Arizona
Taking stock: How Arizona soccer is looking under coach Becca Moros
The offseason is here, with all of Arizona’s sports done for 2023-24 season and the 2024-25 campaigns still a little ways away.
That makes this a great time to step back and see how all of the Wildcats’ programs are doing, especially with the impending move to the Big 12 Conference.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at each of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletic programs to see what shape they’re in and what prospects they have for the near future. We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he/she arrived and comparing it to now while also looking at the upcoming debut in the Big 12 and beyond.
Next up: Soccer under Becca Moros.
How it looked before
Arizona soccer had by far the most successful run in program history under former head coach Tony Amato. During his eight years he took the Wildcats from nine straight losing seasons to eight straight of being .500 or better, including five trips to the NCAA Tournament. Amato left in the spring of 2021 to become the head coach at Florida and Arizona responded by hiring Moros, the youngest coach in the Pac-12.
Moros was hired in June that summer and instantly had to get her roster ready for August, retaining players and recruiting some of her own. She has led UA to one winning season in her three years and has been in the bottom three in the conference in scoring all three seasons.
Moros believes she’s been putting the pieces together with a veteran team coming back for 2025, getting ready to perform against new conference competition.
Where things stand now
Arizona is missing a consistent second scoring option other than Nicole Dallin after forward Cameron Valladares transferred to ASU in December. Moros said that MacKenzie Moring has been having time to develop in the opposite striker position as Dallin. Moring did not appear in any games last season and saw a combined 22 minutes of play in two games her freshman year.
On the goalkeeper’s end of things for UA, Hope Hisey, who had held down the net for UA the past five seasons, has graduated. Which brings up, who’s next? On the roster already was Ciara Ulreich-Power, who didn’t see any action last year and Olivia Ramey who transferred from Oklahoma where she started 22 games the past two seasons.
Moros feels this team has more depth attacking out of the midfield and the front line than they have ever had since she has been there.
What life in the Big 12 should look like
As Arizona leaves the Pac-12, which has been arguably the hardest conference to play in recent years, it will enter a Big 12 that will be a challenge of its own. Texas Tech and BYU were the only teams still in the conference to make the NCAA tournament last season. The UA doesn’t see Texas Tech in the regular season and will host BYU.
The Big 12 had eight teams of .500 or better in the regular season and UA will have to face five of them along with ASU.
One big question
Can Arizona get some momentum rolling and get back to the tournament? Before Arizona won its last two games of the season, UA went on a 6-game losing streak and two draws which stopped any hope at a tournament berth.
Moros retained key players, Megan Chelf, Sarah Rice and Dallin for their fifth seasons. Adding more depth to her forward position will give UA the chance to compete in the Big 12.
If Arizona finishes within the top 12 of the conference they will have a shot in the Big 12 Tournament, which is being held in CPKC Stadium, home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current, for the next two seasons.
Arizona
Person accused of making terroristic threats to medical facility in northern Arizona
PAGE, AZ (AZFamily) — A person accused of making terroristic threats toward a northern Arizona medical facility was arrested Friday morning.
Just after 10:30 p.m., police received a report of a person calling the facility and threatening to kill staff and Native Americans, according to the Page Police Department.
Authorities said staff placed the facility on lockdown until officers identified the suspect and arrested them outside their home.
The suspect was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, threatening and intimidating, and making terroristic threats. Police have not publicly identified the person.
“The Page Police Department is grateful for and supports the medical staff’s decision to put the medical facility into lockdown until the suspect was arrested and the situation was rendered safe,” the department said in a Facebook post.
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Arizona
NFL mock draft: 4-round projections for Arizona Cardinals
In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Arizona
Detroit Lions NFL Draft Injury Report: Arizona State CB Keith Abney
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
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