Editor's Note: As the calendar winds down on 2023, longtime Star columnist Greg Hansen has again ranked the Top 100 sports figures in Southern Arizona. In this, the 28th year of the Star's annual list, No. 1 is likely no surprise — especially considering his team's showing in its 2023 finale this past week.
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1. Jedd Fisch. The master rebuilder of Arizona’s football program.
2. Delaney Schnell. One of 30 finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year (that’s across all sports), the UA’s Schnell won the NCAA championship in platform diving and was second in 1-meter diving. The Tucson High product won the USA synchronized pairs diving championship and was selected Pac-12 Female Athlete of the Year (again, across all sports).
3. Noah Fifita. A seeming gift from the football gods, Fifita, a redshirt freshman quarterback, led Arizona to seven consecutive wins to end the season, completing 72% of his passes with 25 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young attempts to take down Arizona State’s Michael McGee during a semifinal of the 2023 NCAA Division I wrestling championships March 17, 2023 in Tulsa, Okla.
4. Roman Bravo-Young. Completing his NCAA wrestling career at Penn State, the Sunnyside High alumnus finished second in the nation, was the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and went 101-10 as a Nittany Lion.
5. Brent Strom. In just his second season as pitching coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Strom, a long-time Tucsonan, put together a playoff team — a World Series team — in one of the most impressive turnarounds in recent baseball history.
Arizona’s coach Tommy Lloyd directs the crowd to stand up and make some noise during the Dec. 9 win over Wisconsin.
6. Tommy Lloyd. After winning the Pac-12 Tournament championship, Lloyd’s elite recruiting efforts pushed Arizona as high as the nation’s No. 1 ranking already this season.
7. Wolfgang Weber. The state’s leader in career soccer coaching victories, Weber, a Salpointe Catholic High School coach since 1984, guided the Lancers to a 23-2 record for their third consecutive state championship (the ninth in Weber’s career).
Canyon del Oro football coach Dustin Peace gets mobbed by his players as he holds up the championship trophy the Dorados just won in a 35-27 win over Yuma Catholic for the Arizona Class 4A high school football state championship Dec. 1 at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.
8. Dusty Peace. CDO’s football coach captained a perfect 14-0 season and Class 4A state championship season (his second title with the Dorados).
9. Tetairoa McMillan. One of the top receivers in UA history, McMillan caught 90 passes for a team-high 1,402 yards as a sophomore.
10. Terry Francona. Long-time Tucsonan completed 23 years as a major league manager, retiring with two World Series championships.
11. Kiko Romero. The Pac-12’s all-conference first baseman from CDO broke Arizona’s long-standing season RBI record with 89 while also smacking 21 home runs to lead the Pac-12.
12. Jordan Geist. As an Arizona senior, Geist won two NCAA championships in the shot put — indoor and outdoor. He swept the Pac-12 in the shot put and discus and was named Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Year.
Arizona’s Allie Skaggs (9) gets hoisted up by her teammates after her grand slam propelled the Wildcats to a run-rule, walk-off 13-4 win against arch rival Arizona State in the fifth inning of their play-in game at the Pac-12 Softball Tournament at Hillenbrand Stadium on May 10.
13. Allie Skaggs. One of the Pac-12’s leading softball players, the UA second baseman from Ironwood Ridge High School led the league with 64 RBIs and was named the nation’s leading defensive second baseman, with no errors in 168 chances.
14. Anthony Leon. Sunnyside High School’s wrestling coach led the Blue Devils to a sixth straight state championship, outscoring the nearest competitor 307-151.
15. Trevor Werbylo. In his first year as a full PGA Tour member, the Salpointe and UA grad earned $317,436 in 31 Tour events.
16. Chase Davis. As a second-team All-American, the UA’s star outfielder hit .362 with 21 home runs and became a first-round draft pick.
