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Compare that to the league鈥檚 best player, Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady, who had an ERA of 0.86. That鈥檚 why the Red Raiders are in the Women鈥檚 College World Series.

It reminds me of the series of great Arizona national championship pitchers whose ERAs were Canady-level: Jennie Finch had ERAs of 0.59 and 0.79; Alicia Hollowell had ERAs of 0.88, 0.89 and 0.94; Nancy Evans had an ERA of 0.98. Arizona has only had one dominant pitcher (Danielle O鈥橳oole, 2017) since Kenzie Fowler鈥榮 freshman season in 2010. Lowe鈥檚 offseason mission is clear: find the next Fowler or Hollowell.

鈥� A year ago, big-money school Texas gave Arizona women鈥檚 golf coach Laura Ianello a $110,000 raise and made her the Longhorns鈥� women鈥檚 golf coach.

To avoid the 鈥減oaching鈥� of another top Arizona coach, UA Athletic Director Desire茅 Reed-Francois included a significant buyout in the contract extension of men鈥檚 tennis coach Clancy Shields.

Fortunately for those who follow and appreciate what Shields has done to make Arizona鈥檚 men鈥檚 tennis team a Top 10-15 program, the leading coaches in NCAA men鈥檚 tennis don鈥檛 appear ready to retire or leave their posts. Wake Forest鈥檚 Tony Bresky, who won the NCAA title last week, is 49. TCU鈥檚 Dave Roditi, whose team finished second, is 51. Stanford鈥檚 Paul Goldstein, whose team tied for third, is 48, and Texas鈥� Bruce Berque, also tied for third, is 50. UCLA鈥檚 Billy Martin, whose team reached the Elite Eight last week, is 57. Shields, 37, the only UA coach to win four consecutive conference championships in any sport, has a contract that runs through 2028.

鈥� Pima College center Wes Ball, a big part of the Aztecs鈥� 35-1 season and run to the NJCAA Division II Final Four, took a recruiting visit to Kansas earlier this month but did not commit to the Jayhawks. Instead, he then took a recruiting visit to Louisiana-Monroe. Tough choice. He could probably play 25-30 minutes a game at UL-M. At KU, he would probably be mostly a practice player.

鈥� Since Arizona hired Fred Harvey as its head track and field coach in 2002, the coaching business in the West has significantly changed. Female head track coaches are now employed at UCLA (Joanna Hayes), Washington State (Julie Taylor), Washington (Maurica Powell) and Cal (Robyne Johnson). Plus, Caryl Smith Gilbert was the head coach at USC before being hired away by Georgia. It makes you wonder if Arizona鈥檚 well-respected associate head coach for track and field, Francesca Green, might be elevated to replace Harvey. Green has been coaching at Arizona for 16 years and is in the prime of her career at 48.

鈥� Cienega High School grad Isaiah Jackson, who has hit 16 home runs as ASU鈥檚 starting center fielder this season, was named to the All-Big 12 first team last week. He becomes the sixth Tucsonan to become a first-team All-Conference baseball player at ASU, joining Sahuaro pitcher Kevin Dukes, 1981; Amphi first baseman Ted Dyson, 1988; Sahuaro pitcher Marc Barcelo, 1993; CDO pitcher Ryan Schroyer, 2003; and Sunnyside catcher Carlos Ramirez, 2009.