Greg Hansen's top 100 sports figures of 2021

1. Adia Barnes and Salvo Coppa.

2. Aari McDonald. The Pac-12’s women’s basketball player of the year, McDonald was a consensus All-America point guard who led the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.6 points per game, and was the force behind Arizona’s drive to the NCAA championship game. McDonald then was the No. 3 overall choice in the WNBA draft and a first-team All-Rookie selection in that league.

3. Delaney Schnell. An Olympic silver medalist in the synchronized platform diving event, the UA senior from Tucson was also a two-time All-American, the USA national champion and the Pac-12 Diver of the Year.

4. Dave Cosgrove. Pima College’s men’s soccer coach not only led the 18-1-2 Aztecs to the NJCAA Division II national championship, but earlier, in June, coached PCC to a 12-2 finish and the NJCAA semifinals in a makeup for the delayed 2020 season.

5. Alex Bowman. Winning four NASCAR races — at Dover, Richmond, Martinsville and Pocono — the Ironwood Ridge High School grad also had 16 finishes in the top 10.

6. Turner Washington. One of three finalists for the Bowerman Award — track and field’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy — the ASU junior from Canyon del Oro High School won NCAA indoor and outdoor championships in the shot put, setting an NCAA record in the indoor shot put, and also claimed the NCAA outdoor discus championship.

7. Bryanna Coté. With a rousing finish to the Professional Women’s Bowling Association season, Coté, a Canyon del Oro High School grad, finished No. 1 in the PWBA player of the year standings, winning one tournament and reaching the championship round of six other events.

8. Trevor Werbylo. After completing his Arizona golf career with a 71.44 scoring average, No. 2 in school history, the Salpointe Catholic High School grad helped the Wildcats to the Pac-12 championship, was a first-team all-conference selection and then won the overall championship on the Forme Tour, the PGA Tour’s equivalent of Double-A baseball. Werbylo thus gained full privileges for the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour, one step away from the PGA Tour.

9. Dejah Mulipola. Arizona’s senior catcher not only was part of the USA Olympic softball silver medal team, she led the Pac-12 in home runs (21) and RBIs (63) while hitting .401.

10. Wolfgang Weber. Coaching Salpointe Catholic High School to the boys state soccer championship for an eighth time, Weber notched his 700th career victory. He’s believed to be only the ninth high school soccer coach in history to reach 700 victories.

11. Clancy Shields. The Pac-12 Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year, Shields guided the Wildcats to second place in the Pac-12, their highest-ever finish, and to the NCAA Sweet 16, the top national finish for Arizona since the early 1970s. The UA’s 21 victories were the most in school history.

12. Tommy Lloyd. In nine months, Lloyd has given Arizona’s basketball program a fresh image. The Wildcats are ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, 11-1 overall, and are driving toward the NCAA Tournament with one of the nation’s most productive offenses.

13. Jim Anderson. Capping his rebuilding job of Arizona’s men’s golf program, Anderson coached the Wildcats to their first Pac-12 championship in 17 years, earning him the league’s coach of the year award.

14. Sam Lossou. As Pima College won the NJCAA men’s soccer national title, Lossou, a sophomore from Rincon/University High School, was chosen the ACCAC player of the year and became a first-team All-American.

15. Roman Bravo-Young. In his junior season at Penn State, Bravo-Young won the NCAA wrestling championship at 133 pounds and is ranked No. 1 this season with an undefeated record. The four-time undefeated state champion from Sunnyside High School was also the Big Ten Conference champion.

16. Kendra Veliz. Pima College’s women’s soccer coach came as close as possible to winning the NJCAA national championship, losing in the title game on penalty kicks. Veliz’s team went 16-4-2 and won the Region 1 championship.

17. Andre Jackson. Opening the season in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm system, Jackson, a pitcher from Cienega High School, was promoted to the major leagues on Aug. 16 and pitched four shutout innings as the Dodgers’ starter. He made three appearances with Los Angeles, capping a season in which he progressed from Single-A to Double-A to Triple-A and finally, to the big leagues.

