High school playoff brackets set in basketball, soccer; here's who's in

Arizona high school state playoff brackets for basketball and soccer were revealed Saturday morning, and Southern Arizona teams are well-represented.

In the boys basketball bracket, Catalina Foothills (15-1), led by future Arizona Wildcats walk-on center Will Menaugh, is seeded second in Class 5A.

Other Southern Arizona teams in the bracket include No. 5 Sierra Vista Buena and seventh-seeded Nogales.

The Colts (9-1) are slated to host 12th-seeded Phoenix Sunrise Mountain in Sierra Vista on Thursday. Nogales (10-4) dropped the final games of the season to Salpointe and Buena after winning their previous nine outings. If Nogales wins its first-round matchup against Surprise Willow Canyon, the Apaches could face Catalina Foothills in the second round.

Salpointe is seeded second in the 4A bracket. Despite losing star guard Evan Nelson, backcourt pal Jordan Gainey and forward Grant Weitman, the Lancers posted a 16-2 record in the regular season. Seniors Brady Ramon and Tommy Irish have coach Jim Reynolds in position to win back-to-back state titles.

The Lancers will have local company in the bracket. Pueblo (13-2) has emerged as a title contender under first-year head coach Harry Whitaker Jr. Pueblo’s rise to the title contention is partly due to the play of Fresno transfer Amari Carraway, who is averaging 21.3 points per game; he has a helping hand in double-double producer Zach Morgan. The fifth-seeded Warriors will face Gilbert Mesquite on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The third Tucson team to qualify for the 4A bracket is 10th-seeded Sahuaro (12-5). The Cougars will travel to seventh-seeded Glendale Deer Valley on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

In the 3A bracket, No. 8 Pusch Ridge Christian (11-5) will host ninth-seeded Gilbert Christian, while No. 16 Sabino hopes to pull off the upset at No. 1 Chandler Valley Christian on Wednesday night at 7.

On the girls side, 10th-seeded Rincon/University (11-3) will play its first postseason game in the 6A division at Gilbert Highland. The Rangers, led by do-it-all senior Madeline Green, are fresh off an overtime victory over No. 14 Tucson High (8-5), which is slated to play at No. 3 Phoenix Xavier College Prep.

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All first-round playoff games will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Four Tucson programs are representing Southern Arizona in the Class 5A girls’ bracket: No. 5 Flowing Wells, No. 9 Sunnyside, No. 14 Cienega and No. 15 Catalina Foothills.

In the 4A bracket, Sahuaro (15-1) — led by reigning Arizona state Gatorade Player of the Year and future UNLV Runnin’ Rebel Alyssa Brown — is seeded third, below No. 2 Salpointe (15-1) and top-seeded Chandler Seton Catholic Prep (16-1). Tenth-seeded Pueblo Warriors (9-5) will be out of town to face Glendale Deer Valley.

The Class 6A, 5A and 4A Soccer playoff brackets were also disclosed Saturday morning. The first round of the boys playoff season will begin Tuesday at 6 p.m., while the girls postseason kicks off a day later.

Tucson High (9-1-1) rolls into the 6A boys bracket as the lone team from Southern Arizona; the Badgers are seeded fourth. In 11 regular-season games this season, Tucson High has allowed five goals and recorded six shutouts.

Rincon/University’s boys team (10-3) checks in at No. 7 in the 6A field. The Rangers will host 10th-seeded Mesa. The 5A bracket includes No. 8 Nogales and 10th-seeded Sunnyside.

The No. 12 Tucson High girls team (5-4-1) travels to No. 5 Xavier in 6A. In 5A, fourth-seeded Cienega (8-1) and No. 5 Catalina Foothills (6-0-2) are set to host first-round matchups. The Falcons will face No. 12 Ironwood Ridge.

Once again, Salpointe is the top Tucson team in the 4A bracket for both boys (No. 1) and girls (No. 3), with the Lancers’ teams boasting a combined record of 15-0-2.

Not far behind the Lancers in boys and girls soccer is Walden Grove; The boys are seeded third, while the girls are seventh.

The Class 3A soccer postseason began Saturday with play-in games. Sabino’s girls beat Yuma Catholic 3-0, while Catalina’s boys fell 3-2 to Goodyear Trivium Prep.