17. Andrew Stuckey. Pima College’s catcher, who hit .362 with 43 RBIs, became an NCJAA first-team All-American and ACCAC player of the year.
18. Jordan Morgan. Coming off ACL surgery, Morgan, a UA senior left tackle from Marana High School, became the UA’s first All-Pac-12 offensive lineman since 2008 and could be a first-round NFL draft pick.
19. Azuolas Tubelis. Becoming a second-team All-American, the UA power forward averaged 19.8 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Pac-12 Tournament champs at Arizona.
20. Levi Wallace. In his fifth year as a starting cornerback in the NFL, the Tucson High grad had made 36 tackles with 11 pass deflections for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
21. Kelly Pierce. Salpointe’s girls soccer coach produced her fifth state championship with a 15-2-1 record.
22. Clancy Shields. Arizona’s impressive men’s tennis coach led the Wildcats to a second straight Pac-12 championship and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16.
23. Leo Gutierrez. Leading Salpointe to another state soccer championship, Gutierrez scored 37 goals, tops in Southern Arizona. He had 21 goals through his first eight games this year.
24. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. One of the San Francisco 49ers’ leading special teams players, Flannigan-Fowles, from the UA and Mountain View High School, has nine tackles this season.
25. Tim Kish. As the president of the Southern Arizona chapter of the College Football Hall of Fame, Kish has expanded the chapter’s involvement to all of Southern Arizona high school football as well as Tucson’s vast junior football programs.
Rylen Bourguet won seven state championships during her athletic career at Salpointe Catholic High School: three in beach volleyball, three in soccer and one in indoor volleyball.
26. Rylen Bourguet. Salpointe’s mercurial all-around athlete was the state’s 4A soccer player of the year, leading to a state championship. She then was a key figure in Salpointe’s beach volleyball state championship and has become a national leader in women’s flag football.
27. Hope Hisey. Arizona’s senior soccer goalkeeper from CDO set a UA record for career saves, 361, moved up to eighth in Pac-12 career saves and posted a 4.0 GPA, earning the Pac-12’s soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor.
Arizona’s Hope Hisey parries a Red Raider penalty kick picked up early in the first half of their game at Murphey Field at Mulcahy Stadium on Sept. 6. The Wildcats came back to earn a 1-1 tie with Texas Tech.
28. Jason Hisey. CDO’s baseball coach led the Dorados to the state championship with 22 victories.
29. Jacob Manu. Becoming a second-team All-Pac-12 linebacker, Manu, a sophomore, led the conference with 108 tackles in the regular season, a rallying point for the UA defense.
30. Matt Muehlebach. The former UA point guard is a go-to man for Pac-12 Networks’ basketball analysis and commentary.
31. Heather Moore-Martin. Tucson’s leading volleyball coach for more than a decade, Moore-Martin led Salpointe to the state title in beach volleyball, her ninth state championship since 2010.
32. David Cosgrove. A two-time national championship coach, Cosgrove’s Pima Aztecs were ranked No. 1 in NJCAA men’s soccer for some of the year, reaching the national tournament and finishing seventh with a 13-3-1 record.
33. Ryan McBrayer. Sabino High School’s young head football coach guided the Sabercats to their first state championship since 1998.
34. Kayden Luke. With 2,307 rushing yards and 66 tackles, Luke was the featured player in CDO’s perfect 14-0 football season.
35. Ellessa Bonstrom. At Utah, the former CDO softball standout led the Utes to the Pac-12 Tournament championship. She was a second-team All-American first baseman who broke the school record for RBIs (54) while hitting .331.
36. Tricia Sztan. Salpointe’s softball coach oversaw an historic 35-1, state championship season, tied for the most victories in a season in Tucson softball history.
37. Ken Jacome. Pima College’s baseball coach led the Aztecs to the NJCAA regional championship series, going 46-18 — the most victories for a PCC baseball team since 1985.