18. Jedd Fisch. Upon inheriting a broken UA football program, Fisch went just 1-11 in his first Arizona coaching season but imbued the program with a missing sense of purpose and pride, competitive to the fourth quarter against BYU, Oregon, UCLA, Utah and ASU. In December, Fisch put together the No. 2 recruiting class in the Pac-12.

19. Kelly Pierce. In three of the last four seasons, Pierce has coached Salpointe’s girls soccer team to a 47-3-4 record and three state championships, including the 2021 state title with an 11-0-1 team. She also guided the FC Tucson Women to an undefeated season and a WPSL West Region Desert Conference title.

20. Doug D’Amore. In the 26th overall year of boys basketball at Catalina Foothills High School, D’Amore broke through and coached the 19-1 Falcons to their first boys state championship, giving him 90 victories over the last four seasons.

21. Chris Rastatter. The former Rincon/University High School basketball standout became the first basketball referee from Tucson to officiate a Final Four game. Rastatter worked the Baylor-Houston semifinal at the Final Four a week after he worked an Elite Eight game and two weeks after he was selected to officiate the Pac-12 tournament championship final.

22. Mike Candrea. In his final season as Arizona’s softball coach, the godfather of college softball didn’t disappoint, coaching the Wildcats to the Women’s College World Series for the 24th time, upsetting No. 5 Arkansas in an NCAA Super Regional to finish with an NCAA-record 1,674 career victories.

23. Brooks Fail. The top swimmer at Arizona, Fail, a senior from Catalina Foothills High School, was a three-time All-American, finishing third in the NCAA 1,650 freestyle, fourth in the 500 freestyle and eighth in the 800 butterfly.

24. Vivian Hou. A junior from Taiwan, Hou capped her remarkable Arizona golf career by finishing second in the U.S. Amateur and earning 2022 LGPA Tour privileges in a four-week fall qualifying series. In her final UA appearance, she helped the Wildcats reach the NCAA semifinals.

25. Kylie Wild. In one of the top track and field seasons in Tucson prep history, Wild, a junior at Salpointe Catholic High School, won state championships in the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters in May, and then won her second straight state title in girls cross country in the fall.

26. Francisco Manzo. Named the United Soccer Coaches junior college player of the year, the Pima College sophomore and former Salpointe Catholic star scored 12 goals in PCC’s national championship season.

27. Michael Thompson. After finishing tied for 34th at the Masters, the Rincon/University High grad had six top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour, making 16 cuts, the most of his decadelong PGA Tour career.

28. Daniel Susac. Arizona’s freshman catcher hit. 335 with 12 home runs and 65 RBIs to become the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year for the conference champions.

29. Gustaf Strom. In his freshman season at Arizona, Strom won 18 singles matches, third-most in school history, rose to the No. 1 player in the UA lineup and became a first-team All-Pac-12 selection.

30. Sebastian Robles. An undefeated state champion, 14-0, for Sunnyside High School’s state title team, Robles is now 11-3 as a freshman wrestling for No. 1-ranked powerhouse Iowa.

31. Brad Reeves. The Pac-12 men’s individual golf champion completed his final year of eligibility at Arizona as a second-team All-American on the league championship team.

32. Cate Reese. Reese was No. 2 in scoring, 10.9 points, as the Wildcats stormed to the Final Four championship game last spring. This season, she leads the Wildcats with 13.9 points per game.

33. Bryce Cotton. Not only did the Palo Verde High School grad become the MVP of the Australian Pro Basketball league for a third consecutive season, the former Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz guard is averaging 23.6 points per game for the Perth Wildcats through games of Dec. 21.

34. Bennedict Mathurin. A sure contender for NCAA Player of the Year honors, the Arizona sophomore shooting guard has raised his scoring average from 10 to 18 points.

35. Mike Urbanski. Salpointe’s cross country coach led the Lancers boys’ team to a second straight state championship and the Lancers’ girls team to a No, 2 finish. Urbanski now has five state championships as Salpointe’s coach.

