Tuesday marks the official opening of the April transfer window opening which last from the 16 to 30 before closing again. This means, you will see a larger amount of players hitting the portal from all across the country.
Right now, the Wildcats have had two players enter in Joseph Borjon and Bill Norton. With that, Arizona will have 16 available scholarships to give out in order to fill out the 2024 roster and fix some areas of need to sure things up.
With that, we took at look at Arizona roster and put together the five areas of need that the Wildcats need to address through the transfer portal in order to fill gaps before training came and the start of the 2024 season.
Since Brent Brennan took over the program and the transition of the new coaching staff happened, Arizona have seen numerous defensive linemen leave the program and enter the portal with five players from the 2023 roster.
The departures have created a lack of depth on the defensive line. Right now, the starting unit on the line this spring has been Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, Isaiah Johnson, Chubba Ma’ae and Tre Smith, which has been a solid group that has created issues for the offensive line.
However that’s were things get thin for Arizona. The second unit consists of Sterling Lane, Keanu Mailoto, Julian Savaiinaea and Dominic Lolesio. The major problem with this group is that Savaiinaea is an edge rusher that has had to move inside because of the lack of depth on the defensive line.
Also, in the second unit, only Lane and Lolesio have experience playing snaps in games during the 2023 season.
With that, the defensive line is the top priority for Arizona to attack in the transfer portal and build depth in order to have a solid steady rotation for the 2024 season.
Arizona could use adding two to three defensive linemen to sure things up and steady the second-unit defensive line.
Right now, the top cornerback on Arizona’s roster is Tacario Davis, who originally entered the transfer portal. It is unclear if Davis is still in the portal even though he ha been working out with the team all spring practice long.
Behind Davis has been a mix of Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine and Emmanuel Karnley as the No. 2 cornerback on the starting defensive unit. Both players have had good moments throughout spring and other moments where its clear that they are still developing as players.
Plus, Celestine saw little playing time during the 2023 season while Karnley used his redshirt and didn’t make any appearances on the field.
Getting a solid No. 2 cornerback that had experience playing would be big for Arizona and give the team depth in the secondary when lining up in a dime package when going up against Big 12 offenses that love to sling the ball all over the field.
In terms of the starting quarterback position, that is already figured out with Noah Fifita and Arizona has no issues with who will be leading the offense for the 2024 season. However, the problem line behind Fifita and the fact that the Wildcats only have three quarterbacks on the roster and only two of which are scholarship players.
It has been Brayden Dorman working with the second-unit offense and he has looked good and been making throws that he wasn’t a season ago in practice. But, although the development is progressing, he still has things to work on and doesn’t look like he can be thrown into a fire to help calm things down if Fifita goes down in the middle of a game.
Dorman has the ability to be the backup and prepare to start a game if need be, but that would be with a week of preparation and practice leading up to the opponent.
Right now, Arizona doesn’t have that break glass player that they can rely upon in case of an emergency situation.
Brennan stated in a press conference that the staff will be looking to add ‘one, maybe two’ quarterbacks from the portal.
Arizona will be looking for depth at the quarterback position and a player that can be that steady force off the bench for a middle of the game situation.
The starting offensive line for Arizona has been rock-solid this spring when everyone is out on the field with Jonah Savaiinaea, Wendell Moe, Josh Baker, Leif Magnuson and Raymond Pulido.
After that, Arizona is a little thin on the line with Alexander Doost being first option that rotates on the starting unit. But, that when it get tough because outside of that, there isn’t much experience on the second-unit line.
When it comes to football, the game is won on the line of scrimmage and you can never have too much depth on the offensive line. Having another player like Doost that can be used in the rotation could be the difference in win a close game, or losing a game that costs you a spot in the conference title game.
Outside of linebacker Jacob Manu, the second linebacking spot in the Wildcats’ 4-2-5 defense is wide open for the taking. So far this spring, Taye Brown has been the guy manning the position and has been holding his own.
Behind them has been Kamuela Ka’aihue and Justin Flowe, who have primarily been working with the second-unit defense.
Again, I think the system of the 4-2-5 defense helps the depth at the linebacker position and Arizona doesn’t desperately need to add anyone. However, it is of interest to note that New Mexico transfer Alec Marenco was at practice on Saturday.
