The offseason is here, with all of Arizona’s sports done for 2024-25 season and the 2025-26 campaigns still a little ways away.
Which makes this a great time to step back and see how all of the Wildcats’ programs are doing and how they’ve handled the move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12
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 and what prospects they have for the near future. We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he/she arrived and comparing it to now while also evaluating how that program fits into its new conference.
First up: Rita Stubbs’ volleyball program
How it looked before
After the retirement of former head coach Dave Rubio in January of 2023, Stubbs has since led the program. Her first season was one that most would like to forget.
The Wildcats finished with an 8-23 overall record and 3-17 in their final season in the Pac-12.
Inconsistency in serve receive as well as setting doomed Arizona for most of the season. One of the few highlights came from star senior Sofia Maldonado Diaz who led the team with 396 kills. Maldonado Diaz would transfer to Louisville for her final season.
Stubbs would fill the leadership vacancy by combining the experience of another senior in Jaelyn Hodge as well as bringing in the number one overall recruit in Carlie Cisneros.
Going into its first season in the Big 12 with so many unanswered questions and unknowns was not ideal, yet Stubbs took the opportunity by the horn.
Where things stand now
This past season started off strong with a perfect non-conference record at 11-0. However, reality hit when the Wildcats went on the road to Baylor and TCU, where they took back to back losses.
It was an uneven start to the Big 12. Arizona secured a home win against No. 20 BYU, but would then lose its next four ranked matchups. It was part of a five-game losing streak.
Then, Arizona would catch lightning in a bottle. After a key win against No. 8 Kansas at home, the Wildcats would end the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.
This gave Arizona a small chance at earning a spot in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, those dreams would not come to fruition.
The Wildcats did manage to make the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). They would also be a host team for the tournament.
After wins against Pacific, Wyoming, and Northern Colorado, Arizona would host Bowling Green for the tournament championship.
Going the distance, Arizona would pull off the win in five sets, giving Stubbs her first postseason championship as the Wildcats’ head coach.
Arizona’s season started and ended in 11-game win streaks.
Looking ahead to this upcoming season, two of the three leaders in kills come back for the Wildcats. This includes Cisneros, as well as senior Jordan Wilson, who led Arizona last season.
Arizona also brings back the four-time Big 12 rookie of the week in setter Avery Scoggins.
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
It may be too early to tell, but just from the first season in the Big 12, it seems as though Arizona has a brighter future ahead.
After winning just 17 of 60 Pac-12 conference games in the previous three seasons, the Wildcats posted a 9-9 record in the inaugural season in the Big 12.
This included upset wins at home against No. 20 BYU and No. 8 Kansas.
For the most part, Arizona beat who they were supposed to beat, outside of a surprising loss to Colorado at home.
Where the improvement and step-up may show is when the ranked matchups are played. Arizona went 2-6 in ranked Big 12 matchups last season.
Going .500 in those types of games, while also beating who they are supposed to beat, may just put Arizona in the NCAA tournament next season.
One big question
Can Arizona win big games and make it back to the NCAA tournament? If Stubbs can get her team in the NCAA tournament, it would be the first time since 2018 that Arizona would be in the tournament. Safe to say it would be a huge accomplishment for both Stubbs and the program as a whole.
One thing that kept Arizona out last season was a weak nonconference schedule. Stubbs has addressed that this offseason with trips to Washington and Nebraska.
Overall, Arizona is 30-29 in NCAA tournament games, with the last win coming in 2016. The furthest Arizona has ever gone in the tournament was the Final Four in 2001.
Arizona may not get to the Final Four anytime soon, but if Stubbs can continue the gradual improvements that her program is making, they might just strike gold one season.