Arizona

Arizona picked 3rd in Big 12 preseason softball poll

Published

10 months ago

January 24, 2025

Arizona picked 3rd in Big 12 preseason softball poll

The Big 12 coaches are high on the Arizona Wildcats. The conference released its preseason poll on Friday with UA projected to finish third in a strong league. Outfielders Dakota Kennedy and Regan Shockey were selected to the preseason all-conference team.

The Wildcats were picked to finish behind Oklahoma State and Texas Tech in the new 11-team league. Arizona finished 37-18-1 last year and advanced to the Stillwater Super Regional where new conference mate OSU swept the Wildcats out of the postseason.

Arizona lost just one player to the transfer portal while bringing in Softball America’s 10th-ranked class. The group of five players gave the Wildcats the highest-ranked Big 12 class this season. Three of the five were rated as four-star prospects by SA. The Wildcats also added former Washington C/UT Sydney Stewart, former Oregon State infielder Kiki Escobar, and former Iowa State pitcher Saya Swain from the transfer portal.

Oklahoma State advanced to the Women’s College World Series last year then reloaded with another big haul in the transfer portal. Arizona is very familiar with one of the biggest names, former Washington pitcher Ruby Meylan.

Texas Tech looked to be in trouble when former head coach Craig Snider left for an assistant coaching position at Tennessee. It appeared to be a major blow after a promising year, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The Red Raiders made a huge hire by taking former Louisiana-Lafayette leader Gerry Glasco. Glasco brought some talent with him, but a huge assist from a donor helped him pull off the biggest coup of the off-season.

NiJaree Canady was lured away from Stanford after taking the Cardinal deep into the WCWS the past two years. The pitcher’s price came to over $1 million, according to published reports. Her signing took the Red Raiders from a team with the potential to make incremental improvements to one that has designs on a conference title and a trip to the WCWS.

The coaches’ votes indicate a large chasm between the top four teams and the rest of the league. The point totals after Baylor take a steep drop. There is another big gap after the seventh-ranked squad, and the last two teams trail the rest of the league by a considerable margin.

Oklahoma State Cowgirls (99 points, 9 first-place votes)
Texas Tech Red Raiders (90 points, 2 first-place votes)
Arizona Wildcats (81 points)
Baylor Bears (75 points)
BYU Cougars (54 points)
Utah Utes (52 points)
UCF Knights (51 points)
Arizona State Sun Devils (36 points)
Kansas Jayhawks (34 points)
Iowa State Cyclones (23 points)
Houston Cougars (10 points)

The preseason All-Big 12 team is dominated by Cowgirls. Six Oklahoma State players were honored.

Arizona was one of four teams with two players named to the team. The Wildcats were the only squad in the league whose selections were all unanimous picks by the coaches. Shockey was one of just two underclassmen to make the team.

In addition to Shockey and Kennedy, Baylor senior infielder Shaylon Govan, BYU junior Lily Owens, and TTU junior RHP Canady were voted to the team by all 11 coaches. The other selections were graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall (ASU), senior catcher/infielder Turiya Coleman (Baylor), senior outfielder Angelina Allen (ISU), senior pitcher/utility Katie Brooks (KU), outfielder Presley Limbaugh (KU), junior pitcher RyLee Crandall (OSU), graduate outfielder Megan Delgadillo (OSU), junior utility Tallen Edwards (OSU), sophomore infielder Karli Godwin (OSU), junior RPH Meylan (OSU), junior outfielder Claire Timm (OSU), junior outfielder Mihyia Davis (TTU), and senior outfielder Kaylah Nelsen (Utah).

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Arizona

Hamilton vs. Chandler: Watch live Arizona high school football showdown Friday night (11/7/2025)

Published

12 hours ago

November 6, 2025

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Hamilton vs. Chandler: Watch live Arizona high school football showdown Friday night (11/7/2025)

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The undefeated Hamilton Huskies (9-0, 3-0) travel to take on the red-hot Chandler Wolves (8-1, 3-0) in a pivotal 6A Fiesta League regular-season finale showdown on Friday night. With both teams sporting impressive resumes, this matchup is a can’t-miss battle for supremacy in one of Arizona’s top high school football rivalries.

The Huskies have been dominant all season, most recently cruising to a 63-0 victory over Cesar Chavez. Sophomore quarterback Jax Sculley tossed three touchdown passes, while fellow sophomore Jake Disanti added two more scoring strikes, and senior signal-caller Daniel Vaita also found the end zone through the air in the rout.

Chandler enters this clash riding a seven-game winning streak after last week’s 28-22 triumph over Pinnacle. Junior quarterback Will Mencl was the catalyst, throwing for 338 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for two scores. Sophomore running back David Douglas chipped in with a rushing touchdown of his own in the victory.

Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MT on Friday, November 7 with a live TV broadcast on NFHS Network.

• WATCH: Hamilton vs. Chandler football is livestreaming on NFHS Network

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How to watch Hamilton vs. Chandler football livestream

What: Hamilton and Chandler vie for Fiesta top spot in regular-season finale

When: Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MT on Friday, November 7

Where: Chandler High School | Chandler, Arizona

Watch live: Watch Hamilton vs. Chandler live on the NFHS Network

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Arizona

Diné man who ran from Arizona to Santa Fe reflects on the Long Walk

Published

1 day ago

November 6, 2025

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Diné man who ran from Arizona to Santa Fe reflects on the Long Walk

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Arizona

How to spot November’s supermoon, the closest of the year, from Arizona

Published

2 days ago

November 5, 2025

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How to spot November’s supermoon, the closest of the year, from Arizona

PHOENIX (AP/AZFamily) — The moon will look slightly bigger and brighter Wednesday during the closest supermoon of the year, which can be seen from Arizona!

The moon’s orbit around the Earth isn’t a perfect circle, so it gets nearer and farther as it swings around. A so-called supermoon happens when a full moon is closer to Earth in its orbit. That makes the moon look up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year, according to NASA.

November’s supermoon is the second of three supermoons this year and also the closest: The moon will come within just under 222,000 miles of Earth.

Tides may be slightly higher during a supermoon because the moon is closer to Earth, said astronomer Lawrence Wasserman with Lowell Observatory. But the difference isn’t very noticeable.

No special equipment is needed to view the supermoon if clear skies permit. But the change in the moon’s size can be tough to discern with the naked eye.

“The difference is most obvious as a comparison between other images or observations,” said Shannon Schmoll, director of Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, in an email.

Supermoons happen a few times a year. One in October made the moon look somewhat larger, and another in December will be the last of the year.

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