USC and UCLA are headed out of the Pac-12 in 2024. They won’t be coming to Tucson in 2023, either.
Both schools will miss the UA as part of the Pac-12’s unbalanced schedule, released Thursday by the conference. Arizona will play at the L.A. schools in late January. The Wildcats will skip trips to Seattle and Pullman.
Arizona will open Pac-12 play with a five-day gauntlet: The Wildcats will host rival Arizona State on Dec. 29, a Thursday, then travel to Cal and Stanford for games on Saturday and Monday. (It’s unclear which team they’ll play first).
The league did not announce specific dates, times or TV listings — just weekend pairings. Arizona’s are as follows:
Dec. 29: Arizona State at Arizona
Dec. 31-Jan. 2: Arizona/Arizona State at California/Stanford
Jan. 6-8: Oregon/Oregon State at Arizona/Arizona State
Jan. 13-15: Arizona/Arizona State at Colorado/Utah
Jan. 20-22: Arizona at Arizona State
Jan. 27-29: Arizona/Arizona State at UCLA/USC
Feb. 10-12 California/Stanford at Arizona/Arizona State
Feb. 17-19 Colorado/Utah at Arizona/Arizona State
Feb. 23-25: Arizona/Arizona State at Oregon/Oregon State
Armed with the top recruiting class in program history, Arizona is again expected to be among the top teams in the league. The UA advanced to its first Final Four and an appearance in the NCAA championship game in 2021, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Wildcats return guards Shaina Pellington, Helena Pueyo and Madison Conner as well as post players Cate Reese and Lauren Ware. The UA will open its season Nov. 10 against NAU in McKale Center.
Wildcats to introduce McDonald on Friday
The UA will introduce Aari McDonald on Friday as the team’s new director of recruiting. The former Wildcats star — and current Atlanta Dream guard — will meet the media in the morning at McKale Center.
McDonald started her new job last week. She will work and train at the UA during her WNBA offseasons rather than play overseas. McDonald told the Star that the recruiting director job is “a win-win for both of us.”
“I am excited to make an impact on this new team that Adia (Barnes) has this year,” she said. “I’m excited to also work on my game and expand.”
Coach Adia Barnes said the job is a perfect fit for McDonald, who wants to go into coaching when her playing days are over.
“For her to come here and learn what it’s like, what the life is like and how she can impact so many players and people, I think she’s going to love it,” Barnes said. “I knew that Aari wasn’t interested in going overseas (to play). It was the perfect position. I think she’s going to be amazing.”