38. Nik McClaughry. A game-changing, make-it-happen shortstop, McClaughry was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
39. Sergio Vega. A dynamic piece to Sunnyside’s wrestling dynasty, Vega won a second state championship, at 126 pounds, running his career record to 77-0 as a sophomore.
Pima Community College women’s basketball coach Todd Holthaus talks with two of his former players, Angel Addleman and Melissa Simmons of Ottawa University, after an exhibition game in Tucson on Oct. 16.
40. Todd Holthaus. Winning 26 games, including the region championship, Holthaus led the Pima College women’s basketball team to the NJCAA national tournament once again.
41. Cyndi Cubillas. Sabino High’s softball coach won the 3A state championship with a near-flawless 30-3 record.
42. Johnny Nansen. In his second season as Arizona’s defensive coordinator, Nansen reduced his club’s per-game defensive yield from 467 to 341 yards. He’s a key operative in Arizona’s climb to the Top 25.
43. Traivar Jackson. After averaging 18 points and six rebounds, the Pima College forward was named a first-team NJCAA All-American.
44. Taliyah Henderson. Tucson’s leading girls prep basketball prospect for about the last 20 years averaged 18.9 points and 7.7 rebounds for 22-7 Salpointe, drawing scholarship offers from more than 10 Power 5 schools.
45. Izzy Galindo. In a run to the state 4A girls championship game, Gallindo led Pueblo High School to a 23-8 record.
46. Luisa Chavez. Leading the Pima College women’s basketball team to the NJCAA tournament, Chavez became a second-team All-American by averaging 13.3 points.
47. Steve Botkin. Sahuaro High School’s girls basketball coach went 24-7 to reach the state semifinals and is 14-1 to open this season, adding to his Tucson record of 600-plus wins.
48. Jacob Cowing. A senior receiver, Cowing was one of two Wildcats with 90 receptions this season, while adding a UA program-record 13 touchdown catches.
49. Brennan Carroll. Arizona’s offensive coordinator, a terrific recruiter who coaches the offensive line, was among the leaders who helped transform the UA football program from an also-ran into a Top 25 club.
Carcone
50. Yanni Acuna. In her senior season at Arizona State, the Salpointe grad hit .401, second in the Pac-12, and was chosen to the All-Pac-12 first team.
51. Jeffrey Bloomberg. Catalina Foothills High School’s boys tennis coach led the Falcons to a seventh consecutive state championship, going 15-0 overall.
52. Brian Peabody. Pima’s long-successful men’s basketball coach went 25-7 last season, averaging 96 points per game, and opened this year 11-1.
53. Michael Carcone. The Tucson Roadrunners’ star led the AHL in scoring (31 goals, 54 assists) and is now a leading goal scorer for the Arizona Coyotes.
54. Judy McDermott. One of the leading figures in Tucson golf history, McDermott, now director of the First Tee of Tucson program, was inducted into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame.
55. James Armstrong. The Sunnyside wrestler won his fourth consecutive state championship.
56. Bryce Cotton. The Palo Verde High School grad is averaging 22.7 points for the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League. Last season, the former NBL MVP led the league with a 23.4 average.
57. Tiger Christensen. Emerging as one of the leading golfers in the NCAA, the Arizona junior had 30 rounds of par or better for the Wildcats, averaging 70.1 strokes per round, and won the Stephens Cup in the fall.
58. Evan Greer. As CDO won the state football championship, Greer, a junior linebacker, had 31 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and 62 total tackles.
59. Gianna Mares. Salpointe’s elite two-way softball performer, Mares went 10-0 as a pitcher for the Lancers’ state title team and hit .438 with 15 home runs and 57 RBIs.
It wasn’t even a month ago that Talie Bonds tied the UA record while winning the 100-meter hurdles at the UA-hosted Willie Williams Classic on March 25 at Drachman Stadium. She’s broken the mark two more times later in the season.
