Based on his pedigree coming in to college, it was presumed by many that Brayden Burries would step on the court and just dominate. Kind of like how Koa Peat did in his first collegiate game and most since.
Arizona
Tracking former Southern Arizona & Arizona Wildcats baseball players in pros (6/17) | ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com
NOTE: This is a compilation of stats involving players from Southern Arizona and the Arizona Wildcats’ program in MLB-sanctioned leagues (MLB and minor leagues). The list does not include players in foreign leagues or independent leagues in the US.
LOCAL BASEBALL PLAYERS IN THE PROS
Listing of local baseball players either from high school or Arizona currently playing in pro baseball.
*Barraza, Sahuarita graduate
*Romero, CDO graduate
*Salazar, Sahuaro graduate
| Player | Pos | Sch | Yrs | Team | Lvl | Org |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nate Baez | 1B | IRHS | 16-19 | Cedar Rapids | A+ | MIN |
| Christopher Barraza | P | UA* | 21-23 | Inland Empire | A | LAA |
| Branden Boissiere | 1B | UA | 19-21 | Wilmington | A+ | WAS |
| Tony Bullard | 3B | UA | 20-23 | Beloit | A+ | MIA |
| Alex Bustamante | P | CDO | 16-18 | Tampa | A | NYY |
| Demetrio Crisantes | SS | Nogales | 19-22 | ACL Dbacks | RK | ARI |
| Bobby Dalbec | 1B | UA | 14-16 | Boston | MLB | BOS |
| Chase Davis | OF | UA | 21-23 | Palm Beach | A | STL |
| Jose Dicochea | P | Sahuarita | 16-19 | Stockton | A | OAK |
| Matthew Dyer | C | UA | 19-20 | Montgomery | AA | TB |
| German Fajardo | P | Nogales | 16-19 | Modesto | A | SEA |
| Michael Flynn | P | UA | 16-18 | Oklahoma City | AAA | LAD |
| Matt Fraizer | OF | UA | 17-19 | Indianapolis | AAA | PIT |
| Kevin Ginkel | P | UA | 16 | Arizona | MLB | ARI |
| Nick Gonzales | INF | Cienega | 14-17 | Pittsburgh | MLB | PIT |
| Darick Hall | 1B | Buena | 11-13 | Lehigh Valley | AAA | PHI |
| Garrett Irvin | P | UA | 20-22 | Lansing | A+ | OAK |
| Scott Kingery | 2B | UA | 13-15 | Lehigh Valley | AAA | PHI |
| Randy Labaut | P | UA | 17-19 | Columbus | AAA | CLE |
| Gil Luna | P | UA | 18-21 | Birmingham | AA | CHW |
| Nik McClaughry | 2B | UA | 20-23 | Fort Wayne | A+ | SD |
| Tylor Megill | P | UA | 17-19 | NY Mets | MLB | NYM |
| Ian Mejia | P | Sahuarita | 16-19 | Mississippi | AA | ATL |
| Andrew Nardi | P | UA | 19 | Miami | MLB | MIA |
| Kevin Newman | SS | UA | 13-15 | Arizona | MLB | ARI |
| Jared Oliva | OF | UA | 15-17 | Arkansas | AA | SEA |
| Tanner O’Tremba | OF | UA | 21-22 | Eugene | A+ | SF |
| Spencer Packard | OF | CDO | 13-16 | Tacoma | AAA | SEA |
| Rob Refsnyder | OF | UA | 10-12 | Boston | MLB | BOS |
| Alfonso Rivas | 1B | UA | 16-18 | Memphis | AAA | STL |
| Kiko Romero | 1B | UA* | 23 | Hudson Valley | A+ | NYY |
| Milo Rushford | CF | WGHS | 18-21 | ACL Royals | RK | KC |
| Cesar Salazar | C | UA* | 16-18 | Houston | MLB | HOU |
| Chase Silseth | P | UA | 21 | Salt Lake | AAA | LAA |
| Austin Smith | P | UA | 21 | Mississippi | AA | ATL |
| Daniel Susac | C | UA | 21-22 | Midland | AA | OAK |
| Cal Stevenson | OF | UA | 17-18 | Lehigh Valley | AAA | PHI |
| Alex Verdugo | OF | Sahuaro | 11-14 | NY Yankees | MLB | NYY |
| Avery Weems | P | UA | 18-19 | Frisco | AA | TEX |
| Austin Wells | C | UA | 19-20 | NY Yankees | MLB | NYY |
| Donta’ Williams | OF | UA | 18-21 | Norfolk | AAA | BAL |
LOCAL BATTERS IN THE PROS
Through games of June 16
*Injuries:
Boissiere (60-day/arm)
| Player | Team | Lvl | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baez | MIN | A+ | 33 | 101 | 19 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 19 | 0 | .252 |
| *Boissiere | WAS | A+ | 33 | 112 | 11 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | .214 |
| Bullard | MIA | A+ | 8 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .200 |
| Crisantes | ARI | RK | 29 | 121 | 31 | 43 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 10 | .355 |
| Dalbec | BOS | MLB | 33 | 76 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | .132 |
| Davis | STL | A | 49 | 175 | 22 | 37 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 30 | 3 | .211 |
| Dyer | TB | AA | 35 | 106 | 16 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | .217 |
| Fraizer | PIT | AAA | 22 | 75 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .231 |
| Gonzales | PIT | MLB | 32 | 122 | 17 | 38 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 25 | 2 | .311 |
| Hall | PHI | AAA | 48 | 189 | 19 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 26 | 0 | .249 |
| Kingery | PHI | AAA | 58 | 205 | 34 | 50 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 31 | 9 | .244 |
| McClaughry | SD | A+ | 46 | 140 | 17 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | .171 |
| Newman | ARI | MLB | 52 | 159 | 23 | 45 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 3 | .283 |
| O’Tremba | SF | A+ | 38 | 126 | 25 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 9 | .222 |
| Oliva | SEA | AA | 42 | 113 | 23 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 18 | .212 |
