If you believe that what’s past is prologue, Arizona baseball is in store for a special season in 2025.
The Wildcats have peaked every four years — with one pseudo-exception, which we’ll explain — since the early days of the Andy Lopez era.
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
Arizona advanced to the College World Series in 2004. The Wildcats made it to the Super Regionals in ‘08, taking host Miami (Fla.) to a deciding game. They won it all in ‘12. They came within a hit of winning it all again in ‘16.
Then-UA coach Jay Johnson believed he had an Omaha-worthy team in ‘20. Then COVID hit, and the season ended after just 15 games.
Proving his point, Arizona steamrolled to the CWS in ‘21. And here we are again. Four years later, the Wildcats are a consensus preseason Top 25 team. They’ve been picked to finish second in the Big 12 Conference. They have a self-assuredness about them that was lacking entering last year.
Arizona center fielder Brendan Summerhill heads into the gap to snare a fly by Dallas Baptist’s Alex Pendergast in the first inning of an elimination game of their NCAA Regional on June 1, 2024, at Hi Corbett Field.
I asked junior outfielder Brendan Summerhill what his expectations were for 2025. He didn’t hold back.
“Win a national title. Nothing short of that,” said Summerhill, who has popped up on some preseason All-American teams and could be a first-round pick in this summer’s MLB Draft.
“That’s probably what everyone’s saying. But there’s a feeling about this team. We’ve been working at this since the middle of August. Right when I walked in the locker room Day One, I knew this team had just a little bit of like ... there’s a mojo, there’s a little bit of flair.
“This team carries something as a group of 40 guys that’s special. I think we were able to find that last year. But I think we already have that now, which is gonna make this team really dangerous.”
There’s a difference between thinking you’re good and knowing you’re good. There’s also a difference between sneaking up on everyone and being a favorite.
Arizona coach Chip Hale, shown in a May 2024 game against Oregon State, knows the Wildcats must deal with heightened expectations in ‘25. His hope: They’ll be locked in on the here and now.
The expectations for UA baseball have been recalibrated and elevated. The Wildcats will face pressure to not just win but win big. It’s a significant change.
How they handle the hype will go a long way in determining the outcome of the 2025 season.
“We try to lean into a little bit,” said fourth-year UA coach Chip Hale, whose squad opens the campaign against Ole Miss on Feb. 14 in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas.
“We know we’re (a) veteran (team), and that’s why you get picked for those things. That’s why we were picked so low last year. Nobody really knew about our pitching. We were really young (on offense).
“This year we’re a little older on the hitting side of it. We got a lot of big-time names in the transfer portal on the pitching side. We have some veteran guys coming back on the pitching side.
“We expect to be better to start the season. But we’ll see. It doesn’t really matter what all these rankings say until you start playing.”
Arizona’s Garen Caulfield (1) throws to first to retire the Hermosillo batter in the first inning of their game on the opening night of the Mexican Baseball Fiesta on Oct. 3, 2024, at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Arizona played down to expectations at the outset of 2024. The Wildcats were 10-13 after a dismal home loss to New Mexico State on March 26.
Then they got hot. They became the Cardiac Cats. They ended up winning the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles and earning the No. 13 seed in the NCAA field.
Arizona returns almost its entire starting nine, headlined by Summerhill and slugging shortstop Mason White. And the only newcomer who’s sure to start, center fielder Aaron Walton via Samford, is a player coaches have been buzzing about.
Assuming natural progression from young players who are all a year older — plus the stabilizing presence of “old heads” Garen Caulfield and Tommy Splaine — this should be Hale’s best offensive team.
Arizona’s Casey Hintz goes sidearm in his appearance against Pima Community College in Game 1 of an exhibition doubleheader on Oct. 12, 2024, at Hi Corbett Field.
But as we’ve learned during Hale’s and Johnson’s tenures, it always comes down to pitching. And that is a bit of a mystery as of now.
Arizona had one of the best weekend rotations in the nation last year in Clark Candiotti, Jackson Kent and Cam Walty. By season’s end, Anthony “Tonko” Susac developed into a shutdown closer. All are now playing professional baseball.
The UA plunged into the portal for reinforcements, adding Baylor’s Collin McKinney, Rutgers’ Christian Coppola and a handful of others. Several proven relievers are back, including Casey Hintz, Tony Pluta and Eric Orloff.
Staff-wide, returnees have combined for just six starts in Arizona colors. Pitching coach Kevin Vance and his top aide, John DeRouin, are still figuring out roles — a process that easily could bleed into the season.
The consensus so far: The “stuff” is better than a year ago. The bullpen is deep. The potential is great.
Arizona pitching coach Kevin Vance watches one of his charges work against Pima Community College in Game 2 of their fall doubleheader on Oct. 12, 2024, at Hi Corbett Field.
Arizona didn’t allow an earned run during its fall exhibition slate. But facing the likes of Ole Miss, Clemson, Louisville, Texas A&M, Mississippi and Tennessee is, as the saying goes, a whole different ballgame.
“We have some great problems,” Vance said. “I think we have the pieces. We’ve just gotta put the puzzle together.
“Obviously, last year was a blessing, having those three horses that were just reliable dudes. ... But I like our depth.”
Vance and DeRouin helped turn the staff from a liability into an asset last year. Now they’re tasked with doing it again with a largely different cast of characters.
“We’ll see how it plays out,” Vance said, somewhat tempering expectations.
They’re unavoidable, though. As is the pressure that comes along with them. Hale’s message to the team — including the bevy of players who are draft-eligible, which brings its own set of stresses — is simple and wise: Focus on what’s right in front of you.
“Those are things you have to deal with,” Hale said. “Hopefully our coaching staff can do a good job letting them understand ... only worry about what’s going on right now instead of worrying about ‘We’re supposed to win this, I’m supposed to be drafted here.’ Let’s just worry about playing the best we can today.”