60. Talie Bonds. In her senior track season at Arizona, Bonds won the Pac-12 championship at 100 meters and then finished fourth in the NCAA finals. She was also the Pac-12’s Female Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
61. Cameron Hackworth. As Sabino won the 3A state football championship, Hackworth, a senior QB, passed for 3,871 yards with 40 touchdowns. He also rushed for 908 yards and 10 scores.
62. Chris Rastatter. After 20 years officiating Pac-12 basketball, the Rincon High School grad served his first season as the NCAA men’s basketball coordinator of officials.
63. Alex Verdugo. Before being traded to the New York Yankees, Verdugo, from Sahuaro High School, hit .264 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs as Boston’s starting right fielder.
64. Kelsey Slade. Signing with defending NCAA gymnastics champion Oklahoma, Slade, a senior at Cienega High School, was ranked the No. 4 overall recruit in the Class of 2024, competing for Tucson’s Arizona Dynamics Gymnastics program.
65. Jim Olander. A former All-State performer for Sahuaro and Colorado Rockies outfielder, Olander completed his 30th year — 24 with Detroit as a lead scout — as one of the most recognized names in MLB scouting.
66. Tyler Owens. Arizona’s director of football strength and conditioning — he oversees more than 100 football players year-round — has emerged as one of the lead S&C coaches in college football.
67. Jim Monaco. Pima’s athletic director has raised the level of the Aztecs’ athletic department, with national contenders in baseball, soccer and men’s and women’s basketball, while managing a small staff against big-time ACCAC competition.
68. Dillon Baker. After scoring 15.7 points last season for Pima, Baker, a Salpointe grad, leads the Aztecs with a 19.2 average this season.
69. Casey Lucas. As CDO completed its successful run to a state baseball championship, Lucas went 11-1 as the Dorados’ leading pitcher, the 4A player of the year.
70. Jack Howell. Tucson’s former MLB third baseman from Palo Verde High, Pima College and the UA, completed his 24th season as a minor-league baseball instructor/manager/player developer as the manager of the Single-A Tri-City Dust Devils.
71. Daniel Root. In his third season as Catalina Foothills’ girls tennis coach, Root has won three state titles and is 47-0 overall, winning it all last season at 15-0.
America Cazares of Pueblo takes a shot under Sahuaro pressure by Sahuaro at during the Arizona Class 4A state girl's basketball quarterfinal on Feb. 21 at Pueblo High School.
72. America Cazares. A dynamic new face to Tucson basketball, Cazares, a sophomore guard at Pueblo, averaged 31.2 points through Dec. 24, setting a city record with 59 points against Santa Rita. She averaged 18.1 last season as a freshman, as Pueblo finished No. 2 in the 4A state finals.
73. Dezmon Roebuck. With 121 receptions for 1,332 yards this season, Roebuck, a Marana High School junior, is on the recruiting radar of dozens of college football teams.
Marana's Dezmen Roebuck, left, cradles a first-down catch just inside the line and in front of Canyon del Oro's Austin Greer on Sept. 22 at Marana High School.
74. Chase Sienkiewicz. Arizona’s second-team All-Pac-12 golfer finished fifth in the rugged Pac-12 championships and finished his career with a 71.4 scoring average, No. 2 in school history.
75. Colton Smith. As the UA’s No. 1 men’s singles tennis player in his sophomore season, Smith led the Pac-12 champs with a 26-11 record.
76. Josh Doan. As the Tucson Roadrunners climbed to second place in the AHL’s Pacific Division, Doan, a right-winger, had a team-high 12 goals through Dec. 29.
77. Laura Ianello. Arizona’s 2018 NCAA championship women’s golf coach was on target again in 2023, leading the Wildcats to an NCAA regional title and a No. 13 finish in the nationals.
