β’Β Arizonaβs legacy in the NCAA high jump is such that it has produced six national champions:Β Brigetta Barrett,Β Tanya Hughes,Β Liz Patterson,Β J.C. Broughton,Β Katrena JohnsonΒ andΒ Charmaine Gale. Last week, UA jumps coachΒ Bob MyersΒ was able to use that legacy to successfully recruit the nationβs No. 1 girls high jumper,Β Kya CrookeΒ of Fishers, Indiana. Crooke, who is the only high school high-jumper in the nation to clear 6 feet, has already competed in the U20 Pan American Games, where she won a silver medal.
Emma Gates and high jumps coach Bob Myers at the 2024 NCAA Championships West Regional at John McDonnell Field, May 25, 2024.
β’Β Seven players from Arizonaβs 2016 College World Series finals baseball team reached the major leagues:Β Alfonso Rivas,Β Bobby Dalbec,Β Kevin Ginkel,Β Ryan Aguilar,Β J.J. Matejevic,Β Cesar SalazarΒ andΒ Jared Oliva. That list grew to eight last week when .243 hitting shortstopΒ Louis Boyd, a 24th-round draft pick, was hired by the Seattle Mariners to be their major league field coordinator. Boyd, 30, was a minor league manager by the time he was 25 and has spent the last five years in various capacities in Seattleβs minor-league system. If his future doesnβt include a MLB managerial job, it will be a surprise.
• How’s this for a winter baseball camp for Tucson kids, ages 9-12: It will be coached by ex-New York Yankees outfielder Shelley Duncan, the Tucson high school and Arizona career home run leader; Ed Vosberg, an All-Pac-10 pitcher at Arizona who won a World Series with the 1997 Florida Marlins; CDO’s 1994 state championship Tucson Player of the Year Nick Frank; ex-CDO pitcher Jason Stanford, who pitched three years for the Cleveland Indians; and Jason Hanna, a former Palo Verde pitcher who played for Eastern Arizona College in in the minor leagues. The camp will be held Dec. 27-29 at Udall Park. Learn more by calling 520-404-9234 or email frontlinetofield@gmail.com.
β’Β TucsonanΒ Anthony Sanders, who started out as an Arizona quarterback hopeful in the fall of 1992, has spent the last 32 years in pro baseball. The Santa Rita High School grad last week signed to return as the Baltimore Orioles' first base coach in 2025. Sanders, who played in the big leagues for the Blue Jays and Mariners, spent time with 15 minor league teams, as well as playing in Japan and Mexico. Last year was his sixth on the Orioles coaching staff after working in the Colorado Rockies organization for 11 years. If thereβs ever a movie "Bull Durham II," Sanders would be a good role model for scriptwriters.