| Packard | SEA | AAA | 6 | 25 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .400 |
| Refsnyder | BOS | MLB | 42 | 129 | 16 | 42 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 1 | .326 |
| Rivas | STL | AAA | 50 | 172 | 27 | 43 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 0 | .250 |
| Romero | NYY | A+ | 34 | 102 | 15 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 4 | .225 |
| Rushford | KC | RK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Salazar | HOU | MLB | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| Sands | SF | AAA | 13 | 51 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .176 |
| Stevenson | PHI | AAA | 58 | 169 | 28 | 43 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 15 | .254 |
| Susac | OAK | AA | 41 | 162 | 14 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 3 | .259 |
| Verdugo | NYY | MLB | 71 | 265 | 35 | 69 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 41 | 1 | .260 |
| Wells | NYY | MLB | 41 | 120 | 14 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | .200 |
| Williams | BAL | AAA | 4 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .154 |
SUNDAY’S HOME RUNS
1B Nate Baez (Ironwood Ridge), Twins A+, 2 HRs (2-run HR and solo HR) (7th overall, 3rd in three days and 4th in last six games)
SUNDAY’S STANDOUTS
Spencer Packard’s FIFTH hit of the game is this RBI double to make it 12-3 in the ninth pic.twitter.com/Zfls9JLz9b
— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) June 17, 2024
LF Spencer Packard (CDO), Mariners AAA, 5-6, 2 runs, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs
1B Nate Baez (Ironwood Ridge), Twins A+, 2-3, 2 runs, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs
LF Matthew Dyer (Arizona), Rays AA, 2-4
2B Nick Gonzales (Cienega), Pirates MLB, 2-5, run
RF Rob Refsnyder (Arizona), Red Sox MLB, 2-3, run
1B Alfonso Rivas (Arizona), Cardinals AAA, 2-3, 3 runs, double, RBI
CF Chase Davis (Arizona), Cardinals A, 1-2, 2 runs, RBI, stolen base
1B Kiko Romero (CDO/Arizona), Yankees A+, 1-4, double
LOCAL PITCHERS IN THE PROS
Through games of June 16
*Injuries:
Bustamante (60-day/arm)
Silseth (60-day/elbow) – rehab assignment
Weems (7-day/arm)
| Player | Team | Lvl | W-L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barraza | LAA | A | 0-2 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 21.1 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 19 | 3.80 |
| *Bustamante | NYY | A | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dicochea | OAK | A | 1-4 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 29 | 29 | 25 | 20 | 15 | 31 | 6.21 |
| Fajardo | SEA | A | 2-1 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 25 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 36 | 4.20 |
| Flynn | LAD | AAA | 1-0 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 24.1 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 36 | 4.44 |
| Ginkel | ARI | MLB | 5-1 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 28.1 | 29 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 22 | 3.18 |
| Irvin | OAK | A+ | 1-1 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 18.2 | 23 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 22 | 6.75 |
| Labaut | CLE | AAA | 2-4 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 26.2 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 16 | 24 | 4.72 |
| Luna | CHW | AA | 2-1 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 20 | 22 | 2.70 |
| Megill | NYM | MLB | 2-3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 30.2 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 37 | 3.52 |
| Mejia | ATL | AA | 5-0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 60.1 | 38 | 12 | 12 | 21 | 67 | 1.79 |
| Nardi | MIA | MLB | 0-0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 25.2 | 28 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 31 | 5.61 |
| *Silseth | LAA | AAA | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7.2 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 10.57 |
| Smith | ATL | AA | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12.27 |
| *Weems | TEX | AA | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
SUNDAY’S STANDOUT
RHP Chris Barraza (Sahuarita/Arizona), Angels A, 1.2 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K (no decision)
RHP Kevin Ginkel (Arizona), Diamondbacks MLB, 1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K (no decision)
LHP Garrett Irvin (Arizona), Athletics A+, 2.2 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K (no decision)
LHP Gil Luna (Arizona), White Sox AA, 1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K (no decision)
RHP Tylor Megill (Arizona), Mets MLB, 5 IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 5K (win)
RHP Chase Silseth (Arizona), Angels AAA, 5 IP, 7H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 4K (loss)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS (LAST 14 DAYS)
Tuesday, June 11
Spencer Packard – Assigned to Tacoma Rainiers (AAA) (Seattle Mariners)
Someone’s PACKING up and moving to Tacoma!
