Very little went right for the Arizona baseball team in 2026.
Tony Lira’s emergence as an offensive force proved to be an exception.
D1Baseball acknowledged Lira’s breakout season by naming him a second-team Freshman All-American on Wednesday.
Lira is the second Wildcat to earn Freshman All-American recognition from D1Baseball in as many years, joining right-handed starter Smith Bailey.
After redshirting in 2025, Lira started all 53 games for Arizona this past season. The first baseman led the Wildcats in multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.343), on-base percentage (.420), slugging percentage (.509), hits (74), doubles (19) and total bases (110).
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Arizona first baseman Tony Lira goes to his knees to trap a shot up the line by New Mexico batter Gene Trujillo for the unassisted putout in the third inning of their nonconference game, March 17, 2026, at Hi Corbett Field.
Lira is playing this summer for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League.
He and Bailey are two of several returnees the Wildcats will build around in 2026-27. As of Wednesday, 12 Arizona players had entered the transfer portal while four had committed and/or signed with the UA, plus one junior-college player.
The portal for baseball closed Tuesday. Sometimes, because of paperwork delays, names trickle out after the window has closed.
Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com. On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @michaeljlev.bsky.social
Michael Lev
Sports Reporter/Columnist
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