Born in Tucson, frosh Breya Cunningham was almost meant to play basketball at Arizona

Breya Cunningham was literally born to be a Wildcat.

She was brought into this world at Tucson’s St. Joseph’s Hospital.

But so much from that moment on pointed toward her playing women’s basketball at Arizona one day.

Sure, the UA is the alma mater of her mom, Christania Haughton. But beside that, from early on, Cunningham embraced everything Wildcat.

They cheered on all of the school’s sports team and even athletes who played for Arizona in the professional ranks.

Her bedroom walls were filled to the brim with basketball trophies, medals and anything Arizona she could get her hands on from either her mom or her grandfather, who gave her posters or wall decals.

Then there was the clothing — one particular piece in particular that Cunningham got on her first unofficial UA visit: a pair of plaid pajama pants.

“If I could, I would wear those for a week straight; I wore those pajama pants all the time,” Cunningham said.

While Cunningham might not have known for sure that she was going to Arizona, others around her did (and, no, it wasn’t just because of those pajama pants).

“Her whole family was Arizona fans, so I think that put it in my head, ‘oh she’s going to Arizona,’” said her best friend, UA guard Jada Williams.

“Being born in Tucson, in some way she’s like a hometown hero. I think that’s always cool to say and the fans rally behind you because you were born here and have a connection to Tucson. I think that was important.”

As Arizona (12-10, 4-6) goes on the road to play at No. 9 UCLA (17-4, 6-4) Friday at 9 p.m., Cunningham is poised to make her 20th consecutive start.

Still, there was a lot more that went into Cunningham’s decision to play at Arizona — and even Williams saw it. As a high school teammate of Cunningham’s at La Jolla Country Day for two years, she witnessed UA coach Adia Barnes’ visits to San Diego.

Building a connection

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Cunningham’s mom also saw a bond that had grown between Barnes and her future starting post player over the years.

Haughton said she was the one who told her daughter she had to take five official visits and continue to talk to other coaches — just to ensure that she did all of her due diligence.

“She always liked Arizona,” Haughton said. “Adia was very on it recruiting-wise from eighth grade on. That stuck out to (Cunningham), like this person saw something in me in the eighth grade. She wasn’t even anywhere near her full potential at the time. I think that had a lot to do with — why she felt comfortable about going to Arizona.

“Adia is the reason why she came overall, because she had a lot of good relationships with the other coaches, but it was mostly like an assistant coach. She didn’t really have the connection with a head coach, like she did with Adia.”

The feeling of home also played into it. Growing up someone was always at Cunningham’s games.

At Arizona, with cousins and an uncle in Tucson, grandparents in Phoenix and her mom within driving distance, Cunningham knew she’d always have family in the stands at home games.

In rookie season they’ve seen her swatting blocks (41), snagging steals (23) and score with efficiency (54% from the field). She is averaging 7.7 points per game.

And they’ve seen her game grow. Cunningham said that while she’s still adjusting to college basketball, she thinks her biggest area of growth is becoming a tougher defender after going against some of the top players in the Pac-12. While she knows it’s still a work in progress, “I’m trying to be more aggressive and creating contact and not fading away from it. I feel like it’s showing me that I’m getting a little bit more confident.”

At 6-4, Cunningham came to UA ranked No. 10 in the Class of 2023 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz, a McDonald’s All-American and she also played for USA Basketball’s U16, U17 and U19 teams. She had offers from 30 different schools, including UConn, UCLA, Notre Dame and Texas.

Houghton said that if Cunningham would have chosen a school further away, she would have retired from the Navy; she is currently a Chief Warrant Officer Four currently in her 28th year in service.

Coming home

Cunningham said that when she was in the recruiting process and trying to keep an open mind, she kept comparing everything to Arizona and her relationship with Barnes. At the time of her UA commitment, she told the Star that it was on her visit to UCLA when she realized the connection to Barnes was different from all the others.

“It was very welcoming on my (Arizona) official just because I had all the family that would be at the games and finally picking the school that I’ve been wanting to go to for since, what, my freshman year of high school, at least,” Cunningham said. “Being able to be part of the team I was always cheering for, I would say (that was) a moment of relief and I was proud.”

Proud is just one emotion that Cunningham’s mom feels as well.

“That first day I saw her put on that uniform, I was emotional; I was an emotional wreck the first day in McKale to watch because I mean, playing the McKale, it’s big time. You’re in front of thousands of people,” Haughton said.

“Just to see people cheering for my kid; it was emotional. I’m just so proud of her. And just the fact that she just sticks with it and all the sacrifices that she made to be where she is,” she added. “At the end of her commitment video, we’re standing in front of St. Joseph’s and she’s saying ‘Tucson I’m coming home.’ I’m just glad that she’s enjoying herself and everyone in Tucson has embraced her.”