Greg Hansen's Notebook: This entry is part of longtime Star columnist Greg Hansen's weekly notebook.Β
Subscribers can read this week's "Hansen's Notebook" in its entirety in the Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 edition of the Arizona Daily Star (Page C2) β either in print or atΒ Tucson.com/EEdition.Β Or, dig into the Hansen archives atΒ Tucson.com/Hansen.
Now that Arizona has begun athletic competition for the 2024-25 season, hereβs my choice as the schoolβs 10 leading athletes:
1. Colton Smith, tennis. Not only did he finish fourth in the NCAA singles finals last spring and was a first-team All-American, Smith is ranked No. 5 nationally entering this year.
2. Tetairoa McMillan, football. His sophomore season receiving totals β 90 receptions for 1,402 yards β puts him in the conversation as the top UA receiver in history.
Greg HansenΒ is the longtime sports columnist for theΒ Arizona Daily StarΒ andΒ Tucson.com.
3. Mason White, baseball. The All-Pac-12 shortstop from Salpointe hit .305 with 19 homers and 65 RBIs, numbers that suggest he is challenging Eddie Leon as perhaps the schoolβs best-ever shortstop.
4. Noah Fifita, football. The quarterback Arizona has been waiting for since Eddie Wilson in 1961.
5. Tiger Christensen, golf. After four finishes in the top 10 last season, Christensen defeated the worldβs No. 2 amateur, Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt, in the U.S. Amateur last month.
6. Dakota Kennedy, softball. She hit .401 with 13 homers last season, did not make an error and was named the Rawlings Gold Glove first team. She then was named a third-team All-American.
7. Caleb Love, basketball. The Pac-12 Player of the Year averaged 18 points per game. Now he gets a final chance to play deeper into March.
8. Brendan Summerhill, baseball. An All-Pac-12 outfielder, Summerhill hit .324 with 59 RBIs and has been named the No. 5 prospect in the summer Cape Cod League by Β Baseball America.
9. Jay Friend, tennis. An All-Pac-12 doubles champion, Friend, along with teammate Smith, has been named as part of the No. 6 NCAA doubles team entering the season.
10 Montaya Dew, basketball. Although she sat out the 2023-24 season with knee injuries, Dew remains a high-profile prospect, ranked No. 8 in the nation by ESPN HoopGirlz when she signed with the Wildcats.
Hansen's Notebook: Gregory School great Jack Kennedy one of at least 15 NCAA head coaches hailing from TucsonFrom Greg Hansen's Notebook:Β Jack KennedyΒ was a basketball and golf standout at The Gregory School 20 years ago. A few weeks ago, he's became the head coach of Colorado State's men's golf team.
From Greg Hansen's Notebook: Arizona AD DesireΓ© Reed-Francois has changed the face of the UA athletic department, hiring new associate ADs, among other positions.
From Greg Hansen's Notebook:Β My good and long-time journalistic βrivalββand golf partnerΒ JackΒ RickardΒ died last week in Tucson. Rickard, who wrote for the Tucson Citizen for 30 years, probably got 189 years of enjoyment out of his 89 years.
From Greg Hansen's Notebook: This week's short stuff, including: Marana HS ending Salpointe's seven-year win streak against Tucson-area schools; UA women's golf facing ex-coach Laura Ianello, Texas twice early on; history of coach's kids playing on UA teams; more.
