Excitement is there for Arizona Athletics if Spring Sports hang on

As leagues and conferences around the country try to complete seasons, optimism is dissipating that the Arizona Athletics’ upcoming seasons will see their conclusion as the Corona Virus rages on Nationwide.

As we get into the more exciting time of year for the University of Arizona Athletics, if Fall Sports have taught us anything, it is that that we should temper expectations, especially as the Pac-12 fumbled the way they handled the football season.

If anything, we have seen the Conference put their top teams behind the 8-ball more than they already were. From the continual cancellation of games and the abbreviated schedule, it has to truly make one wonder just how feasible it is for the Conference to put out a quality product in any sport.

Arizona Wildcats

Add in the fact that every major sports league was able to create a Bubble environment upon their return like the NHL and NBA did for their playoffs.

In the NFL, we have seen at least one major outbreak, as we are seeing currently witnessing with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL, and previously during the MLB season with the Miami Marlins.

However, in college athletics creating Bubble environments is not so feasible, and the outlook is looking grim by the day. Sadly, there is a real possibility, that for the second-straight year, we may not see a conclusion to the basketball, baseball, and softball seasons among others.

Women’s Basketball likely faces the most to lose from another premature end

Coach Adia Barnes has her Lady Wildcats ranked in the Top 10, they have a strong candidate for player of the year in Aari McDonald, and this team has at least one national media pundit picking them for a run to the Final Four, with what profiles to be the 2nd best team in the Pac-12.

There’s a reason non-conference teams have ducked Coach Barnes’ calls when she’s looking for games, and that’s because they know she’s building something special in Tucson. They don’t want to help her to get there if they can avoid it.

Everyone knows the McKale Center effect, which makes it a bit more surprising that teams didn’t want to come out in a year where the ZonaZoo and the rest of the fans are not there to make for a tougher experience.

After shaking off the rust against NAU last Sunday, the Lady Wildcats take aim at Pac-12 play with matchups against the LA teams with UCLA on Friday, and USC on Sunday. As long as all parties stay healthy, these upcoming matchups should tell us quite a bit. As fans, we should be excited about the squad this season.

Baseball is another squad with big aspirations in the Spring

After a promising start to the season in 2020 that looked so hopeful for Jay Johnson’s squad to make the postseason ,it, unfortunately, came to a premature end. In 2021, he looks to provide the Wildcats an even bigger chance at postseason glory at Hi Corbett Field.

Armed with a Top 5 recruiting class, and a likely Top 15 pre-season ranking to open the season, the Arizona Baseball team likely has the second most to lose if COVID continues to be a problem heading into the new year.

While allowing an extra year of eligibility for student-athletes as they received in the Spring, the Wildcats bigger impact guys are not likely to see that come to fruition if it happened again, as they will likely see their names called in the upcoming MLB Draft, and the league transitions back to a larger draft in 2021.

Don’t forget about the Fall Sports

Other teams with a lot to lose are those that were supposed to compete in the Fall in Soccer, Volleyball, Cross Country, and Golf. With these seasons transitioning to Spring for the 2020-2021 school year, there will be a lot to root for in Wildcat Country in 2021.

For now, we still await the schedules to be announced for the traditional Fall Sports. One thing to keep an eye on is to see if Coach Dave Rubio can take another step with the Volleyball program, especially in one of the toughest conferences in the sport.

The Wildcats did notch a Top-25 win last season by beating then No. 22 Washington State at home near the end of the season.

Though likely not eligible when the new season starts, Rubio did show comfort in going into the Volleyball rich Midwest, scoring recruits from Minnesota, Ohio, and Illinois, while also maintaining his local and California recruiting roots as well. This is a program to keep an eye on in the years to come, as a top-half finish conference finish could likely send them to the NCAA Tournament.

As for Women’s Soccer, Head Coach Tony Amato will look to guide his Wildcat soccer program back to the NCAA Tournament when they are allowed back on the pitch, hoping to dance a little farther into the postseason.

Last year, Arizona closed out the season in heartbreaking fashion, losing to No. 22 Penn State 4-3 in overtime. With a pair of Top 15 wins in 2019 against UCLA, the Wildcats are a team to watch moving forward.

At Zona Zealots, we’re hoping that Arizona Athletics can still have their Spring Sports, and as always, Bear Down, Arizona!