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Arizona baseball picked to finish 2nd in Big 12 in debut season

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Arizona baseball picked to finish 2nd in Big 12 in debut season


After winning the final Pac-12 regular season and conference tournament titles last year, Arizona is headed for a new challenge this spring with the move to the Big 12. And its recent reputation is coming along as well.

The Wildcats have been picked to finish second in the Big 12 by the league’s coaches, earning four first-place votes. The last time the UA was picked this high in a preseason conference poll was 2021, when Pac-12 coaches had it finishing second and it won the league outright en route to the College World Series.

The Big 12 also released its preseason all-conference team on Thursday, with juniors Brendan Summerhill and Mason White making the list. It’s the second preseason all-conference selection for White, who was on the final Pac-12 team last year.

The UA, ranked 21st by D1Baseball.com in its preseason poll, is coming off a 2024 season in which it swept the Pac-12 titles and hosted an NCAA regional. The bulk of that team returns, with Summerhill and White among eight projected returning starters.

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Oklahoma State was picked to win the conference, getting nine first-place votes, with third-place TCU getting the remaining vote for first.

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OSU and TCU both come to Hi Corbett Field this season, but before that the Wildcats will face a stacked nonconference schedule that includes games against both teams that played for the College World Series title. Defending champion Tennessee and runner-up Texas A&M are two of Arizona’s opponents at the Astros Foundation Baseball Classic in Houston Feb. 28-March 2, where it also plays Mississippi State, while Feb. 14-16 in Frisco, Texas, the Wildcats will face Clemson, Louisville and Ole Miss.

Arizona’s first home game is Feb. 18 against New Mexico, but prior to that it will host a Meet the Team event Feb. 8 at Hi Corbett. The intrasquad scrimmage begins at 2 p.m., with an autograph session to follow.



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Arizona

Arizona HS volleyball roundup: Perry wins 6A championship

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Arizona HS volleyball roundup: Perry wins 6A championship


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The Perry Pumas’ boys high school volleyball team won its third 6A state championship in the past five seasons on May 17, at Skyline High School in Mesa.

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Perry, the No. 1 seed in the AIA 6A tournament, defeated No. 2 Highland, 3-2. It was the third time Highland has finished 6A runner-up since 2022, including a 2023 loss to Perry for the title.

The Pumas finished the season undefeated in AIA play, its only losses this season coming against out-of-state teams during mid-season tournaments.

Perry was led this season by several key players, including three who are all in the top 10 in hitting percentage in 6A: senior Caden Ledbetter, junior Logan Gray and sophomore Greyson Carter. Ledbetter was also No. 8 in blocks in the conference.

Three other conference championships were played on May 17 at Skyline.

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No. 1 seed Campo Verde defeated No. 2 Arizona College Prep, 3-2, to win the 5A championship in a battle of East Sky region rivals. The win was Campo Verde’s second boys’ volleyball championship. The Coyotes also won in 2019.

In the 4A championship match, No. 3-seed ALA Queen Creek won its third state championship, defeating No. 8 Salpointe Catholic, 3-0. The Patriots also won the 4A title in 2021 and 2022. During the playoff tournament, ALA Queen Creek defeated No. 2 seed ALA Gilbert North, which had defeated the Patriots twice in the regular season.

In the 3A championship, No. 2 Northwest Christian defeated No. 1 ALA West Foothills, 3-2, to win its first boys volleyball championship, after finishing runner-up three times since 2021. ALA West Foothills was undefeated entering Saturday’s championship, having defeated Northwest Christian in the final regular-season match.

Last year, Arizona College Prep defeated Northwest Christian to win the 2024 4A title. Saturday’s match marked the first-ever 3A championship in boys’ high school volleyball. The AIA opted to reshuffle teams and create more competitive balance by adding a fourth conference during the offseason, as more schools and programs have been added across the state.

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Strong winds continue across parts of Arizona; triple digits to return mid-week

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Strong winds continue across parts of Arizona; triple digits to return mid-week


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Red Flag warning is in effect until 8 p.m. for eastern Arizona, including the Greer Fire, where continued gusts from the southwest at 40-45 mph are possible.

On Sunday, the Red Flag Warning will continue for the Little Colorado River Valley. Gusty conditions will likely continue at times for the rest of Eastern Arizona, including Greer. Monday will also be breezy in the high country as winds turn more from the northwest. A few showers and thunderstorms are possible from tonight into Monday in the high country, but much of the area will likely stay dry.

After a breezy day in the Valley, breezes will continue at times this evening into Sunday morning with gusts of 20-25 mph possible. A cool front will knock highs back to the 80s on Sunday, with a high of 88 expected. Sunday afternoon and evening may not be quite as breezy in the Valley as Saturday, but some gusts of 20 mph are still possible.

Monday will be warmer with highs in the low 90s. Breezes will pick up from the west Monday afternoon and evening with potential gusts around 25 mph. Highs will continue to warm in the upper 90s on Tuesday as a ridge of high pressure starts to build. The ridge will continue to take hold mid-week, bringing high temperatures into the low to mid-100s Wednesday through Friday. For the start of Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, highs are forecast just above 100. However, there is some uncertainty about the temperature forecast from Saturday into the rest of Memorial Day weekend, so check back for updates.

