Arizona
Spoiler alert: Arizona sees Territorial Cup meeting with ASU as a potential culture builder
With just days left in the regular season, the Arizona Wildcats have accepted a difficult truth: Postseason football is not in their immediate future. That said, no matter what transpired during the season, one game on the calendar is always marked, and beating Arizona State Saturday could dramatically shift the Wildcats’ mood.
“Huge week for us,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “Obviously the ASU game is such a special rivalry in college football and it means so much to everybody here, everybody at this university, everybody in Tucson and thousands in the state of Arizona.”
Arizona sits at 4-7 heading into the Territorial Cup matchup in Tucson and is in 13th place out of 16 teams in the Big 12. ASU, meanwhile, was initially picked to finish last in the conference but is first at 9-2. The Sun Devils are likely one win away from a Big 12 title game appearance in their inaugural season with the conference.
Although Arizona can spoil ASU’s dream of a spot in the College Football Playoff, Brennan said that is not the team’s primary messaging.
“The mindset is that this is the biggest game of the year, every year, and that doesn’t change,” Brennan said. “For us, whether we’re bowl-eligible or not, all that matters is that we’re playing the team from up north. … We’re all in on right now, and this week and what we need to get done to play good football on Saturday afternoon.”
Spoiling conference championship hopes for their biggest rival would be an added bonus to a third consecutive Territorial Cup win. Brennan just wants his team to respect the intensity of the rivalry.
“We’re just worried about what’s ahead of us right now,” senior offensive lineman Josh Baker said. “We’re worried about not necessarily the game but the fist fight, the dogfight that’s right in front of us.”
The Wildcats’ hopes of making consecutive bowl games for the first time since a 2012-2015 run have not lived up to expectations The frustration includes not making the most of a Biletnikoff Award finalist in receiver Tetairoa McMillan after the team started strong, winning three of its first four games.
Even with the adversity, Brennan doesn’t see this matchup as fueling the fire of hate toward ASU, but as a culture-building opportunity for his program moving forward in the face of trials.
“We’re not where we want to be right now, but we have an opportunity in front of us that is incredible and special in every way, so what are you going to do when you have that opportunity in front of you?” he said. “How are you going to attack that work that’s required to play good football on Saturday?”
Time will tell how the Wildcats respond to what is surely going to be an electric atmosphere at Arizona Stadium Saturday. Ultimately, the coaching staff is looking for a way to kickstart things going into the offseason, especially with early signing day set for Dec. 4.
For Arizona, the spoiler mentality may not be made public, let alone be the root of the motivation for the game. It’s a matchup that hasn’t held much weight since about 2013, when ASU beat Arizona to solidify its spot to represent the Pac-12 South over UCLA. Nevertheless, a big bout is the accurate depiction of what is still at stake for the Wildcats Saturday.
“Obviously, given the fact that ASU is playing really well, you know, they beat some really good teams that we’ve lost to, it gives us an opportunity to come in and play a rival team at home, it really gives us some big momentum going into the offseason,” wide receivers coach Bobby Wade said.
“It will be a fun game, and obviously, beating a ranked team, beating a rival team at home, it’s big.”
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
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