As always in college softball, the name of the game is pitching. Arizona led the Big 12 in batting average (.347), runs (436), home runs (83) and had the fewest errors (44). It didn’t matter because Caitlin Lowe’s so-so pitching staff had a 2.60 ERA.
Compare that to the league’s best player, Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady, who had an ERA of 0.86. That’s why the Red Raiders are in the Women’s College World Series.
It reminds me of the series of great Arizona national championship pitchers whose ERAs were Canady-level: Jennie Finch had ERAs of 0.59 and 0.79; Alicia Hollowell had ERAs of 0.88, 0.89 and 0.94; Nancy Evans had an ERA of 0.98. Arizona has only had one dominant pitcher (Danielle O’Toole, 2017) since Kenzie Fowler‘s freshman season in 2010. Lowe’s offseason mission is clear: find the next Fowler or Hollowell.
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Kenzie Fowler delivers a pitch against UTEP in 2014.
– A year ago, big-money school Texas gave Arizona women’s golf coach Laura Ianello a $110,000 raise and made her the Longhorns’ women’s golf coach.
To avoid the “poaching” of another top Arizona coach, UA Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois included a significant buyout in the contract extension of men’s tennis coach Clancy Shields.
Fortunately for those who follow and appreciate what Shields has done to make Arizona’s men’s tennis team a Top 10-15 program, the leading coaches in NCAA men’s tennis don’t appear ready to retire or leave their posts. Wake Forest’s Tony Bresky, who won the NCAA title last week, is 49. TCU’s Dave Roditi, whose team finished second, is 51. Stanford’s Paul Goldstein, whose team tied for third, is 48, and Texas’ Bruce Berque, also tied for third, is 50. UCLA’s Billy Martin, whose team reached the Elite Eight last week, is 57. Shields, 37, the only UA coach to win four consecutive conference championships in any sport, has a contract that runs through 2028.
Pima forward Wes Ball (10) mulls his options while looking for the perfect cord to keep as the Aztecs cut down the net following their 80-73 win over Chandler-Gilbert in the Region I, Division II playoff final, Tucson, Ariz., March 7, 2025. The Aztecs ran their record to 32-0 with the win and booked their spot in the NJCAA playoffs.
– Pima College center Wes Ball, a big part of the Aztecs’ 35-1 season and run to the NJCAA Division II Final Four, took a recruiting visit to Kansas earlier this month but did not commit to the Jayhawks. Instead, he then took a recruiting visit to Louisiana-Monroe. Tough choice. He could probably play 25-30 minutes a game at UL-M. At KU, he would probably be mostly a practice player.
– Since Arizona hired Fred Harvey as its head track and field coach in 2002, the coaching business in the West has significantly changed. Female head track coaches are now employed at UCLA (Joanna Hayes), Washington State (Julie Taylor), Washington (Maurica Powell) and Cal (Robyne Johnson). Plus, Caryl Smith Gilbert was the head coach at USC before being hired away by Georgia. It makes you wonder if Arizona’s well-respected associate head coach for track and field, Francesca Green, might be elevated to replace Harvey. Green has been coaching at Arizona for 16 years and is in the prime of her career at 48.
– Cienega High School grad Isaiah Jackson, who has hit 16 home runs as ASU’s starting center fielder this season, was named to the All-Big 12 first team last week. He becomes the sixth Tucsonan to become a first-team All-Conference baseball player at ASU, joining Sahuaro pitcher Kevin Dukes, 1981; Amphi first baseman Ted Dyson, 1988; Sahuaro pitcher Marc Barcelo, 1993; CDO pitcher Ryan Schroyer, 2003; and Sunnyside catcher Carlos Ramirez, 2009.
How Fred Harvey did more with less for Arizona track and field | Greg Hansen
