Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images After Arizona did not have anyone selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, the second time in three years and third in six without a player picked, coach Jedd Fisch made a bold prediction on Twitter: Never Again https://t.co/q8P4SnVUGm — Jedd Fisch (@CoachJeddFisch) May 1, 2022 And then it happened again, the Wildcats getting shut out of the 2023 Draft to mark the first time the program had gone consecutive years with a draft pick since 2004-05. It didn’t help that a surefire pick suffered a season-ending injury and opted to play another year of college, whil ..read more

Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Sophomore guard Kailyn Gilbert made her last appearance for the Arizona Wildcats in a triple overtime victory over Washington on Feb. 18. She played three minutes. If her previous month of being with the team off and on wasn’t a clue, that made it obvious that she was not long for Tucson. Gilbert entered the portal when it opened on Mar. 18. She now has a new home on the bayou. Louisiana State announced the addition of Gilbert on Wednesday afternoon. She will join Kim Mulkey’s squad which is just one year removed from a national champi ..read more

Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK A big position of need With a good chunk of the team that went 10-3 back for this season, Arizona doesn’t have a lot of pressing needs. The exception would be on the defensive line, where the majority of its rotation from 2024 is no longer around. The Wildcats addressed that somewhat in January and February with a few transfer pickups, only to see another D-lineman (Bill Norton) jump into the NCAA transfer portal this month. And now it’s replaced him from the portal. Arizona has earned a commitment from former Memphis defensive lineman Jarra ..read more

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports BIG pickup After plenty of taketh the past few weeks, the NCAA transfer portal has finally giveth. Arizona has picked up a commitment from ex-Oakland wing Trey Townsend, who picked the Wildcats on Wednesday over Ohio State, Michigan State and Louisville. NEWS: Oakland transfer Trey Townsend, the Horizon League player of the year, has committed to Arizona, he told ESPN. Townsend was a breakout NCAA tournament star, helping No. 14 seed Oakland upset Kentucky, and scoring 30 points vs N.C. State. STORY: https://t.co/m2Yk2o4Jut pic.twitter.com/Dkq5sjpGQa — Jonat ..read more

Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images Treydan Stukes, Genesis Smith and Gavin Hunter have been some of the players getting reps at the new Stars position this spring. Stars coach Brett Arce likes to mess with people, saying he coaches the best players on the team, but it’s just a fancy name for a defensive position. “It’s really a nickel position,” Arce said Tuesday. “It’s our nickel safety hybrid. So the safeties and nickels are all kind of interchangeable. We use that term star but a lot of people say nickel.” Smith and Hunter both are coming from the safety room and are getting their feet wet ..read more

Arizona Athletics Editor’s note: With several sports going on, Wildcat Wrap serves as a recap that focuses on the Arizona programs that we do not have the time to cover on a regular basis but are certainly worthy of recognition. Arizona men’s tennis went decades without sniffing a conference championship. Now the program has won a Pac-12 three years in a row. Coach Clancy Shields guided Arizona to a share of its third-straight Pac-12 regular season championship and has the Wildcats in position to host an NCAA Regional next month. No. 11 Arizona went (21-3) went 7-1 in Pac-12 play, its only los ..read more

Photo by David Becker/Getty Images He’s likely to return to Wildcats after getting feedback Though he never started a game during his freshman season, it was easy to see that KJ Lewis has the skill set to make it in the NBA. And he’s ready to see how close he is to achieving that goal. Lewis announced Monday he was declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft, though he left open the ability to return to college by not hiring an agent. He has until May 29 to withdraw or remain in the draft. View this post on Instagram A post shared by KJ (@thekjlewis) The 6-foot-4 Lewis averaged 6.1 points, 3.1 rebo ..read more

Arizona’s Kaiah Altmeyer is hoisted by her teammates after a walk-off home run against ASU on Apr. 19, 2024. | Photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics Arizona softball is starting to stack up the weekly Pac-12 awards. The Wildcats had only won freshman of the week awards this season until last week. Now, they not only have a fourth Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award but they also have back-to-back Player of the Week awards. Sophomore Kaiah Altmeyer, who has played right field and designated player this season, was honored with the first Pac-12 Player of the Week award of her career one week after O ..read more

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports Also, Bill Norton is headed to Texas as expected The San Jose-to-Tucson pipeline continues. Arizona has landed a commitment from former San Jose State tight end Sam Olson, the fifth player from Brent Brennan’s 2023 Spartans team to join the Wildcats. He picked the UA over Cal. The 6-foot-3, 242-pound Olson has twos seasons of eligibility left after appearing in 26 games (seven starts) with San Jose from 2020-23. He’s caught 45 passes for 594 yards and six touchdowns in his career, including 22 receptions for 310 yards and three TDs last season. Olson gives Arizona ..read more

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports For the first time in three years, Arizona football is sure to have at least one player selected in the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday. More than likely, the program will have three players drafted, something that hasn't happened since 2014. Offensive lineman Jordan Morgan, wide receiver Jacob Cowing and tight end Tanner McLachlan are all expected to hear their names called this week, while running back Michael Wiley is a fringe NFL Draft prospect. Morgan could become the first Arizona player drafted in the first round since Antoin ..read more