Technically, the postseason for Arizona baseball doesn’t start until next week.
The Wildcats don’t see it that way. As far as they’re concerned, the playoffs begin Thursday in Houston. They’re fighting for every inch of ground.
“Everything is so up in the air,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “We’re going on the road, and this is the start of the playoffs. This is just the way we have to play. We're playing one game at a time and gotta try to give everything we can to win that one game.”
Arizona wants to finish in the top four in the Big 12 standings, which would give the Wildcats a bye in the first round of next week’s conference tournament in Arlington, Texas. They’re currently on the outside looking in after a disappointing series loss to last-place Utah last week.
Arizona and Kansas State are tied for fifth place at 16-11 in Big 12 play. They’re one game behind TCU and Kansas, who are tied for third at 17-10. West Virginia leads the league at 19-6. Arizona State is second at 18-9.
Arizona shortstop Mason White (24) tries to turn the pivot after erasing TCU runner Noah Franco (6) but can’t complete the double play in the eighth inning Friday, May 2, 2025, at Hi Corbett Field.
Arizona holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over TCU. The Wildcats didn’t face KU or KSU in conference play. If the teams in a three-way tie haven’t all faced one another, the next tiebreaker is winning percentage against the highest-placed common opponent in the standings.
Arizona theoretically would have the advantage in that scenario, having won series against West Virginia, ASU and TCU.
“If we want to win the Big 12 Tournament, getting in the top four is a huge deal,” Hale said. “That extra game is going to be hard, especially with it being on a Wednesday. The Thursday-Friday-Saturday (schedule), we're acclimating ourselves to that this week; we’ll be OK with it next week.
“To put another one in front of it would be very difficult. So I think it's super important.”
Arizona played with a real sense of urgency Sunday after losing the first two games vs. Utah. Multiple players said the Wildcats have to play that way the rest of the season. They've lost their margin for error.
Arizona’s Adonys Guzman gives his bat a toss after drawing a walk against Oklahoma State in the eighth inning of the second game of their Big 12 series April 12, 2025, at Hi Corbett Field.
“This is when you turn it on,” junior shortstop Mason White said. “This is where you gotta go. Because if you don't, it's over.
“You gotta make a regional. Obviously, we're in a pretty good spot for that. But that's not the end-all goal. To win a regional, you gotta play well. And it's baseball. It can go either way.”
The Wildcats are hopeful that being on the road — most likely for the rest of the season — will bring out the best in them. They have some recent history in Houston to support that notion.
Arizona participated in the Astros Foundation College Classic at Daikin Park Feb. 28-March 2. The UA defeated then-No. 1 Texas A&M and then-No. 18 Mississippi State before losing to then-No. 3 Tennessee.
Junior catcher Adonys Guzman referred to that three-game set as “our redemption weekend” after Arizona lost its first three games of the season in a tournament in Arlington.
“It was good to know we could compete with those teams,” Guzman said. “We know we have the ability here. ... It gave us a little confidence boost for sure.”
The Wildcats will head directly to Arlington after the Houston series, which concludes Saturday. Arizona all but eliminated itself from the hosting conversation by losing the Utah series. Winning the Big 12 Tournament could change that. Regardless, the Wildcats expect to spend a lot of time on the road over the next few weeks — and they’re looking forward to it.
“It helps a lot,” White said. “Everyone takes BP at the same time ... then the postgame meals. It's definitely what teams can come together around. Especially now. We’re in the crunch time of the year.”
Rotation change
For the second week in a row, Arizona is making a change to its starting rotation.
Senior Raul Garayzar (Rio Rico High School) will replace redshirt sophomore Collin McKinney as the No. 2 starter.
McKinney has started in every weekend series and has a respectable 3.88 ERA, but he has struggled to find the plate and go deep into games. McKinney pitched a combined nine innings in his past three starts, walking 10 batters and hitting three.
Arizona’s Raul Garayzar delivers a pitch during the Wildcats’ 3-2 victory over Arizona State on March 11, 2025, at Hi Corbett Field. Garayzar started and did not allow a run in three innings.
