Senior defender Ava McCray chose to stay with Cats after coach left

Ava McCray transferred from Cal Poly to Arizona after her freshman season, citing a need to take her game to the next level

She could have transferred again when UA coach Tony Amato left for Florida this summer. While McCray said Amato was part of the reason why she came to Arizona, she did not consider it.

“I was set on staying in Arizona,” the senior defender said. “The transfer process is definitely very stressful, and I had made really good relationships with my teammates right now and made new friends at this school. I knew I was going to stay.”

McCray and Arizona (3-7, 0-3) will play Thursday night at Oregon (6-1-4, 1-1-1) on Thursday night with hopes of snapping a four-game losing streak. The Wildcats will take on Oregon State (9-2, 1-2) in Corvallis on Sunday. McCray has played in six matches this season, starting five of them.

Before her collegiate career began McCray — a native of Davis, California — led Davis Senior High School to three straight Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 titles. Her team was ranked No. 1 in California her sophomore year, and sixth her senior year.

In 2016, McCray was one of only 32 American girls selected to train with FFC Frankfurt in Germany. A year alter, she represented Northern California in the 2017 Gothia Cup in Sweden.

“That environment was awesome,” McCray said. “That entire trip I feel brought my soccer game to the next level and it is kind of similar to the environment I’m in now. It was definitely incredible, and I learned a lot on that trip.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

UA coach Becca Moros said it was “a tremendous opportunity and experience … I am sure it helped her understand what she wanted to become as she continued to train and push to reach her personal goals and soccer goals.”

Now McCray is one of the seniors on the UA’s roster, and showing the leadership skills needed to help the Wildcats improve.

“She has a great personality, really friendly, one of the biggest smiles on the team and she works really hard,” Moros said. “She has got really good technical abilities, playmaking and passing which is big for what we do.”

McCray has the option to return for a fifth season, but is also planning to attend graduate school with the goal of becoming a physical therapist.

Moros said McCray will be a great fit.

“She is definitely a caretaker,” Moros said. “She pays a lot of attention to what is going on and the details around stuff and doing a good job. She obviously has athleticism and understands the body from a personal perspective and experience there, so I think that always helps when you start working on rehabilitation and have been through things yourself and to know what process goes like and to know what it feels like to push your body.”