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Prisoners use locks as weapons in video that appears to show fight in Arizona prison

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Prisoners use locks as weapons in video that appears to show fight in Arizona prison


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  • A video appearing to depict a fight within an Arizona prison, involving makeshift weapons, has surfaced on social media.
  • Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry officials have stated they will address inquiries about the video next week.
  • The incident’s location and date remain unconfirmed.

A video capturing a fight in what appears to be an Arizona prison was posted on social media, showing a man bloodied and being followed by two others with makeshift flails — metal locks hanging from the ends of tethers.

Representatives of Arizona’s prison system declined to immediately comment on the 3-minute video.

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The combatants were dressed in orange pants and shirts with “ADC” stamped on them.

It’s not clear when or where the video was shot. It follows a fight between one man and two others that moves from inside a building, through a doorway and outside into a prison yard. No correctional officers or prison personnel are visible at any point in the footage that appears to be shot on a cell phone.

Cell phones are considered contraband in Arizona prisons and are prohibited. How the person filming the video obtained the device was unclear.

Arizona’s prison system is run by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. Reached by email on May 16, department officials said they would respond to The Arizona Republic’s inquiries about the video, including whether they could confirm it had been filmed in an Arizona prison, next week.

On April 4, three men were killed inside the Cimarron Unit at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Tucson. The Department of Corrections identified Ricky Wassenaar, a violent repeat offender serving 16 life sentences for a 2004 attempted prison escape that turned into a hostage crisis, as the sole suspect in the triple homicide. Saul Alvarez, 51, Thorne Harnage, 42, and Donald Lashley, 75, were the men killed.

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The incident prompted strong criticism from state lawmakers, including House Judiciary Chair Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, who demanded accountability from the department and questioned why Wassenaar was placed in a lower-security unit despite repeated warnings and past disciplinary violations.

3-minute video shows conflict move through multiple prison areas

The video begins with two men on the ground, legs interlocked, wrestling away from each other.

One man, with long black hair, stands up holding an orange tether. At the end of it swings a metal combination lock — he holds it like a weapon.

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Another man, with short black hair, still on the ground, pushes himself backward. His face and clothes are bloodied.

In the background, voices can be heard.

“Joseph, give me the password.”

“Get the (expletive) out of here.”

“You want the password?”

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“Let him go. Let him go, man.”

The bloodied man stumbles to his feet and backs out of the frame. The man with the makeshift flail follows, and another man, also in orange, holding a tethered lock, joins behind him.

The room comes into view: white cinderblock walls, waist-high dividers, rows of bunk beds and two long, rectangular windows letting in sunlight.

The second man with a flail steps forward and feigns a move. The man with short hair picks up a chair, trying to shield himself.

Heavy breathing fills the audio. Someone off-camera says, “Go on, get out of here.”

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The camera dips behind a wall and then shows the scene again. One man holds his lock by his shoulder, ready to strike. The other crouches behind the chair, blood on his face and shoulder.

“You want me to leave or not? Move,” says the bloodied man.

“Leave right now,” one of the men replies, pointing.

Then to the other: “Bro, just get the (expletive) over here, on this side. Hurry up.”

“There — go,” the man with long hair says, motioning at the man with the chair.

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“Alright. Password?” the man with the chair asks, holding his hand up.

“I don’t give a (expletive),” comes the response.

The bloodied man walks away through an open doorway, and the long-haired man with the flail follows.

“Leave. Leave, (expletive),” the man with long hair yells, walking out the door.

The camera follows them outside.

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A cement walkway cuts between blue buildings on one side and a tall metal fence on the other.

The two men face off again. The bloodied man, still carrying the chair, suddenly throws it and runs.

The man with the flail catches him. Grabs him. The second man with a weapon rushes in, swinging his lock. It hits.

The bloodied man falls, a trail of dust lifting as he rolls away.

He gets back up near the metal fence, barbed wire above him, then takes off along the edge.

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“(Expletive) the rat,” someone says off camera.

The bloodied man walks off into the distance. The two men stalk after him.

In the background, a loud banging sound — like wheels hitting seams in the concrete — echoes as the camera trails far behind and the video ends.

Video reflects known dangers in Arizona prisons, advocate says

Maria Morris, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project, reviewed the video and said it reflected troubling patterns reported by incarcerated people in Arizona, including assaults involving improvised weapons such as locks in socks.

Morris, whose work focuses on solitary confinement, said many people are placed into general population units despite warning staff that they do not feel safe.

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Prisoners often feel unsafe after they opt out of prison gang affiliation by signing what’s known as an “Integrated Housing Program agreement,” which indicates a willingness to be housed with people of any race, Morris said. In Arizona prisons, that decision can mark someone as a target.

Often, prison staff tell them they must go into the general housing unit anyway, she said.

“They are told that they need to stay on the unit until they are threatened or assaulted,” she said.

Afterward, they’re typically moved into solitary confinement — sometimes for months — before the cycle repeats, Morris said.



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