Spencer Packard gets his call up to Triple-A! Through 50 games with Arkansas this year, Pack raked with a .285 AVG, having collected 5 2B, 5 HR, and 29 RBIs. pic.twitter.com/pWQ9eAdd3t
— Arkansas Travelers (@ARTravs) June 11, 2024
Cesar Salazar – Recalled from from Sugar Land Space Cowboys (AAA) (Houston Astros)
Just do it https://t.co/8xhg7I3uVW pic.twitter.com/LTaFU2v7fm
— Cesar Salazar (@cesarsalazar34) May 16, 2024
Chase Silseth – Assigned to Salt Lake Bees (AAA) for rehab (Los Angeles Angels)
Chase Silseth (elbow) moving rehab to Triple-A https://t.co/hYemiNOeVk via @BKemp17 #RepTheHalo
— FantasyPros (@FantasyProsMLB) June 11, 2024
Sunday, June 9
Donny Sands – Released by Giants. The 28-year-old Salpointe graduate signed a minor-league deal with the club in mid-May after the Tigers released him at the end of spring training. The Yankees selected Sands in the eighth round of the 2015 draft, and he spent the next seven seasons in their system before the Yankees traded him to the Phillies ahead of the 2022 campaign. Sands made his MLB debut with Philadelphia the following September. He appeared in three games as a pinch-hitter and caught two innings behind the plate that season, the extent of his big-league career. The Phillies traded him to the Tigers during the 2022-23 offseason. Sands’ background of being a homeless teen while at Salpointe made national news. This occurred after his father died of a heart attack and his mom Alma had to move to her native Mexico to find employment.
Thursday, June 6
Branden Boissiere – IL-60 Injured/arm (Washington Nationals)
Tuesday, June 4
Matthew Dyer – Assigned to Montgomery Biscuits (AA) (Tampa Bay Rays)
Milo Rushford – Assigned to ACL Royals (Rk) (Kansas City Royals)
Donta’ Williams – Assigned to Norfolk Tides (AAA) (Baltimore Orioles)
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Arizona
Arizona baseball pitching coach John DeRouin taking position with Mets, per report
Pitching was a big reason why Arizona made it back to the College World Series last season. The return of many key arms for 2026 makes it likely the Wildcats will again have a stellar staff.
Who guides those pitchers, however, is uncertain.
Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star is reporting that pitching coach John DeRouin is leaving the program for a position within the New York Mets organization. DeRouin had been elevated to pitching coach over the summer after Kevin Vance was hired as head coach at San Diego State.
DeRouin, who was a pitching strategist under Vance the previous two seasons, was integral in developing Arizona’s arms, particularly starters Owen Kramkowski and Smith Bailey and reliever Tony Pluta. That trio are among several key pitchers returning from the CWS team, with DeRouin’s promotion factoring in their decisions to stay in Tucson.
“John is like the pitching whisperer,” head coach Chip Hale said last month.
Hale could promote from within again, elevating Owen Cuffe. Whoever he hires will technically be his fourth pitching coach in five seasons. Dave Lawn handled the role in 2022-23, retained from Jay Johnson’s staff, before Vance was hired in 2024.
DeRouin is the latest in a string of college baseball coaches leaving for pro jobs. The most notable is Tennessee head coach, hired last month as manager of the San Francisco Giants
Arizona begins preseason practice in January ahead of the 2026 opener Feb. 13 against former Pac-12 rival Stanford at a tournament in Surprise.