Plus, Arizona’s linebacking coach is former New Mexico head coach Danny Gonzales, who recruited and coach Marenco. The linebacker led the Lobos with 66 total tackles and became a force for the defense.
I’m sure Arizona will have more than 16 scholarships available once a few more player transfer out. But as of now, these are the positions the Wildcats could use some added depth.
Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe did not want the 2026 Big 12 softball season to start the way the 2025 one did. Last year, the Wildcats were upset by UCF in the opening series of conference play. There was no such letdown this year as No. 13 Arizona defeated the BYU Cougars 13-1 in five innings at Hillenbrand Stadium.
“They really took it upon themselves to make a statement and just wanting to set a tone for conference,” Lowe said.
It was Arizona’s sixth straight run-rule victory. The players felt that it should be the expectation.
“I think that’s what we’re capable of every single game, and we should keep working towards that goal,” said junior centerfielder Regan Shockey. “And our next focus is just the next game. Do the same exact thing.”
There was an early suggestion that there might be a repeat of last year. A defensive lapse in right field allowed BYU leadoff Lily Owens to reach third base. A one-out double by Hailey Shuler drove her in to give the Cougars an early lead.
After the team’s postgame huddle, right fielder Grace Jenkins spent a considerable amount of time talking to Lowe one-on-one. The head coach could be seen pointing towards right field as if she was explaining fielding and placement.
“We were talking softball, man,” Lowe said. “So, debrief on the day and where she’s at. And she’s a catcher playing the outfield, and she’s doing awesome at it. She is a true athlete and has the high expectations for herself, so I think sometimes she needs to give herself a little grace that she’s kicking butt at it, and she’s great out there. She just wants to be the best.”
Arizona starter Jalen Adams kept the first-inning damage to a minimum. She only needed four more pitches to get the final two outs of the inning.
“Proud of the response after [BYU] scoring a run in the first inning,” Lowe said.
Any confidence the run might have inspired in the Cougars was quickly squashed by the Wildcats’ response with the bats. Arizona sent 15 to the plate and scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first. Eight of those runs came with two outs. Catcher Sydney Stewart drove five in with a 3-run double and a 2-run homer.
After the home run, the lights at Hillenbrand began to flash in what the program’s social media called “party lights.”
“I thought it was pretty cool,” Stewart said. “One time, I think it was like after practice, late practice, they were practicing [the lights]. Like, why don’t we do this? But seeing it today when I was rounding second, like, there’s no way that just happened right now. Just super cool.”
Who: BYU Cougars (5-15) @ No. 13 Arizona Wildcats (18-5)
When: Friday, Mar. 6 @ 3 p.m. MST; Saturday, Mar. 7 @ 12 p.m. MST
Where: Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
Streaming: ESPN+ (Friday, Saturday)
Stats: Arizona Live Stats (Friday, Saturday)
Lowe was pleased with the way her entire offense passed the bat in the opening frame. While there were two doubles and a home run in the inning, small ball was a big part of the scoring, too. The Wildcats had five singles and four walks in the bottom of the first. They also took advantage of two wild pitches and a stolen base.
“I thought they were perfectly themselves in that first inning,” Lowe said. “As far as not trying to do too much, they stayed true to who they were as hitters, and then just went to work…I think you can see how fast it can happen when it gets contagious that way.”
BYU starter Gianna Mares was responsible for all 11 runs. Shuler moved from designated player to pitcher after Stewart’s home run. She walked Jenkins and allowed her to move up on a wild pitch, but Shuler finally got the final out with a groundout by Emma Kavanagh.
Stewart is known for her big bat and driving in runs. Arizona’s scoring in the second inning came from players with radically different offensive games.
A single, a walk, and a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners with one out for the Wildcats. That brought up Shockey. The centerfielder already had two RBI from the first inning. She picked up her third of the game in the second frame. It almost doubled her season total to 7.
“I didn’t want to change my plan,” Shockey said. “I bounced the ball, and my goal is just to move them over or get on for the next person. I wasn’t thinking of scoring the two runs [in the first inning] because I know who’s behind me, and that’s Sereniti [Trice], and that’s Stew, and that’s Tayler [Biehl]. So my goal was just to bounce the ball and get on. It just happened to score two, but I try to keep it as simple as possible.”
