Arizona is back in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row, a feat the program hadn’t accomplished since making it 14 straight times from 1950-63. And like the first tourney of the current run, the Wildcats will open the postseason at home.
Seeded No. 13 overall, the UA (36-21) is hosting Dallas Baptist, West Virginia and Grand Canyon in the Tucson Regional at Hi Corbett Field. The double-elimination regional begins Friday.
Here’s a closer look at the teams the UA will have to get through in order to reach the Super Regionals:
No. 2 seed Dallas Baptist Patriots
- Record: 44-13, 17-7 in Conference USA (2nd place; won conference tournament title)
- RPI: 17
- Records vs. NCAA tourney teams: 12-4 (1-0 vs. Arizona)
Overview
If you’re a college sports fan that’s not familiar with Dallas Baptist, that’s because baseball is the only sport the school plays at the Division I level. And the Patriots have been pretty since moving up from D-II in 2004, making 13 NCAA tourneys (including 10 in a row, the 5th-longest active streak) with trips to the Super Regionals in 2011 and 2021.
Coach Dan Heefner is in his 17th season and he’s won 651 games, reaching the 40-victory mark 11 times. One of his assistants is former MLB infielder Cliff Pennington, who played for Chip Hale when he managed the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015.
DBU has shown the ability to win away from home, going 19-8 in road and neutral site games with wins at Big 12 Tournament finalists Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and over Alabama and Arizona at the Frisco Classic. The Patriots are in the top 50 nationally in several categories including batting average (.302), home runs (111), earned run average (3.98) and fielding (.982).
Players to know
- RHP Ryan Johnson: The 6-foot-6 junior is ranked by MLB.com as the 58th-best prospect for the 2024 draft, and Arizona got to see firsthand just how dominant he is earlier this season. Johnson struck out 14 over 6.2 innings, though Mason White was able to homer off him in the 4-3 loss. For the season, Johnson is 11-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 147 strikeouts (against 12 walks) in 100 innings.
- C Grant Jay: The sophomore has hit a team-best 21 home runs, including three in the Conference USA Tournament. He’s also thrown out 13 baserunners.
- 1B Chayton Krauss: The junior was 4 for 6 with five RBI in the C-USA tourney final, and for the season he leads the Patriots in RBI (64) and is tied with Michael Dattalo in batting average (.352).
No. 3 seed West Virginia Mountaineers
- Record: 33-22, 19-11 in Big 12 (4th place; went 0-2 in conference tournament)
- RPI: 37
- Records vs. NCAA tourney teams: 10-7
Overview
A future Big 12 foe for Arizona, West Virginia is making its 15th NCAA Tournament appearance but first time in consecutive seasons since 1961-64. The Mountaineers are still searching for their first Super Regional berth.
Coach Randy Mazey is retiring after this season, his 12th in Morgantown. He’s won 369 games with West Virginia and 572 in 18 total years as a head coach. Assistant Steve Sabins has already been named head coach for 2025.
The Mountaineers have dealt with several key injuries this season, leading to an uneven campaign where their longest win streak was five, and they were two and out in the Big 12 tourney.
Players to know
- SS JJ Wetherholt: Ranked by Baseball America as the 4th-best MLB Draft prospect in the NCAA tourney, Wetherholt is very familiar to UA fans who saw him go 7 for 13 with three doubles, two home runs, four RBI and five stolen bases (including a game-winning steal of home in the 11th inning) when West Virginia took two of three from the Wildcats at Hi Corbett last February. This year, Wetherholt has battled injuries and has played only 31 games but is still hitting .356.
- C Logan Sauve: The sophomore missed almost a month because of injury earlier this season but when healthy has been a key part of the Mountaineer offense. He’s hitting .302 and has thrown out nine potential base stealers.
- LHP Derek Clark: The 5-foot-9 senior has been West Virginia’s most consistent starter, going 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 11 games. He’s thrown four complete games, three for nine innings, and last time out allowed two runs over eight.
No. 4 seed Grand Canyon Antelopes
Record: 34-23, 23-7 in WAC (1st place; went 0-2 in conference tournament)
RPI: 96
Records vs. NCAA tourney teams: 3-6 (2-1 vs. Arizona)
Overview
Grand Canyon is in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons, but this time the Antelopes backed into the field. The Antelopes were knocked out of the WAC tourney early only to get the league’s automatic bid because tournament winner Tarleton State wasn’t eligible.
The ‘Lopes dominated the WAC and held their own against a tough nonconference schedule, one that included 10 games against Pac-12 schools. That included a 2-1 record over Arizona, beating the Wildcats 5-4 in Phoenix and 24-8 at Hi Corbett on April 30.
Second-year coach Greg Wallis has a veteran roster, with 19 juniors or seniors, many of whom have started for several years. GCU’s pitching coach is ex-Wildcat Nathan Bannister, who was part of the 2016 College World Series squad.
Players to know
- OF Tyler Wilson: A senior, Wilson is the WAC Player of the Year and the school’s career leader in hits (237). This season he’s batting .381 with 16 home runs and 63 RBI, all team highs.
- 1B Zach Yorke: A sophomore, he is the younger brother of one-time UA signee (before getting drafted in the 1st round by the Boston Red Sox in 2020) Nick Yorke. He’s hitting .273 with 10 homers and 45 RBI, as well as more walks (40) than strikeouts (35).
- RHP Isaac Lyon: The sophomore has gone 6-1 with a 3.70 ERA in 75.1 innings, throwing at least six innings in his final six regular-season appearances. He’s struck out 75 against 15 walks.