The offseason is here for most Arizona sports, with the 2025-26 season in the books and the 2026-27 seasons still a few months away.
What better time than now to press pause and check the pulse of each Wildcat program?
Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at each of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletic programs to see what shape they’re in, as well as the prospects for the near future. We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it has performed under the current coaching staff, comparing it to how it looked
beforehand, and assess how it fits into the Big 12 Conference.
Next up: Baseball under Chip Hale
How it looked before
Jay Johnson took Arizona to the College World Series twice in six seasons, reaching the CWS finals his first year and then getting back there in 2021. But less than 48 hours after the Wildcats were eliminated, Johnson left for LSU (where he has since won two national titles) and suddenly the UA had a big job opening.
Then-athletic director Dave Heeke quickly zeroed in on Hale, one of the school’s most notable alums who had been part of the 1986 NCAA title team and had been coaching in the pros for nearly 20 years. That included a stint as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, while he won a World Series with the Washington Nationals as their bench coach and was currently on the Detroit Tigers’ coaching staff.
What Hale did not have was experience at the collegiate level, which along with his age (56 at the time) made his hire one that was met with mixed reviews. Yet he led the UA to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the first coach to do that since Frank Sancet in the 1950s, and got the Wildcats back to Omaha last summer.
Taking Stock 2026
The offseason provides a great opportunity to evaluate each of Arizona’s athletic programs under its current leadership. Check back each day for another sport breakdown.
Sunday, May 31: Football
Monday, June 1: Volleyball
Tuesday, June 2: Soccer
Wednesday, June 3: Triathlon
Thursday, June 4: Cross country
Friday, June 5: Men’s and women’s swimming
Saturday, June 6: Men’s basketball
Sunday, June 7: Women’s basketball
Monday, June 8: Gymnastics
Tuesday, June 9: Beach volleyball
Wednesday, June 10: Women’s golf
Thursday, June 11: Women’s tennis
Friday, June 12: Men’s tennis
Saturday, June 13: Baseball
Sunday, June 14: Softball
Monday, June 15: Men’s golf
Tuesday, June 16: Men’s and women’s track and field
Where things stand now
Arizona is coming off one of the worst seasons in school history, going 19-34 overall and 9-21 in the Big 12, a year after being 44-21 and winning the conference tournament title. A combination of losses from graduation and the MLB Draft, a rash of key injuries and overall poor offensive numbers led to this massive downturn.
The potential silver lining from this down year was an opportunity for many promising young players to play. First baseman Tony Lira produced the fourth-most hits by a UA freshman since the team moved to Hi Corbett Field in 2012, leading in most offensive categories, while fellow first-year players Cash Brennan, Caleb Danzeisen and Nate Novitske also stood out and could be what Arizona builds around through the NCAA transfer portal.
At least half of the 2026 team won’t be back for next season, either because they’re out of eligibility, will get drafted or weren’t asked back. Hale is taking a similar approach to what his UA coach, Jerry Kindall, did after a disappointing 1984 season when Hale was a freshman, and the roster overhaul that offseason helped produce consecutive CWS appearances and a natty.
Life in the Big 12
Through two seasons in its new conference, Arizona has won a conference tournament title one year and didn’t make the tourney the other. In the regular season it has gone 27-33, including 18-12 in 2025, but still hasn’t made trips to Baylor, Cincinnati or Kansas State.
The travel in baseball isn’t as impactful as in sports like basketball and volleyball due to the 3-game series format in conference play, but for trips to the Eastern Time Zone leaving a day earlier is the move. Otherwise it’s just like in the Pac-12, albeit with a few more bus rides to Phoenix to get direct flights.
The conference tournament getting moved to Surprise this past season would have provided a bit of a home field (and home heat) advantage had the UA made it, so that’s something to look forward to in 2027 and beyond.
One big question
Was 2026 a blip? It’s very common in college baseball for teams to regress the year after making the CWS, as evidenced by the fact that half of the 2025 field didn’t make the NCAA tourney and none got past the regional round. But Arizona did much more than that, and it’s understandable if the fanbase is concerned that those first four seasons under Hale were the peak of his tenure.
How the Wildcats do in the portal will go a long way toward determining if they can bounce back and return to previous form, as will staying healthy. A change at hitting coach also should produce results, but if it doesn’t then Hale—who is under contract through 2030—could start to feel his seat on the bench start to warm.
