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News: The UA softball team gets the No. 13 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host a regional for the first time since 2021.

Views: Arizona will have to go through at least one SEC team, and possibly two, to advance to the Women鈥檚 College World Series.

Ole Miss is the No. 2 seed in the 大象APPRegional. No. 4 overall seed Arkansas looms in the Super Regionals.

It鈥檚 a familiar path and an inevitability in this post-realignment world; it鈥檚 almost impossible to avoid SEC teams as you work your way through .

Like the Big 12, the SEC now has 16 members. Whereas 11 schools play softball in the Big 12, 15 play it in the SEC.

Fourteen of those teams made the NCAA Tournament, including Georgia, Kentucky and Auburn, who were all 7-16 or worse in conference play.

Does the SEC unfairly get the benefit of the doubt come Selection Sunday (softball) and Monday (baseball)? I鈥檇 say yes. But ESPN softball analyst Kenzie Fowler, a UA alum, couldn鈥檛 deny the league鈥檚 strength 鈥� especially with Oklahoma and Texas now on board. The Sooners have won the past four WCWS titles. The Longhorns have made seven appearances and were national runners-up in 2022 and 鈥�24.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think at this point anyone鈥檚 going to catch the SEC,鈥� . 鈥淚t is a different level right now.鈥�

With the breakup of the Pac-12, the SEC is indisputably the No. 1 softball conference in America. That doesn鈥檛 mean Arizona can鈥檛 beat two of its members to make it to Oklahoma City.

The Wildcats played two games against SEC opponents this season and split them. They drubbed then-No. 11 Alabama 9-1 on Feb. 8 and lost to then-No. 1 Texas 8-4 in eight innings on Feb. 22.

Arizona defeated Arkansas last season en route to sweeping the Fayetteville Regional. The UA went 4-0 vs. Missouri and Mississippi State to make the WCWS in 2022.

The Wildcats have done it before. They can do it again.

News: The UA baseball team concludes the regular season with a three-game series at Houston.

Views: The Wildcats picked a bad time to have a bad week, dropping three of four games, including two of three at home against last-place Utah.

The sense of urgency they showed in winning Sunday 鈥� responding to every Utes counterstrike 鈥� is no longer optional. They need to battle to win every at-bat moving forward.

Getting a top-four seed in the Big 12 Tournament 鈥� and avoiding having to play an extra game next Wednesday 鈥� is still in play. But Arizona no longer controls its fate. Even if they were to sweep Houston, the Wildcats would need help to get that coveted bye.

While the offense has been a greater source of consternation for most of the season, the pitching staff worries me more heading down the stretch. Arizona didn鈥檛 exactly light up the scoreboard Friday and Saturday, but scoring five or six runs ought to be enough most nights. In fact, before losing to TCU 13-6 on May 4, Arizona had won 27 consecutive games when scoring six or more runs.

That game was the start of the Wildcats鈥� four-game losing streak. The scores in the losses vs. Utah were 8-6 and 13-5.

Arizona has allowed more than 10 runs eight times this season. Two of those games were on opening weekend. It鈥檚 happened three times since April 26 鈥� plus three other games where the opposition scored between seven and nine runs.

The Wildcats are changing their rotation again, subbing Raul Garayzar for Collin McKinney, who hasn鈥檛 thrown enough strikes to keep his spot. If Garayzar can provide more length, that should ease the burden on the bullpen.

Garrett Hicks and Casey Hintz were two of its most reliable members early in the season, but both have struggled of late. Arizona needs them to find their form to make any sort of postseason run.

News: UA men鈥檚 basketball freshman Carter Bryant participates in the .

Views: With each passing day, it鈥檚 becoming less likely that Bryant will return to Arizona.

Monday鈥檚 NBA Draft Lottery produced another round of mock drafts. At least two had him going in the top half of the first round.

to the San Antonio Spurs with the 14th pick. going to the Chicago Bulls with the 12th pick. The guaranteed salary for the No. 12 pick is per year.

鈥淏ryant is the guy in this class who seems to have a ton of juice when you talk to front offices, and it wouldn鈥檛 surprise me to see him land in the top 10,鈥� The Athletic鈥檚 Sam Vecenie wrote. 鈥淚 think I鈥檇 park his range in the No. 7 to No. 16 area.鈥�

At this point, Bryant has more to lose than gain by coming back. If he were projected to be a late first-rounder, it鈥檇 be a different discussion.

Barring something unforeseen, Arizona won鈥檛 be able to acquire a player of Bryant鈥檚 caliber; if you鈥檙e that good, you鈥檙e going pro.

As such, it鈥檚 becoming more likely that both of the Wildcats鈥� five-star freshmen, Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, will be members of the starting five this season.

News: Tight end Keyan Burnett returns to UA football after spending one semester at Kansas.

Views: When it comes to the transfer portal, you should always expect the unexpected.

When Burnett first entered the portal on Dec. 7, Arizona hadn鈥檛 hired Seth Doege yet. When Burnett committed to Kansas on Dec. 23, the UA hadn鈥檛 hired tight ends coach Josh Miller yet.

Things change.

After going through spring ball, both coaches recognized the need for another tight end. Doege previously had recruited Burnett to USC, where the tight end was committed in 2021 before flipping to Arizona.

Doege knows how dynamic Burnett can be. But it鈥檚 up to Burnett to prove it 鈥� something he has yet to do.

I was convinced Burnett was going to have a breakout season last year after a dominant training camp. Aside from the Utah game, it never came to fruition. Blame a combination of injuries and Arizona鈥檚 season-long offensive funk.

It鈥檚 hard to fault a player for getting hurt, but Burnett needs to do everything in his power to be ready to play on Saturdays this season. Whether that鈥檚 training differently or playing through pain, Burnett has to make himself available.

If he can, that breakout potential still exists. I鈥檓 not selling my Keyan Burnett stock just yet.

News: The UA men鈥檚 tennis team is eliminated in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years.

Views: What will it take for Clancy Shields鈥� team to take the next step?

Landing a top-eight seed would be a start.

All four Sweet 16 losses occurred on the road against higher-seeded teams: Tennessee (2021), Ohio State (2023), Columbia (2024) and Virginia (2025).

Arizona has yet to host a Sweet 16 match. No Sweet 16 opponent has felt the heat of 大象APPin mid-May.

I鈥檓 not going to profess to be an expert on the ITA鈥檚 鈥渞ankings algorithm,鈥� but strength of schedule is . So Shields needs to schedule up 鈥� assemble as many top-level nonconference opponents as possible to boost the Wildcats鈥� SOS.

Arizona loses three seniors off this year鈥檚 team, including ATP-bound Colton Smith, but current ITA No. 6 Jay Friend leads a deep roster of returners.

I refuse to believe 鈥� and I鈥檓 sure Shields would concur 鈥� that UA men鈥檚 tennis has plateaued. The program has never been in better shape. Shields and the Wildcats aren鈥檛 done ascending.