Arizona Awards: Recapping a busy year in sports for the Arizona Wildcats

Arizona had a year filled with conference championships, UA triathlon doubling down as national champs, memorable postseason performances and several teams and figures having historic moments.

For the fourth year in a row, the Wildcats won the Territorial Cup series over in-state rival Arizona State — and the Territorial Cup itself following UA football's win over the Sun Devils in Tempe in November. 

Additionally, the Wildcats landed a 20-year agreement with Casino Del Sol for the naming rights to Arizona Stadium, a deal worth $60 million. The UA also struck a 15-year, $27.7 million deal with Akme insurance for the naming rights to McKale Center. 

To reflect on a memorable year for Arizona athletics, we're handing out awards! Not real awards, so use your imagination. Imagine a two-feet tall, 10-pound bronze saguaro cactus — the same dimensions as an Oscar — as the award. The categories: best team, best moment, coach of the year, men's athlete of the year, women's athlete of the year, transfer of the year and freshman of the year. 

Without further ado, here are the winners: 

Best Team: Arizona men's basketball

The rundown: Triathlon — whose first national championship-winning team got inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Fame — makes a compelling case for the best team this season, especially considering it's a program that has won more national championships than not. 

Despite another historic feat by UA triathlon, the most recent rendition of Arizona men's basketball had arguably the best season in program history. The Wildcats had the most wins (36) and beat 14 ranked opponents. Arizona became the first team in college basketball history to have five ranked wins in its first nine games. 

Before Arizona made a run to the Final Four in Indianapolis, the first under head coach Tommy Lloyd, the Wildcats — and their eight-man rotation of superstar freshmen and talented veterans — won the Big 12 championship outright. 

In contention: Triathlon, men's golf, men's tennis, football, swim and dive

Best Moment: Arizona advances to Final Four

The rundown: The last time Arizona went to the Final Four before this year, Tom Brady didn't have a Super Bowl win, Lloyd was just beginning his coaching journey and LeBron James was a sophomore in high school.

In the 25-year gap between Arizona's last two Final Four appearances, the Wildcats went to five Elite Eights and 12 Sweet 16s. They've been close to a Final Four many times, which means Arizona's passionate fanbase has been disappointed. Many times. Want to make an Arizona fan recoil? Just ask them about Deron Williams, Luther Head, Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker.

In the Elite Eight in San Jose, California, Purdue held a 38-31 lead over the Wildcats. Arizona outscored Purdue, 40-24, in points in the paint and had a momentum-shifting 3-pointer by senior forward Anthony Dell'Orso. Arizona took down the Boilermakers, 79-64, and advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2001, two years before Arizona's seniors were born. 

The city of Tucson rejoiced and over 1,000 fans welcomed the team back at McKale Center just after 1 a.m. the night of the Elite Eight to celebrate the Final Four appearance. 

In contention: UA triathlon winning the national championship, Arizona men's tennis advancing to the Elite Eight, UA men's golf's run to the NCAA championships, quarterback Noah Fifita setting the UA career touchdowns record, Jaden Bradley's game-winning shot against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament  

Coach of the Year: Clancy Shields

The rundown: Arizona men's tennis lost arguably the greatest player in program history when Colton Smith graduated and turned pro. Smith was the face of Arizona tennis for the entirety of his career and helped the Wildcats reach unprecedented accomplishments in the postseason. 

The loss of Smith didn't stop the Wildcats from winning the Big 12 regular season championship — the sixth conference championship for Arizona since 2022.

Arizona men's tennis, led by senior Jay Friend, took down Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.  

In contention: Tommy Lloyd (men's basketball), Wesley Johnson (triathlon), Brent Brennan (football), Dwight Dumais (diving) and Ben Loorz (swimming), Jim Anderson (men's golf)

Women's Athlete of the Year: Kelly Wetteland

The rundown: Arizona triathlon won its second straight national championship, beating second-place Arizona State and 34 other teams in Tempe. Wetteland, a senior for the Wildcats, won the individual national championship, with a time of 1:09:09, while sophomore Margareta Vrablova finished in second place, just 10 seconds behind Wetteland, who was a part of Arizona's first-ever triathlon recruiting class. 

In contention: Sydney Stewart (softball), Charlotte Back (golf), Jordan Wilson (volleyball), Regan Shockey (softball), Emma Gates (track and field)

Men's Athlete of the Year: Noah Fifita

The rundown: In the first season under offensive coordinator Seth Doege, Fifita finished third in the Big 12 with 3,228 yards, 29 touchdowns and just six interceptions — two interceptions in the final seven games of the season. 

It was a banner season for Fifita, who set the program career passing touchdowns record (73) and the single-season passing touchdowns record (29).

Fifita, a Polynesian College Football Player of the Year finalist and first-team All-Big 12 selection, became the third all-time Arizona quarterback to receive first-team all-conference honors — the first in 50 years. He joined Bruce Hill, who was an All-WAC first-team selection in 1975, and Ted Bland, a three-time All-Border Conference selection from 1933-35.

Fifita led the Wildcats to their second bowl appearance in three seasons and became the first UA quarterback since Nick Foles to win the Territorial Cup twice as a starter. Fifita is just over 800 yards away from passing Foles for the most career passing yards by a Wildcat. 

In contention: Jaden Bradley (basketball), Jay Friend (tennis), Mason Lawyer (track and field), Filip Jakubcik (golf), Tomas Lukminas (swim and dive)

Transfer of the Year: Mason Lawyer 

The rundown: Lawyer was most recently named the Big 12 Performer of the Year for the track and field season.

The Washington State transfer and sprinter from Boise, Idaho won the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the Big 12 championships this year — the first Wildcat to win the event since Tucson native and Olympic medalist Michael Bates in 1991.

In contention: Kris Hutson (football), Grace Jenkins (softball), Sereneti Trice (softball), Mickayla Perdue (women's basketball), Javin Whatley (football)

Freshman of the Year: Brayden Burries

The rundown: Arizona's loaded men's basketball team had three standout freshmen in its starting lineup in Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Ivan Kharchenkov, but Burries led the Wildcats in scoring this season, averaging 16.1 points per game this season.

Burries averaged 16.8 points per game on 48.1% shooting from the field in the postseason. He scored 20-plus points 14 times this past season, including a 31-point performance against Colorado. 

Burries is a projected Top 10 pick for the NBA Draft next month. 

In contention: Koa Peat (men's basketball), Ivan Kharchenkov (men's basketball), Sydnie Vanek (track and field), Duncan Henderson (swim and dive), Rylie Holder (softball)