guy from being a top-five punter to being outside the top 100, but those extra yards make all the difference in game situations.

And it’s not even accepting the fact that someone has a stronger or faster leg. It’s the inconsistency that has turned special teams upside down for Arizona. Whether it’s the snap, drop or contact, there has been far too much concern that the punt is getting shanked into the sidelines.

The unfortunate part is that there really aren’t any options behind Ostendorp to provide any competition or depth. Walk-on Cameron Weinberg was not listed on the spring roster and I feel like he had a chance to at least compete for the job considering how shaky things are.

Arizona does have another walk-on in Jacob Meeker-Hackett, who has been on the roster but hasn’t had much of an opportunity.

Condition: Critical

Arizona needs Ostendorp to be the guy. They invested an early scholarship in him and there is no one really to compete with him. Hopefully that is addressed as campus opens up. Coaching has been questionable to many so you hope the raw talent takes over.

The only thing worse than stalling on offense is having a punt put your opponent near mid-field.

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Arizona draft picks Austin Wells, Matthew Dyer sign with their MLB teams

Photo courtesy @Wellsius18 on Twitter

Former Arizona catcher Austin Wells and utility Matthew Dyer are officially on to the next stages of their careers after inking with their respective MLB teams.

Wells, the 28th overall pick of the 2020 MLB Draft, signed with the New York Yankees for $2.5 million, slightly above the recommended $2.49 million slot value.

Per @jimcallisMLB, the #Yankees have signed first-round #MLBDraft pick Austin Wells for $2.5 million (slot 28 value = $2,493,900).

Here's a look at the @Yankees' 2020 @MLBDraft picks, slot values and signing bonuses: https://t.co/6CJPE51pQx pic.twitter.com/ZxKDUInJHT

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 26, 2020

Dyer, a fourth-round selection, signed with the New York Mets for $350,000, about $120,000 under slot value, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo.

4th-rd @MLBDraft pick Matthew Dyer signs w/@Mets for $350K (Pick 120 value=$478,300). @ArizonaBaseball catcher has plus arm behind plate, runs well enough to play OF. #MLBDraft

— Jonathan Mayo (@JonathanMayo) June 17, 2020

The redshirt junior hit .348 in one-plus season with the Wildcats, including .393 in 42 games in 2019 that included 20-game hit streak. Dyer batted just .220 in the coronavirus-abbreviated 2020 campaign but was on a 6-game hit streak with three home runs and 13 RBI in that span before the season ended.

In 71 career games with Arizona, Wells batted .351 with seven home runs, 74 RBI, a .560 slugging percentage and a 1.036 OPS, walking 63 times against 57 strikeouts. He hit .353 as a freshman and was at .375 in 2020 with two homers and 14 RBI.

The minor-league baseball season is expected to be canceled due to the coronavirus, so it could be a while before Dyer and Wells take the diamond again.

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Get to know Arizona soccer’s returners: Mariah Dunn

Photo by Ryan Kelapire

We will be profiling Arizona soccer’s returning players before they return to campus in July. The previous renditions can be found here. Next up: sophomore Mariah Dunn.

It’s hard to find someone who’s won more club soccer games than Mariah Dunn.

Before joining the Arizona Wildcats in 2019, she captured four ECNL national championships with the SoCal Blues, including 2017 when they posted a perfect 32-0 record.

Dunn was a defensive stalwart in that dynastic run, often marking the other team’s best attacker. Now, she has a chance to do it at the next level.

After only logging 50 minutes across six games as a freshman, Dunn is a strong candidate to start for Arizona in 2020, probably at right back, along a backline that has to replace three starters.

“She’s a very physical player. She brings that aggressiveness to the team and she’s always a teammate for others,” said sophomore defender Molly Shannon. “She comes every day to compete, she tries her best to earn a spot every single day at practice.”

Here’s a Q&A with Dunn, who was also a two-time team captain at Rancho Cucamonga High School in Southern California.

Ryan Kelapire: How would you evaluate your freshman season?

