Picking 15 players to spotlight from a roster of 40 is always a challenging exercise.
Arizona enters the 2025 college baseball season with a degree of certainty in its lineup, although coach Chip Hale believes he has more than nine qualified players for those spots.
Pitching remains somewhat of a mystery. Ten of the Wildcats’ 19 pitchers are newcomers. Roles are still being sorted out.
We took a stab at it anyway. The following list of 15 players to watch includes the projected starting nine on offense and six hurlers. The players are listed in alphabetical order. The season starts Friday when No. 21 Arizona faces Ole Miss in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas.
Jack Berg
Position: LHP
Year: Third-year sophomore
Notable: Berg arrives from Tacoma Community College with an impressive arsenal but a limited résumé. He appeared in only 12 games over two seasons with the Titans, posting a 0.79 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 34⅓ innings. Of the three left-handers on the staff, Berg is the most likely to start.
Arizona outfielder Easton Breyfogle knocks a leadoff single against Dallas Baptist in the fifth inning of their elimination game in the Tucson Regional on June 1, 2024, at Hi Corbett Field.
Easton Breyfogle
Position: LF
Year: Sophomore
Notable: Breyfogle flashed potential as a freshman, recording a .366 on-base percentage and stealing seven bases in as many attempts despite missing about a month because of a hamstring injury. He consistently has notched high exit velocities in the run-up to the season. Breyfogle also has enough speed and range to cover the expanse that is left field at Hi Corbett Field.
Andrew Cain
Position: 1B/DH
Year: Sophomore
Notable: The product of Ironwood Ridge High School displayed a powerful bat as a freshman, totaling eight doubles and five home runs in 100 at-bats. Cain also slashed .290/.357/.520. He should have a bigger role this season, whether that’s as a corner infielder or designated hitter. More experience should bring better plate discipline (11-34 BB/K last year).
Arizona second baseman Garen Caulfield flips to second in a practice session at Hi Corbett Field on Feb. 4, 2025.
Garen Caulfield
Position: 2B
Year: Sixth-year senior
Notable: Caulfield decided to come back for a final season of college baseball — his fourth at Arizona after two years at San Joaquin Delta College (where he didn’t play because of the COVID-19 pandemic). Caulfield had a career year in 2024, slashing .310/.391/.469 with 19 doubles and 42 RBIs. He also posted a career-best .976 fielding percentage.
Christian Coppola
Position: RHP
Year: Junior
Notable: Coppola transferred to Arizona from Rutgers, where he had an up-and-down start to his college career. Coppola earned Freshman All-American honors in 2023, when his 3.68 ERA paced all Big Ten starting pitchers. That figure ballooned to 7.63 last year — largely because Coppola’s BB/9 rate jumped from 3.7 to 6.8. Arizona had the lowest BB/9 rate in the nation last season.
Arizona’s Adonys Guzman waits for his turn at bat in a game simulation towards the end of a practice session at Hi Corbett Field on Feb. 4, 2025.
Adonys Guzman
Position: C
Year: Junior
Notable: Guzman is considered one of the most gifted defensive catchers in the country and could get drafted this summer on that skill alone. He batted .265 in his first season at Arizona after transferring from Boston College. After sharing time with Blake McDonald, who’s now a graduate manager, Guzman is expected to handle the bulk of the catching duties in 2025.
Casey Hintz
Position: RHP
Year: Junior
Notable: Hintz lowered his release point last year, becoming a side-armer, and lowered his ERA from 5.60 as a freshman to 4.13 as a sophomore. Hintz allowed 48 hits in 32⅔ innings but might have been the victim of bad luck (.418 BABIP). He excels at keeping the ball down, recording a team-high 64.3% groundball rate and a team-low 18.8% flyball rate.
Collin McKinney
Position: RHP
Year: Third-year sophomore
Notable: McKinney is another potential reclamation project for UA pitching coaches Kevin Vance and John DeRouin. A 6-5, 235-pound transfer from Texas who throws in the mid-90s, McKinney missed his freshman season (2023) because of injury. He posted a 6.70 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 49⅔ innings for the Baylor Bears last year.
Maddox Mihalakis
Position: 3B
Year: Junior
Notable: A bit of a late bloomer, Mihalakis is the favorite to start at third base. His 2024 campaign included a strong postseason: He hit .308 with a home run, a double, a triple and five RBIs in 13 at-bats. Mihalakis carried that hot streak into the summer, pacing the Northwoods League with a .429 average. He drove in 61 runs in 45 games for the Rockford Rivets.
Arizona’s Tony Pluta throws during his inning of work in a game simulation during a practice session at Hi Corbett Field on Feb. 4, 2025.
Tony Pluta
Position: RHP
Year: Junior
Notable: No UA reliever was more reliable in 2024 than Pluta, whose 3.07 ERA and 0.85 WHIP were the best marks on the team. Pluta walked only two batters in 29⅓ innings. Pluta benefited from a low BABIP (.264), but other advanced metrics (3.31 FIP; 3.37 SIERA) suggest his success was no fluke.
Tommy Splaine
Position: 1B/C
Year: Senior
Notable: Like Caulfield, Splaine is entering his fourth season at Arizona. A strong defender at first base, Splaine is still searching for an identity as a hitter. He hit a career-high five home runs last season but batted a career-low .230 with a 9-56 BB/K ratio. Splaine drove in the title-clinching run in the Pac-12 Tournament with a walk-off single against USC.
Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill comes in on a short fly ball as the team runs through fielding drills in a practice session at Hi Corbett Field on Feb. 4, 2025.
Brendan Summerhill
Position: RF
Year: Junior
Notable: Summerhill enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2024, slashing .324/.399/.550 with 32 extra-base hits, 50 runs scored and 59 RBIs. He enters '25 as a preseason All-American and projected first-round pick in the MLB Draft. Summerhill possesses an advanced batting eye (46-56 career BB/K) and enough power and speed to reach double figures in home runs and stolen bases.
Julian Tonghini
Position: RHP
Year: Senior
Notable: Tonghini is expected to have a big role out of the bullpen after transferring to Arizona from Indiana. He spent his first two seasons at Boston College under the tutelage of Vance. Tonghini strikes out a lot of batters (10.3 career K/9) but also has walked a bunch (6.2 BB/9).
Aaron Walton
Arizona shortstop Mason White waits his turn in the cage as the Wildcats take batting practice before first pitch against Grand Canyon in the NCAA Regionals on May 31, 2024, at Hi Corbett Field.
Position: CF
Year: Junior
Notable: Walton played his first two seasons at Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, before transferring to Arizona. A physical presence at 6-3, 219, Walton totaled nine home runs and 15 stolen bases for the Bulldogs last season with a .286/.396/.492 slash line. He's expected to start in center field, nudging Summerhill to right.
Mason White
Position: SS
Year: Junior
Notable: The Salpointe Catholic High School product followed up his standout freshman season with an even more productive sophomore campaign. White led the Wildcats with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs while slashing .305/.392/.603. He’s looking to get on base more this season after striking out a team-high 85 times in 2024.