Garayzar has been a midweek starter and long reliever. He has pitched four innings three times, including this past Saturday in relief of McKinney. Garayzar has a 2.51 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, both second best on the team behind closer Tony Pluta.
Garayzar has improved immensely since last season, when he had an 11.12 ERA in eight appearances. Guzman credited Garayzar’s “command of all his pitches.”
“Last year ... he wasn’t really around the zone (or) he’d leave pitches over the middle,” Guzman said. “This year he’s been able to execute at a tremendous clip. Everything’s been working for him. He’s been throwing strikes. It’s been great to catch.”
Although he participated in Senior Day on Sunday, Garayzar has one more year of eligibility, Hale said. The same goes for reliever Matthew Martinez and infielder Richie Morales. All are potential beneficiaries of recent changes to eligibility rules for junior-college transfers.
Arizona’s Mason White is pumped rounding first after his three-run homer in the third inning, briefly cutting the Utah lead to 4-3 in their Big 12 game May 9, 2025, at Hi Corbett Field.
White hot
White has been Arizona’s hottest hitter in May. He has hit safely in six of seven games this month, batting .480 (12 of 25) with six runs scored, two triples, three home runs and 12 RBIs.
“It got hot out, and I love hitting in hot weather,” said White, a product of Tucson’s Salpointe Catholic High School. “Just worked a lot in the cage. And it’s just a long baseball season. Things come and go. So you try to stay prepared all the time.”
Although Hale said that junior year is “always hard” for players who are expected to be drafted, White said the draft hasn’t been on his mind.
“I don't care about that stuff,” he said. “I'm not here to chase money or chase any of those things. I'm here to play baseball and win games.”
White credited former teammate Chase Davis, whom he recently passed on Arizona’s all-time home run leaderboard, for showing him the way. Davis was a junior when White was a freshman in 2023. Davis earned second-team All-American honors before becoming a first-round pick.
Houston pitcher Antoine Jean throws against Stephen F. Austin on March 25, 2025, in Houston.
“He set a really good example for me,” White said. “I didn't really have any idea of how that stuff worked. He never got distracted by it. He never talked about it. He just went out and played the game and had fun doing it.”
Inside pitch
– Guzman has had trouble with some of his throws lately, especially on steal attempts. He said his arm was “a little bit sore” and he was trying to figure out how to push through it. He felt as though he made progress vs. Utah. “This is when things are the most fun and the most competitive. So regardless of how we may feel physically, it's compete time,” Guzman said. “I'm sure when the adrenaline kicks in ... I won't feel a thing and I’ll feel like it's Day One again.”
– Houston reliever Antoine Jean might be the most dominant pitcher in the Big 12. The left-hander is 4-1 with five saves, a 2.55 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and a 15.30 K/9 rate. “The numbers are incredible,” Hale said. “If they get up, they're going to bring him in and let him finish the game. It's sort of like (Cole) Carlon from ASU, where if he's on a roll, you gotta really figure out a way to get him off that roll.”
– Arizona’s scheduled starters are right-handers Owen Kramkowski (7-4, 5.08), Garayzar and Smith Bailey (1-3, 4.83).
– UA center fielder Aaron Walton ranks third on the team with a .318 batting average, but he has slumped over the past six games, logging just two hits in 27 at-bats (.074). “He was working yesterday and ... I think he's figured out some stuff,” Hale said Tuesday. “He's such a good athlete. I think in time it'll work itself out.”
– Hale on the importance of getting contributions from all nine hitters in the lineup: “If we want to go to where we think we should go as a program, we have to have all nine. They don’t have to hit .800, but they have to be contributors.”
– The latest NCAA field-of-64 projections have Arizona as a regional 3-seed. D1Baseball has the UA going to the Los Angeles Regional hosted by No. 11 overall seed UCLA. Baseball America has the Wildcats going to the Baton Rouge Regional hosted by No. 2 overall seed LSU.