Mariah Dunn: “It was difficult for me because I came from a team where I got a lot of playing time, so I wasn’t used to that and it was frustrating. But towards the end (of the season) I understood why I wasn’t getting as much playing time as I expected. So that was a huge learning curve for me and I just think that this is something that I can apply for this year to make me grow as a player and help me get on the field.”

RK: What was the biggest thing you learned?

MD: “Definitely to do my best in practice. Be more of a practice player than a game player.”

RK: What are your strengths as a player?

MD: “I think my biggest strengths are definitely that I’m an aggressive player. And I feel like I read the ball really well. And I like getting into attack so I think this year that it’ll definitely help.”

RK: You did start in the UTEP spring game in February. What did you take away from that?

MD: “Playing my whole life as a defender, I think that it was a big change for me to start playing winger and just learn to move my body. Not only looking and facing forward during the game but being able to turn around and make sure I’m looking forward and backward. That was different.”

RK: What’s the next step for you as a player?

MD: “I have everything to prove. I’m just excited to get to showcase myself in a better way. I feel like I’m more prepared this year and going into it I know what to expect. So I think it’s just gonna be a better year overall. The players that we have coming back, I think that is a stronger bond than what we had before. I think the chemistry of the team and dynamic is getting a lot better. I think it’s important for us to help keep that dynamic strong and help build it even more, so that we as a team collectively can help each other get to the top.”

RK: What’s your outlook for the team as a whole?

MD: “I think that it’s definitely going to be a developmental year for us. With Paul (Nagy) leaving and half of us being returners and half freshmen, I think that it’s definitely going to be something new, something that we’re not used to. And I think that’s just a chance for us to make it what we can and make the best of it. And I’m excited because I get to play with one of my former teammates of seven years, Megan Chelf.”

(Chelf is an incoming freshman forward.)

RK: What’s been the best moment of your soccer career so far?

MD: “Definitely winning four national championships with my club team. But I think that the first one was probably the most special because we had to work so hard for it, and I think that competing in a top league is very important because it prepared me for college soccer. Winning that just shows that I’m able to compete at a high level.”

RK: What other schools recruited you and why did you pick Arizona?

MD: “I was recruited by UC Davis and UC Irvine, and I felt like Arizona was the best fit for me because it just felt like home. Like when I walked on campus, it felt like home. The coaches made me feel at home, the players made me feel at home. They welcomed me with open arms and I liked the style of play they play because I feel like it was similar to what I had played in club. I felt like it was easy to adjust to, and I also like that the players and the coaching staff look for your strengths and they didn’t just focus on your weaknesses.”

RK: How did you get into soccer?

MD: “Well, I used to do gymnastics and then after gymnastics I did motocross. And then I crashed my bike and my mom didn’t want me riding bikes anymore. And then my uncle (Cameron Dunn) who played professionally in MLS and also went to UC Irvine for men’s soccer, he started making me want to get into soccer more. He started teaching me about the game and I honestly just fell in love with it.”

RK: How did you get into motocross?

MD: “My dad was big in motocross. He worked in the industry. He bought me my first KTM 50 and I started riding it around the neighborhood and he took me to the track and I fell in love with that too.”

RK: What have you been doing to stay in shape during quarantine?

MD: “I’ve been hiking a lot and then I’ve also been surfing a lot. I go to the beach almost every day.”

RK: How does surfing help with soccer?

MD: “It helps with my agility and mobility.”

RK: What drives you as a player and person?

MD: “From a religious aspect, I’d say God. I feel like I get everything from Him, all my strengths and everything that I know. All my wisdom comes from Him, so I think that plays a huge aspect.”

RK: Your bio says you are a political science major and you want to pursue a career in criminal law. Why is that?

MD: “I’ve always been told that I’m good at arguing, so that was one of my main reasons (laughs). And then I do have a family member who works for a law firm and she’s a criminal defense lawyer. And I just think that I’ve always wanted to do that because I wanted to help people who are going through social injustices and help try to make that better.”

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