The Arizona Wildcats will not be going to the postseason.
Arizona did not make the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Jay Johnson, who just completed his third season in Tucson.
The Wildcats came oh-so-close; they were among the “first four out” along with Illinois, Kentucky and UCF.
Arizona finished 34-22, 14-16 in the Pac-12. The latter might have been their undoing. Ray Tanner, chairman of the NCAA Selection Committee, cited Kentucky’s sub-.500 record in the SEC as the main reason those Wildcats didn’t make the tournament.
Four Pac-12 teams are in the field of 64: Stanford, Oregon State, UCLA and Washington. The first three were a given; the Huskies were considered to be on the bubble. But UW finished 20-10 in conference play and swept Arizona in March.
The Wildcats endured several excruciating losses, including a late blown lead against the Cardinal – the No. 2 overall seed – and a 2-1 loss at Oregon on Friday night in which they had the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth inning and couldn’t score.
Arizona won two of three against OSU – the No. 3 overall seed – but went 5-13 in one-run games.
Monday’s announcement likely brings an end to the college careers of stalwarts such as Alfonso Rivas III, Cesar Salazar and Cody Deason, draft-eligible juniors who have been with Johnson from the start of his tenure. Arizona reached the College World Series finals in Johnson’s first season, 2016, and played in the Lubbock Regional last year.
Johnson and a handful of players will address the media later this morning. We’ll have complete coverage at Tucson.com.
