Reliving the 2020-21 sports year: Three UA coaches who put it all together

Despite lackluster seasons from the Arizona Wildcats’ football and men’s basketball programs, the athletic department’s cash cows, the 2020-21 sports year at the UA was a banner year, especially in the spring.

Between trips to the World Series in both softball and baseball in the same season for the first time ever, deep postseason runs and program records, it was a year to remember for Arizona sports.

Former longtime Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea said “this might be the best overall spring sports year that I can remember in my 37 years at Arizona. ... It’s something that should be celebrated and something we should all be proud of.”

Success, more often than not, is a reflection of leadership, and the Wildcats had several commanders that stood tall when the lights were the brightest.

This week, the Star is honoring the best of the best in UA sports from this past year.

Up next: best coach.

Honorable mention

Jim Anderson, men’s golf

The Arizona men’s golf team had its best season under head coach Jim Anderson since he took over the program in 2012.

Arizona rose to a No. 1 national ranking in March and held off rival Arizona State to win a Pac-12 championship for the first time since 2004. Anderson’s star-studded senior group, led by Pac-12 Golfer of the Year Brad Reeves and Tucson native Trevor Werbylo, punched their ticket to Arizona’s third straight NCAA Regional appearance.

The Wildcats’ success in ‘21 delivered Anderson his first Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors — and a three-year contract extension through 2024.

“I look forward to continuing to serve this tremendous university and community. … I will continue to make the same commitment to serve and work tirelessly because I know what Arizona golf means to many people, and I believe in what this program can accomplish,” he said.

Runner-up

Clancy Shields, men’s tennis

Continuing the trend of best seasons in a program’s existence, the UA men’s tennis squad had one that will be celebrated for many years to come.

Arizona posted a 21-8 record and was a perfect 14-0 in home matches. In Pac-12 play, UA was 5-2 with wins over Pac-12 powers USC and UCLA, which never happened in the same season prior to ‘21. Before this season, the Wildcats were a combined 2-54 against the Trojans and Bruins.

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The Wildcats then battled their way to a Sweet 16 for the first time ever, beating ranked teams Michigan and Kentucky, before falling to SEC champion and eventual Final Four team Tennessee 4-3.

Once the season concluded, Clancy Shields, a two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year since taking over the program five years ago, received a contract extension that locks him in through 2026.

“After turning Arizona men’s tennis from a program on the rise to an elite program, Clancy has created an atmosphere of excellence that produces outstanding success on the court, in the classroom and in the community,” UA athletic director Dave Heeke said. “I look forward to seeing our men’s tennis program sustain that excellence for years to come.”

Winner

Adia Barnes, women’s basketball

In five seasons, Adia Barnes has turned the UA women’s basketball program from the doormat of the Pac-12 to one of the top teams in the sport nationally, not just the West Coast.

Arizona’s ascension to national relevance wasn’t overnight, rather a process three years in the making ever since star guard Aari McDonald, the 2021 Pac-12 Player of the Year and All-American, played her first game as a Wildcat in ‘18 after following Barnes from Washington to Tucson.

With McDonald foregoing the WNBA draft following a 2020 season that was shut down for the pandemic and stopped a potential run in the NCAA Tournament, Barnes’ Wildcats were prime for a deep postseason run, with returning players in All-Pac-12 selections Sam Thomas and Cate Reese, and key first-year additions in transfers Trinity Baptiste (Virginia Tech), Bendu Yeaney (Indiana) and Shaina Pellington (Oklahoma), who’s representing Canada in the Tokyo Olympics later this month.

Along with reserve guard Helena Pueyo and star freshman Lauren Ware in the frontcourt, the Wildcats constructed a roster that wouldn’t just compete in the Pac-12 with Stanford, Oregon and UCLA, but also reach unprecedented territory in the postseason.

And they did.

Prior to this season, the Wildcats had only been past the second round of the NCAA Tournament once, Barnes’ senior season in 1998. Playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2005, Arizona had its best season in program history and not only upset juggernaut UConn in the Final Four, but fell one bucket shy of winning a national championship in a 54-53 loss to Stanford.

“I think when you’re a coach and your team plays their hearts out for you, there’s a good connection,” Barnes said. “… They will run through a wall for me, and they did that. They fought. They played their hearts out.”

Barnes’ success resulted in a twice-reworked contract that’s now worth $5.85 million over the next five years — including $1 million in the 2021-22 season. Barnes’ new deal places her among the top 15 highest-paid women’s basketball coaches nationally.

In April, Barnes’ five-year extension was set for $3.35 million, before Baylor showed interest in her to replace Kim Mulkey, who accepted the LSU head coaching vacancy.

“What (Barnes) has done for this program in such a short period of time is really remarkable,” finance committee chair Karrin Taylor Robson said to Heeke and UA president Robert C. Robbins in June, “and so your efforts to keep her happily employed at the University of Arizona is pretty important to all of us, so thank you.”

Said Barnes on her new contract: “It means the world to me that they trust me to lead this incredible program and are invested in our success. I am honored to coach at my alma mater and represent Tucson, a city where it all began for me. This contract is a commitment to our sport, Arizona women’s basketball and this university.

“It is my responsibility to honor that commitment with a relentless pursuit of a national championship, and I can’t wait until we pack McKale (Center) again with the best fans in the country.”