36. Emily Flowers. Returning from a pandemic-canceled 2020 tennis season, the Catalina Foothills High School senior won a second straight state tennis championship.

37. Bijan Robinson. Gaining 1,127 yards for the Texas Longhorns, the former Salpointe High star was named to the All-Big 12 first team even though he missed two games with an elbow injury.

38. Jill Aguilera. On the final play of her Arizona soccer career, Aguilera scored on a penalty kick in overtime to beat ASU 2-1, giving her 33 career goals, the most in school history.

39. Brian Vu. As Pima College roared to the NJCAA men’s soccer championship, Vu — a sophomore from Rincon/University High School — was named a first-team NJCAA All-American.

40. Amy Rocha. Winning a state softball championship for the third consecutive season, Rocha coached Salpointe Catholic High School to a 24-0 record.

41. Stanley Berryhill. After catching 83 passes for Arizona’s football team, Berryhill became a first-team All-Pac-12 selection. He played three years at Mountain View High School before joining the Wildcats.

42. Christa Johnson. At 63, the former Arizona golf All-American and nine-time LGPA Tour winner was on the leaderboard all week in the U.S. Women’s Senior Open, finishing in seventh place.

43. Nick Gonzales. In his first full year of minor-league baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2020 first-round draft pick from Cienega High hit .302 with 18 homers and 54 RBIs. He made the Single-A All-Star team while playing for the Greensboro Hornets, then became an Arizona Fall League All-Star, hitting .380 for Peoria.

44. Laura Ianello. Arizona’s women’s golf coach piloted her team to the NCAA semifinals, the second consecutive year Ianello coached the Wildcats to the Final Four.

45. Robert Bonillas. The former UA linebacker coached Desert View High to a school-record 10 victories, reaching the second round of the state football playoffs. The Jaguars’ previous season high for victories, nine, was set in 1987.

46. Al Shirley. In his first season as Pima College’s cross country coach, Shirley led the Aztecs’ men’s team to the ACCAC championship, their first since 1981. PCC finished 16th in the NJCAA finals.

47. Johnnie Blockburger. After a standout career at Tucson High, Blockburger won the Pac-12 championship in the 400 meters and set an Arizona career record in the event, ranking as high as No. 2 in the world during part of the 2021 season.

48. Branden Boissiere. Boissiere led the UA in batting average (.369), hits (94) and runs scored (69) as the Wildcats won the Pac-12. He then signed with the Washington Nationals organization.

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49. Alyssa Aguilar. Salpointe’s state championship pitcher was perfect: 17-0 with a 1.27 ERA. She also hit a home run in the state title game.

50. Alyssa Brown. Arizona’s Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Brown averaged 30.8 points per game for Sahuaro High, which finished 17-2 after reaching the state semifinals. She is now playing at UNLV.

51. Jordan Geist. The Pac-12’s Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year won the league title in the shot put and was second in the hammer throw, then finished seventh in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the shot put.

52. Azuolas Tubelis. Averaging 15 points and six rebounds per game as a sophomore, Tubelis has become one of the most feared inside forces in Pac-12 basketball. As a freshman last season, he averaged 15 points per game.

53. Justice Summerset. The former state high jump record holder at Mountain View High School completed his Arizona career by winning the Pac-12 title in the high jump.

54. Carlie Scupin. After an elite softball career at Tucson High, Scupin hit .343 as Arizona’s starting first baseman, belting nine home runs. Scupin was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week as well as Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in 2021.

55. Jon Pearlman. The longtime soccer administrator for FC Tucson, Pearlman took over coaching duties of a slumping club in midseason, leading to a Cinderella-type march to the USL League One semifinals.

56. Manny Barreda. At 32, after 14 years in minor-league baseball, the former Sahuarita High School pitcher reached the big leagues, appearing in three games for the Baltimore Orioles, capping a 2021 climb in which he pitched in the Mexican Winter League and at Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk.

