Reliving the 2020-21 sports year: Adia Barnes' Cats had a run Tucson won't soon forget

Now that the 2020-21 sports seasons have concluded in the Arizona Wildcats athletics department, the pandemic-affected year in UA sports has officially come to an end, and — whew — what a ride it was.

Who could ever forget the wins, losses, upsets, postseason success, accolades, NCAA investigations and, of course, the coaching changes. With former UA baseball coach Jay Johnson’s departure to LSU, Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke will now conduct his sixth head coaching search in as many months.

All in all, the 2020-21 sports year will go down in the history books as one of the most memorable years in Wildcats history.

Over the next week, the Star is looking back at what made this year one to remember, with “awards” recognizing the best of the best in UA sports. The Tucson Stars? The Wildcastees? The Wildcasters? Whatever the name, these Arizona teams and individuals deserve one final curtain call as we approach the beginning of the 2021-22 season.

Up first: Best moment.

Honorable mention

Arizona advances to Omaha

After the UA baseball team had its 2020 season unplugged due to the pandemic, the Wildcats brought in one of the top recruiting classes in college baseball and returned key veterans.

Led by the “Baby Bombers” in freshmen infielder Jacob Berry and catcher Daniel Susac, along with Branden Boissiere and Ryan Holgate, Arizona’s bats propelled the Wildcats to having arguably the best offense in the nation. With nine players having .300-plus batting averages, Johnson said, “I think this is the best offense in Pac-12 history.”

That offense and improved pitching under assistant coach Nate Yeskie led the Wildcats to a 45-18 record, the program’s seventh conference championship and first since 2012, a Tucson Regional title and a Super Regional series win over Ole Miss in front of a packed crowd at Hi Corbett Field. More importantly, the season delivered a trip to Omaha for the College World Series, the second — and final — time of the Johnson era.

“This was more of ... everything that you dream about,” Johnson said. “The significance of that out there, seeing our players as happy as they are and proud as they are, getting a chance to be with them ... and their families is why I do this.”

Runner-up

Candrea hangs it up after 36 years

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone with a better softball-coaching résumé than Mike Candrea, who officially retired after 36 years at the helm, following the Wildcats’ run to the 2021 Women’s College World Series.

Let’s take a look at what Candrea accomplished in his time as Arizona’s skipper since 1986, shall we? He finished with eight national championships, 24 trips to the Women’s College World Series and a 1,674-433-2 (.794) record — all NCAA bests.

Across decades of statistically the greatest run in college softball history, Candrea coached the likes of Jennie Finch, Jenny Dalton, Taryne Mowatt, Jessie Harper, new UA head coach Caitlin Lowe, Dejah Mulipola, Toni Mascarenas, Laura Espinoza — the list is ongoing.

“I’m just blessed to have to do what I’ve been doing for so long. It’s run by great people. Been lucky,” Candrea said. “At the end of the day, there’s a lot of people that put hard work into this game.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Candrea’s softball legacy carried beyond Tucson; He also led Team USA’s softball team to gold in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and silver in the ‘08 Games in Beijing, coaching the country’s elite softball players on the biggest stage in sports.

Now he’ll put aside his coaching title and take on an advisor role with the UA athletic department and softball program. The winningest coach in UA sports history left his legacy, and will now pass his wisdom off to the new generation of softball players and coaches.

“I wanted to be the gatekeeper and I wanted to make sure that I did the right things for the next generation,” Candrea said. “I really believe that this program is better off than it was when I found it. It’s been so much fun. I owe all of you for this great career. And I just want to say thank you and God bless each and every one of you, because it has been truly an honor to be called ‘Coach’ at the University of Arizona.”

Winner

Cats stun top-seeded UConn, play for national title

Six. That’s how many wins the Arizona women’s basketball team had in Adia Barnes’ second season at the UA in 2017-18.

Since that season, the Wildcats have incrementally risen to become one of the top programs in women’s college basketball. A season after turning heads by winning the 2019 WNIT championship, the pandemic prevented the Wildcats from playing in their first NCAA Tournament game since ‘05.

Luckily for Barnes, star guard Aari McDonald, the 2021 Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, returned for her final hurrah as a Wildcat, and Arizona landed key transfers in forward Trinity Baptiste (Virginia Tech) and wing Bendu Yeaney (Indiana) to go along with Cate Reese, defensive specialist Sam Thomas, guards Shaina Pellington and Helena Pueyo and freshman standout Lauren Ware.

The All-Pac-12 trio of McDonald, Thomas and Reese carried the Wildcats to a No. 3 seed of the Mercado Region in the NCAA Tournament, where the UA “bubbled” for two weeks.

From there, Barnes’ Wildcats revived the unique March Madness craze in Tucson, and crafted the best postseason run in program history and entered unprecedented territory by advancing to the UA’s first-ever Final Four. Even the buzzsaw of scoring machine Paige Bueckers and top-seeded UConn couldn’t get in the way of Arizona, when the Wildcats throttled the Huskies 69-59 in the Final Four.

“We shocked the world tonight,” McDonald said. “Keep betting against my teammates and I, we’re going to show you wrong. We’re going to prove you wrong.”

The final challenge for Arizona: beat another No. 1 seed. Except this team, Stanford, beat the UA by 27 points at McKale Center on Jan. 1. With six seconds left on the clock and Arizona in need of one basket to win the national championship, McDonald’s legendary postseason run couldn’t be capitalized when her potential game-winning shot was off the mark, allowing the Cardinal to escape 54-53.

Despite the loss, the 2021 Arizona women’s basketball team’s stretch in March and April will be celebrated and forever a part of UA lore.

“I’ll remember when everybody around the country didn’t believe in us, counted us out. We believed in each other. We did that. We celebrated each other,” said Barnes. “We fought and we made it to the championship game. We’re not the best team in the country. We’re not the deepest team, not the tallest team. … Just proud of this team, our resiliency, our mental toughness, our want to win. The way they fought for me.

“They never had a doubt. They looked me in the eyes and fought. I love them. I wouldn’t ask for anything … I wouldn’t change anybody. I wouldn’t get bigger, change my players. Don’t care if we can’t shoot here, can’t post; I don’t care because we fight, and that’s all I can ask.”