Arizona
Report: Michigan search includes Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The firm hired by Michigan to search for a football coach to replace Sherrone Moore has contacted representatives for Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because they were not authorized to share details of the search.
Moore was fired on Wednesday, when the school said an investigation uncovered his inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Two days later, Moore was charged with three crimes after prosecutors said he “barged his way” into the apartment of a woman he’d been having an affair with and threatened to kill himself.
College football’s winning program suddenly needs a coach.
After the 35-year-old Dillingham was linked to numerous open jobs last month, he said he was not leaving his alma mater.
Two weeks ago, Drinkwitz agreed to a six-year contract that increases his average compensation to $10.75 million annually.
Michigan is hoping to hire a coach this month, helping its chances of retaining recruits and keeping key players out of the transfer portal in January.
Dillingham, who is from Scottsdale, Arizona, graduated from Arizona State in 2013 and started his coaching career as an assistant for the Sun Devils. After coaching at Memphis, he was the offensive coordinator for Auburn, Florida State and Oregon before returning to Arizona State.
Dillingham orchestrated a quick turnaround, leading the Sun Devils to the Big 12 championship and the College Football Playoff for the first time last year.
Arizona State was 8-4 this season, improving Dillingham’s record to 22-16 over three seasons.
The 42-year-old Drinkwitz is 46-28 in six seasons at Missouri after going 12-1 in a year at Appalachian State. He has built the Tigers into a steady Southeastern Conference program, earning five straight bowl bids.
Arizona
Brayden Burries goes off in top-ranked Arizona’s win over No. 12 Alabama to remain unbeaten
Not everything happens instantaneously. And some things, like Burries’ breakthrough performance on Saturday night, are worth waiting for.
The freshman guard scored a career-high 28 points, fueling top-ranked Arizona to a 96-75 win over No. 12 Alabama in Birmingham. The Wildcats (9-0) earned their fifth win this season over a ranked opponent, matching the 1987-88 team that also went 5-0 in nonconference games against ranked foes.
Burries, who started heating up a few weeks ago and had averaged 17 points over the previous three games, was 11 of 19 from the field and drained five of Arizona’s 10 3-pointers. His performance was especially big because fellow freshman Koa Peat struggled with foul trouble, finishing with a career-low five points in 20 minutes, while Jaden Bradley also had to sit for an extended period in the second half becauise of fouls.
Bradley and Motiejus Krivas scored 14 apiece, with Krivas pulling down 14 rebounds, while Tobe Awaka had 15 boards as Arizona dominated Alabama 52-32 on the glass. The Wildcats had a 22-3 edge in offensive rebounds, leading to a 15-2 advantage in second chance points.
Alabama (7-3) got 24 points from Labaron Philon and 21 from Latrell Wrightstell Jr., with that duo going 15 of 28 including 6 of 12 from 3. But the Crimson Tide, who began 7 of 13 from 3, made only five more the rest of the way while the UA’s 38.5 percent shooting from outside was actually better.
Arizona was down 41-39 at the half, the first time it has trailed after 20 minutes this season. The Wildcats were back in front within two minutes and built a 49-43 lead thanks to a 10-0 run, but during that stretch Peat and Bradley each picked up their third foul.
Yet somehow, Arizona nearly tripled its lead with that duo on the bench.
The UA led 55-48 with 14:01 to go whenAwaka was called for a flagrant foul after Alabama coach Nate Oats appealed on a play that saw the Crimson Tide called for a foul. Both teams made 1 of 2 free throws from that, but then the Wildcats scored the next 11 with their defense fueling the charge.
Back-to-back steals by Ivan Kharchenkov and Burries led to transition baskets, with Burries lobbing to Awaka for a dunk and then scoring seven straight to put the UA up 67-49 with 11:22 remaining.
Kharchenkov had 10 points and five steals, most by an Arizona freshman since KJ Lewis had five two seasons ago.
Burries fourth 3 put the Wildcats up 20 and his fifth made it 75-54 with nine minutes left. Alabama hit back-to-back 3s for the first time since seven minutes left in the first half to get within 82-65 but got no closer.
Arizona built a 19-12 lead on a 3-point play by Burries but Alabama’s outside shooting got it right back into it. A 7-0 run put the Tide up 26-22 midway through the first half.
Alabama’s 7th made 3 put it up 37-30 but then went cold, allowing the UA to retake the lead. A 9-0 run with seven straight from Bradley and then capped by a Peat jumper put the Wildcats up 39-37 with 1:51 left in the half.
Two late baskets by the Crimson Tide put it back in front at the break.
Arizona returns home to take on Abilene Christian on Tuesday night before facing San Diego State in Phoenix next Saturday.
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