After waiting his turn, Jackson Forbes has become an offensive force for Arizona baseball

Forbes, then a true freshman, wasn’t going to leapfrog veterans Mason White and Garen Caulfield on the depth chart. So Forbes made the most of what became a redshirt season. Classmates Tony Lira and Nate Novitske took the same approach.

“That team was obviously really, really good,” Forbes said. “We knew that our job was to pick up our guys on the bench and be good teammates. We did a good job, I think, at knowing our role and making sure we weren't a nuisance in the dugout.

“We learned a lot. We definitely learned a lot. And I think it shows.”

With White, Caulfield and several others moving on to pro baseball or running out of eligibility, opportunities opened in the UA lineup. Lira and Novitske have been fixtures. Forbes is becoming one thanks to his dynamic bat and defensive versatility.

Despite playing in less than two-thirds of Arizona’s games so far, Forbes ranks third on the team with 21 RBIs. He has started at second base and left field for the injury-riddled Wildcats, who visit TCU for a three-game series Friday-Sunday.

Forbes had a career-high three hits in Arizona’s 13-3 run-rule victory over New Mexico State on Wednesday night at Hi Corbett Field. He scored three times, drove in a pair of runs and stole a base.

“It's the guy that we recruited,” Hale said of Forbes, who attended Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale and was Perfect Game’s second-ranked shortstop in Arizona in the class of 2024.

“Last year with the older guys ... he didn't get any chances. We knew that it was probably gonna be a redshirt year for him.

“In the fall, and in the early spring, he wasn't doing the things he needed to do. Probably the last three weeks of preseason he became our best defensive second baseman that we had, the most range. And the ability to play the outfield has been huge for him. It's been able to get him in the lineup.”

Forbes still had to wait his turn. Arizona brought in Tyler Bickers from Milwaukee to play second base. Forbes — whose younger brother, Joe, is a freshman catcher for the Wildcats — began the season as a reserve.

But Bickers suffered a shoulder injury that eventually required season-ending surgery. With outfielder Easton Breyfogle also out for the year because of shoulder surgery, Forbes became a regular. He has started 12 times at second base and six times in left field.

A left-handed hitter, Forbes has slugged four home runs in 71 at-bats. Three of the four have come on the first pitch he saw, including his first career homer as a pinch-hitter vs. Grand Canyon on March 3.

“I’m an aggressive hitter. I’m up there to swing the bat,” said Forbes, whose .904 OPS ranks second on the team behind Lira (.968).

“I’m trying to do damage. It’s always been a part of who I am. And it’s been working out for me.”

Defensively, Forbes has had to learn new positions after primarily playing shortstop as a youth and in high school. He has an ideal teacher in Caulfield, who’s serving as a graduate assistant this season after playing four years with the Wildcats.

Forbes and Novitske, who also has started 12 games at second base, would watch how Caulfield fielded grounders and turned double plays. He continues to tutor them.

“I learned a lot from Garen last year, and I'm still learning from Garen this year,” Forbes said. “Taking groundballs every day, working on catching the ball, my fundamental stuff, all that — making sure that I'm locked in.”

Less is more

Right-hander Collin McKinney has played a pivotal role in Arizona’s past two victories.

McKinney threw 2⅓ shutout innings out of the bullpen in the UA’s 7-4 comeback victory over Arizona State last Friday. The redshirt junior started against New Mexico State and retired all six batters he faced.

Pitching in shorter bursts — no more than one time through the lineup — might have unlocked something for McKinney, who began each of the past two seasons as a weekend starter. He didn’t pitch well enough to remain in the rotation, but has become a valuable option for a UA bullpen that’s been ravaged by injuries.

“The problem sometimes with him (as a starter) was ... he would be lights out, and then all of a sudden, third, fourth inning, he’d run out of gas,” Arizona head coach Chip Hale said. “Sean (Kenny, Arizona’s pitching coach) has done a good job of managing when it's time to get him out of there. He's throwing strikes with all his pitches. He's tough to hit.”

Over his past four outings, McKinney has lowered his ERA from 8.36 to 5.82. He has 32 strikeouts in 21⅔ innings.

Whether starting or relieving, McKinney prepares the same way. But he approaches batters differently if he knows he’s going to face each one only once.

“I wouldn't say empty the tank,” he said. “Knowing that you don't have to go out there and pitch through the lineup three times, you can let your stuff go a little more and use all your pitches on some guys, where you might want to reserve a pitch or two (otherwise).”

McEntire mashing

Hale talked up transfer outfielder Carson McEntire’s tools during the offseason, and they were evident Wednesday night.

McEntire hit a three-run homer in the second inning. The center fielder also made a running catch just before crashing into the wall.

McEntire is batting just .214 and has a team-high 40 strikeouts. But he also leads the Wildcats in home runs (seven) and RBIs (24).

“He's been doing a good job,” Hale said of McEntire, who spent two seasons at Oregon State, including a redshirt year, before transferring to Arizona last summer.

“He knows he's in there every night, which is good for him ... mentally. He’s going to have some bad at-bats — so be it. The power and the speed and the defense (are) coming out. So it's really good to see.”

Inside pitch

– Hale said freshman right-hander Jack Lafflam “felt good” after throwing earlier this week. Lafflam’s MRI results were “clean,” Hale added. Lafflam left his March 31 start vs. West Virginia prematurely after experiencing some discomfort. Hale isn’t sure when Lafflam will be ready to pitch in a game again.

– Managing the staff will be a challenge this weekend. Arizona faces ASU in a nonconference game Monday night in Phoenix. The conference games vs. TCU are the UA’s top priority. “We'll pitch everybody we need to to win,” Hale said, “and then we'll figure it out.”

– At 11-21, 3-9, Arizona’s only path to the postseason is through league play. The Wildcats most likely will have to win the Big 12 Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. And they need to win at a higher rate to just to make the Big 12 Tournament. Is that something Hale thinks about? “In my own mind, I do,” he said. “But we just worry about getting to the next inning.”

– Arizona, which is tied for last place with Houston, was picked to finish second in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll. TCU was picked to finish first. The Horned Frogs (20-12, 7-5) are tied for fourth place with ASU and Baylor.

– TCU’s most dangerous hitter is sophomore outfielder Sawyer Strosnider, who’s slashing .304/.458/.670 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs. The 2025 Big 12 Freshman of the Year was voted by the coaches as the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year.

– TCU’s Tommy LaPour was the preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, but he’s been out since Feb. 13 because of an elbow injury. The Horned Frogs rank 11th in the league with a 6.18 ERA. They were second last year at 4.43.