57. Jared Perry. Not only did Perry win the state tennis singles championship, but he also led Catalina Foothills High to the team state title.

58. Anthony Leon. When Sunnyside High School won the state wrestling championship, it gave Leon his fourth straight state title and fifth for the Blue Devils since taking the coaching job eight years ago.

59. Christian Koloko. Arizona’s 7-foot junior center has improved his scoring average from 5.8 to 13 points per game, and his rebound average from 4.1 to 7.1 per game in a breakout junior season.

60. Janelle Meoño. The Pac-12’s Freshman of the Year led the conference with a .439 batting average in her first year of college softball for the Wildcats.

61. Fernando Garate. As Salpointe went 14-0-1 to win the boys’ state soccer championship, Garate, a senior, led the club with 16 goals and contributed seven assists.

62. Jake Wiltshire. A leading figure in Sabino High School’s state championship baseball season, Wiltshire went 8-2 with an 0.93 ERA as a pitcher and also hit .413 in the leadoff spot.

63. Riley Nielson. One of Arizona’s leading softball players, Nielsen was a dominant player in Sabino’s run to the state championship, 17-1 with an 0.96 ERA pitching, and a .441 batting average with 25 RBIs.

64. Matt Muehlebach. Arizona’s 1988 Final Four guard, now a Tucson attorney, has become one of the leading basketball analysts for the Pac-12 Networks, both as a studio insider and on-the-sideline voice.

65. Shane Folsom. Upon coaching Sabino High to the 2019 state baseball championship, Folsom’s team was unable to field a team in the 2020 pandemic season. But in ’21, Folsom’s Sabino club repeated as state champs, finishing 16-5.

66. Mari Acosta. As a freshman at Pima College, Acosta, who is from Sahuarita High, scored a club-high 11 goals and was named a first-team NJCAA All-American as the Aztecs finished No. 2 in the national finals.

67. Mackenzie McRee. Winning her second state girls’ golf championship, the Salpointe senior shot a 4-under-par total over two days at Tucson National.

68. Sofia Maldonado Diaz. The Pac-12 volleyball freshman of the year, Diaz has become one of the Pac-12’s leading volleyball player through two seasons.

69. Jonas Ziverts. A junior from Sweden, Ziverts was at the core of Arizona’s emergence as a Top 25 tennis program, going 22-18 and helping Arizona to the Sweet 16 as a second-team All-Pac-12 choice.

70. Chase Silseth. Pitching 97 innings for Arizona’s Pac-12 champion baseball team, Silseth went 8-1 and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection.

71. Eva Bruce. Not only did the Sabino Sabercat track standout win state championships at 100 and 200 meters and in the 300 hurdles, she won the long jump, too.

72. Levi Wallace. Starting the first 14 games of the year for the Buffalo Bills, the cornerback from Tucson High made 49 tackles and intercepted two passes.

73. Terrell Stoglin. Now playing for Al Shorta in Iraq, his 15th team (and 13th country) in the EuroBasket League, the former Santa Rita High state championship guard led As Sale Morocco to the league title in the summer, becoming the first to score 40 points in a Basketball Africa playoff game.

74. Steve Botkin. Sahuaro’s girls basketball coach led the Cougars to a 17-2 season and the state semifinals as he added to his historic total of more than 500 career victories, tops in Tucson history for girls basketball.

75. Todd Holthaus. Pima College’s women’s basketball coach, whose team is ranked No. 6 nationally entering the final half of the ACCAC season, coached his 300th win at PCC in November after finishing eighth in the NJCAA playoffs last spring.

76. Jeffry Bloomberg. The Catalina Foothills boys tennis coach guided the Falcons to a fifth consecutive state championship, a period in which his clubs have gone 82-1.

77. Treyson Bourguet. Salpointe’s senior quarterback passed for 2,110 yards, rushed for 615 more and threw 30 touchdown passes against just three interceptions.

