Arizona Wildcats baseball season preview: 15 players to watch in 2023

Arizona lost some of its most productive players from last season, including Daniel Susac, Tanner O’Tremba and Garrett Irvin. But the Wildcats return — and have added — enough talent to be projected as an NCAA Tournament team for the second time in as many years under Chip Hale.

Susac, a first-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft, led Arizona in average (.366), hits (100) and RBIs (61) while starting almost every game at catcher and batting in the top three spots in the lineup. O’Tremba was almost as good, hitting .351 with 56 RBIs and a team-high 21 doubles. Irvin led the Wildcats’ pitching staff in innings as the No. 2 starter in the rotation.

Outfielder Chase Davis and right-hander TJ Nichols are the highest-rated pro prospects on this year’s team. Who else bears watching?

Here are 15 players to keep an eye on in 2023:

Mac Bingham

Position: Junior

Year: Outfield

Notable: Arizona’s starting center fielder led the team and Pac-12 and tied for fourth in the country with seven triples last season. He hit .277, including .347 in Pac-12 play after fully recovering from a shoulder injury that nagged him early in the season. In the postseason, Bingham started all eight games and hit .290 with one home run, two doubles and five runs.

Tony Bullard

Position: Third base

Year: Senior

Notable: After missing a majority of the opening month of last season because of a shoulder injury that plagued him throughout the spring, Bullard was a bit inconsistent at the plate during the regular season. However, he came alive in the postseason for the second straight year, hitting .310 with one home run and six RBIs.

Garen Caulfield

Position: Second base

Year: Sophomore

Notable: One of the more underrated hitters for the Wildcats last season, Caulfield was third on the team in batting (.292) and registered a 15-game hitting streak. His success at the plate continued into the postseason, where he hit .308 with two home runs. His primary position in the field was second base, but he also made a handful of starts at third base so he comes with versatility as a defender. Caulfield could get some looks at first base this season and should bat higher in the lineup.

Chase Davis

Position: Outfield

Year: Junior

Notable: After a breakout season last year where he hit a team-high 18 home runs and ranked second with 56 runs, Davis has already been named a second- and third-team preseason All-American across different outlets. He holds first-round upside in the 2023 MLB draft with another big season and should be the cornerstone of the Wildcats’ offense this year.

Derek Drees

Position: RHP

Year: Senior

Notable: One of two primary additions through the transfer portal alongside fellow right-hander Cam Walty, Drees spent the past four seasons at Butler and logged playing time in three of those years. He made a career-high 17 appearances with two starts last season, posting a 1.27 ERA with four saves. He also earned second-team All-Big East honors.

Jackson Kent

Position: LHP

Year: Freshman

Notable: Kent was on the team last season but did not make an appearance, preserving his redshirt year. He holds the record at Lake Park High School in Illinois with 18 strikeouts in a single game. He earned all-conference, first-team all-state, and Dukane Conference Pitcher of the Year honors during his senior campaign.

Trevor Long

Position: RHP

Year: Junior

Notable: Long led the Wildcats with seven saves last season, posting a 3.68 ERA across 31 relief appearances. He also had two saves and posted a 2.25 ERA across four appearances in the postseason. Arizona is looking at Long, among others, in a multipurpose role where he could pitch multiple innings as a starter or reliever.

Nik McClaughry

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Position: Shortstop

Year: Senior

Notable: As the starter at shortstop in every game last season, McClaughry led the Pac-12 with 189 defensive assists. At the plate, he led the team and was top 10 in the conference in runs scored (57). He also recorded 13 doubles, four triples and three home runs. But defense is McClaughry’s biggest strength. He’s among the steadiest shortstops in college baseball.

Dawson Netz

Position: RHP

Year: Junior

Notable: Netz battled arm issues last season but has been an effective pitcher in high-leverage situations. He made a team-high six postseason appearances in 2021 and posted a 2.84 ERA. Netz showed a glimpse of his potential by throwing five shutout innings while striking out six batters in last year’s season-opening State Farm College Baseball Showdown against Texas Tech.

TJ Nichols

Position: RHP

Year: Junior

Notable: Nichols was the Friday-night starter for Arizona last season and tied the team high with 16 starts. He posted four quality starts and showed flashes of elite production, but that also came with some inconsistency. He holds Day 1 upside in the 2023 MLB draft (first two rounds), but that will need to come with more consistency on the mound this season.

Kiko Romero

Position: First base/outfield

Year: Junior

Notable: One of the more notable new additions, Romero transferred to Arizona after three seasons at Central Arizona College. He hit .366 last season with 25 home runs and 84 RBIs. He led his team to the NJCAA World Series Championship. He was also named the NJCAA World Series MVP and Most Outstanding Hitter after tying the tournament record with six home runs. Romero prepped at Canyon del Oro High School.

Anthony Susac

Position: RHP

Year: Sophomore

Notable: In his freshman season last year, Daniel Susac’s cousin made nine starts and 16 appearances overall. He also made two appearances and one start in the postseason. Susac was considered an elite prospect when he arrived on campus, but he was also coming off an elbow injury that slowed his progress. He’s further removed from that now, and his stuff is among the best on the team.

Tommy Splaine

Position: Catcher/first base

Year: Sophomore

Notable: With the departure of Daniel Susac, Splaine figures to play a bigger role behind the plate, where he’s expected to share time with Cameron LaLiberte. Splaine appeared in 50 games and made 47 starts last year as a true freshman, hitting .271 with two home runs. He hit his first career home run on the first pitch he saw. Splaine also hit .300 across 26 conference games.

Cam Walty

Position: RHP

Year: Junior

Notable: A transfer from Nevada, Walty threw a shutout in Tucson against Arizona last season. He figures to compete for a spot at the top of the Wildcats’ rotation this year. Walty picked up Freshman All-American recognition from Collegiate Baseball and was an All-Mountain West Conference first-team selection in 2021. He posted a career ERA of 4.60 at Nevada, a notoriously difficult place to pitch.

Mason White

Position: Infield

Year: Freshman

Notable: A product of Salpointe Catholic High School, White hit .453 his senior year with 35 RBIs. He was the 2022 4A Arizona State Player of the Year and someone the UA coaches have raved about since he arrived on campus. Although Arizona is set at the middle-infield spots with Caulfield and McClaughry, Hale is going to find a spot in the lineup for White.