When Chip Hale parted ways with Toby DeMello following the 2026 season it meant Arizona was in need of both a hitting coach and someone to work with the Wildcats’ catchers. Jack Meggs was hired last week to handle the hitting part, and another Saint Mary’s assistant will be joining him in Tucson.
D1Baseball’s Shotgun Spratling
is reporting that the UA is set to bring in Daniel Molinari to be its catching coach.Like Meggs, the 31-year-old Molinari spent the past three seasons at Saint Mary’s, which
is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances including a pair of upset wins over No. 1 overall seed UCLA in regionals. Molinari had previously been at Cañada Community College in California after a 6-year pro career that included playing for Brazil in qualifying games for the 2022 World Baseball Classic.
DeMello had been in charge of Arizona’s offense and catching since joining the program in 2022.
The Wildcats still have a few staff positions to fill, including a director of player operations and a pitching performance coach.
Portal update
Arizona is up to 12 players from the 2026 team in the NCAA transfer portal, including a pair of pitchers who saw a lot of action this past season in righthanders Corey Kling and Collin McKinney. Both have one year of eligibility left and could get drafted in July but may have entered the portal to keep their options open.
Kling, who transferred from South Florida last summer, went 2-1 with a 4.28 ERA in 20 appearances. He struck out 43 batters in 40 innings against nine walks, holding hitters to a .276 batting average.
McKinney, who spent two years with the UA after starting his career at Baylor, was 3-7 with a 6.27 ERA in 17 appearances including six starts. He struck out 49 in 37.1 innings, and in Big 12 play was 3-3 with a 4.91 ERA.
First offseason player addition
The Wildcats have yet to add anyone from the portal, which opened June 1, but they have at least one newcomer on board for 2027.
Junior college righty Collin Cobb from Williston State College in North Dakota committed to the UA last week, bringing with him a pedigree that could make him a candidate for the weekend rotation or a key bullpen role.
Cobb went 10-1 with two saves and a 2.18 ERA for Williston, striking out 119 batters in 70.1 innings. In two seasons he walked only 25 batters in 113 innings.