78. Samantha Noennig. A first-team shot put All-American in both the NCAA indoor and outdoor seasons, Noennig won the Pac-12 championship and was seventh in the NCAA finals.

79. MiLinda Arguellez. As Flowing Wells reached the Class 5A state girls basketball finals, Arguellez was the leading scorer at 16.4 points per game, earning a scholarship to Texas A&M-International.

80. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. In his second season in the NFL, the Tucson High and UA football alumnus had 21 tackles for the San Francisco 49ers through Dec. 22, getting two starts in the 49ers’ secondary.

81. Sharlize Palacios. Arizona’s sophomore DH hit .348 with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs to make the All-Pac-12 first team.

82. Tim Derksen. Averaging 16 points for Lake Geneva in the Swiss EuroLeague basketball champions, Derksen, from Amphitheater High, was the league’s player of the year. He now averages 17 points for Antibes in the French EuroLeague.

83. Will Menaugh. As Catalina Foothills won its first-ever boys state basketball championship, Menaugh averaged 15 points and eight rebounds a game. The 6-10 Menaugh is now on Arizona’s basketball team.

84. Jessie Harper. In her final Arizona softball season, Harper again made the All-Pac-12 first team, a shortstop who hit 15 home runs with 48 RBIs.

85. Shannon Meisberger. Saving her best for last, the UA senior hurdler finished second in the NCAA finals in the 400 hurdles and was also third in the Pac-12 championships.

86. Logan Cole. Salpointe’s junior infielder hit .560 with 25 RBIs helping the Lancers to a state championship. She has signed to play for Arizona.

87. Trinity Morales. As Salpointe won the girls Class 4A state soccer championship, Morales scored in the state finals and became a first-team all-state selection.

88. Whitney Dosty. The former Arizona Wildcats volleyball standout earned a gold medal as part of Team USA’s Paralympics volleyball team.

89. Audrey Jimenez. In the 113-pound state championships, Jimenez became the first Sunnyside High girls wrestler to win a state title.

90. Jade Kwinn. Sabino’s track standout tied the state record while winning the state shot put championship and finishing third in the triple jump and javelin.

91. Dante Schindler. Canyon del Oro’s baseball standout had a 9-1 pitching record with a 1.03 ERA and struck out 76 in 61 innings. He also hit .366.

92. Emmanuel Corral. As Pima College won its first ACCAC men’s cross country championship since 1981, Corral, a freshman from Pusch Ridge High, was third in the league and 16th in the NJCAA finals.

93. Brandon Sanchez. As a senior at CDO, Sanchez scored 18 goals, registered 11 assists and 53 steals for the Dorados. Sanchez then saw action with FC Tucson as a 17-year-old.

94. Anyssa Wild. A freshman at Salpointe, Wild was a key part of the Lancers’ undefeated state championship softball team, hitting an incredible .653 with a team-high 32 RBIs.

95. Daniel Root. In his first season as Catalina Foothills girls tennis coach, replacing 15-time state championship coach Kristie Stevens, Root led the Falcons to an undefeated state title.

96. Danny Preble. Salpointe’s baseball coach followed his club’s 2019 state championship with a 20-4 season and a No. 2 overall finish, the third time in four seasons his team has been in the state title game.

97. Shakir Smith. Now playing in the EuroLeague for Sporting Club Portugal, Smith, a Tucson High and Pima College grad, scored 51 points in a game for Njardvik in the Iceland Pro League before moving to Portugal.

98. Michael Perkins. Flowing Wells High’s long-time girls basketball coach guided the Caballeros to the Class 4A state championship game; he coached FWHS to the 2008 state championship.

99. Kyle Ostendorp. Setting a UA record with a 49.2 punting average, Ostendorp, a Wildcat sophomore, was chosen to the All-Pac-12 first team.

100. Lathan Ransom. Breaking periodically into Ohio State’s starting defensive backfield, Ransom, a sophomore from Salpointe, made 38 tackles during the regular season for the Buckeyes, who played in the Rose Bowl on Saturday.