Shockey went 2 for 4 on the day. She scored 2 runs in addition to driving in 3 more. It improved her season average to .443.
Trice was a perfect 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Her average is now up to a team-high .542. She also leads the team with 39 hits. Shockey is second with 31. Trice is fourth on the squad with 18 RBI.
Adams pitched 4.0 innings and improved her record to 10-3. Her ERA dropped to 2.91. She gave up just 1 hit. The only BYU run was unearned. Three errors were committed behind her.
Sophomore Jenae Berry pitched the final inning. She did not give up a hit, but she allowed two baserunners on a walk and a hit batter. She also threw a wild pitch.
The Wildcats and the Cougars will take the field again on Friday afternoon before finishing the series on Saturday, Mar. 7.
A man being held at a US immigration detention facility in Arizona died this week after reporting severe tooth pain and not receiving “timely medical attention”, according to a local official.
Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian asylum seeker, was being held at the Florence correctional center in Arizona when he began to feel a toothache in mid-February, a pain that weeks later led him to the hospital before he died on Monday.
“His reported struggle to receive timely medical attention before being transferred to a hospital raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody,” Christine Ellis, a Chandler city council member, said in an Instagram post.
According to Ellis, Damas was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Boston in September 2025 and was later transferred to the facility in Florence, Arizona.
The Arizona Daily Star reported that Ellis had called for an investigation into Damas’s death.
“He was complaining for almost two weeks straight, until he collapsed and got septic from the infection,” Ellis told the local news outlet. Ellis said Damas was transferred to a Scottsdale hospital sometime last week.
Ellis’s office, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
Damas’s death has not yet been reported by ICE, according to the agency’s notifications of detainee deaths. At least nine people have died under custody in 2026, according to ICE: Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 42; Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55; Luis Beltrán Yáñez–Cruz, 68; Parady La, 46; Heber Sanchaz Domínguez, 34; Víctor Manuel Díaz, 36; Lorth Sim, 59; Jairo Garcia-Hernandez, 27; and Alberto Gutiérrez-Reyes, 48.
At least 32 people died in ICE custody last year, marking the deadliest year for detainees of the federal immigration agency in more than two decades.
The stark number of deaths has been just one component of a tumultuous tenure for Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary. On Thursday, Donald Trump announced he would be ousting Noem and replacing her with Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Oklahoma senator, starting on 31 March.
Under her helm, the DHS has faced bipartisan backlash after the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration agents earlier this year. Noem accused both US citizens of being involved in “domestic terrorism”.
FLORENCE, AZ (AP) — A Haitian man confined at an Arizona immigration detention center for months died at a hospital Monday after a tooth infection was left untreated, the man’s brother said Wednesday.
Emmanuel Damas, 56, told medical personnel at the Florence Correctional Center that he had a toothache in mid-February, but he was not sent to a dentist, said Damas’ brother, Presly Nelson.
Nelson believes the staff at the facility did not take his brother’s complaints seriously, even though it was a treatable condition. Nelson said he would expect such a death in countries with less access to health care, but not in the United States.
“As a country — I’m an American now — I think we can do better than that,” Nelson said.
Damas is among at least nine people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this year.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. ICE had said it hoped to issue a news release Wednesday.
Earlier Wednesday, ICE officials announced the death of Mexican national Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, who had been in a California ICE detention center and died in the hospital Feb. 27 after reporting chest pain and shortness of breath.
Chandler City Council member Christine Ellis, a Haitian American who is a registered nurse, said she was contacted by Damas’ family after his death.
“As a medical person, I am absolutely appalled that there were medical-licensed people that were working there and allowed those things to happen,” Ellis said. “It does not make sense to me.”
A report from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office listed Damas’ cause of death as “pending” as of Wednesday.
Damas was taken into ICE custody in September and was soon transferred to the medium-security Florence Correctional Center, where he was held for several months, including after his asylum application was denied, Ellis said.
CoreCivic, a for-profit corrections company that runs the Florence facility, did not respond to emails seeking comment.
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Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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