78. Camila Zepeda. Pima College’s star freshman softball player hit .411 with 72 RBIs.
79. James Labukas. One of Arizona’s leading high school golfers, Labukas, of The Gregory School, earned a berth in the PGA Tour Champions Pure Insurance Pro-Am event, shooting four rounds in the 70s. He was later awarded the Evans Scholarship by the Western Golf Association.
80. Trayvion Austin-White. One of the top sprinters in college track finished third for Arizona in 200 meters at the Pac-12 finals, set a school record in indoor 200 meters and was part of the UA’s school-record 4x100 relay team.
81. Avery Nielson. Sabino’s dominating softball pitcher went 19-1 with 160 strikeouts in 113 innings for the state champion Sabercats.
82. Andre Jackson. In his third season in the major leagues, Jackson, a Cienega grad, pitched a combined 61 innings for the Dodgers and Pirates, striking out 57.
Misemer
83. Cate Reese. Arizona’s dependable senior power forward averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game, making the All-Pac-12 team for the fourth consecutive season.
84. Matt Doherty. The football director of player personnel at Arizona is a key behind-the-scenes operative, navigating not just recruiting but the transfer portal, a key part of the UA’s football success in 2023.
85. Cassidy Morrow. Hitting .474 with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs, the former Sahuaro all-star helped lead Eastern Arizona College to the second round of the NJCAA Softball World Series.
86. Shelley Duncan. The Tucson prep and UA career home run leader managed Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, a New York Yankees affiliate, to a 78-70 record.
87. Shamar Berryhill. During Sabino’s run to the state 3A football championship, Berryhill, a junior, caught passes for 1,392 yards and 19 touchdowns.
88. Julia Misemer. One of the NCAA’s leading freshman golfers, Misemer finished second in the NCAA regionals for Arizona and qualified for match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
89. Keona Willhite. A pass rusher at Salpointe, Willhite had 60 tackles and 18½ tackles for loss. He signed to play at Washington.
90. Eric Langford. Returning to his alma mater, Tucson High School, Langford coached the Badgers’ boys basketball team to a 23-5 record in the difficult 6A South division, and this year started with a 12-1 record. He is 53-11 over the last three seasons.
91. Audrey Jimenez. Sunnyside’s talented wrestler won her third consecutive state championship as the Blue Devils finished No. 2 in the girls competition.
92. Turner Washington. The CDO grad, a senior at Arizona State, won the NCAA championship in the discus, his fifth overall NCAA crown.
93. Elijah Rushing. As a senior at Salpointe, the Oregon-bound Rushing helped the Lancers to a 10-3 record with 13½ sacks.
94. Lester Medford. The former Amphitheater High School state championship (2011) guard is having one of his best seasons in the EuroLeague, averaging 15 points for Itay’s Juvi Cremona in Serie A2.
95. Luis Gonzalez. After two years in the big leagues, the Catalina Foothills grad hit .255 for the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A team in Sacramento and was then signed as a free agent by the New York Yankees for 2024.
96. Lilly Mann. A freshman at Sabino, Mann helped the Sabercats win the state softball championship by hitting .526 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs.
97. Lathan Ransom. Although injuries prevented him from playing four games, the Ohio State safety, a graduate of Salpointe, had 34 tackles as a Buckeyes’ starting safety, giving him 151 tackles in his Big Ten career.
98. Carlie Scupin. Arizona’s starting first baseman from Tucson High hit 10 home runs and batted .337 for the Wildcats in her junior year.
99. Trenton Bourguet. The prolific quarterback from Marana started six games for Arizona State, passing for 1,436 yards before being sidelined by injuries.
100. Maria Harrouch. Pima’s ACCAC women’s golfer of the year won six straight events for the Aztecs before finishing eighth at the NJCAA championships. She now plays at Colorado.
Greg Hansen is the longtime sports columnist for the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson.com.
Hansen: Arizona football's compelling, charismatic Jedd Fisch is Star's top sports figure of 2023Unlike his UA predecessors, Arizona football coach Jedd Fisch has shown that leadership is no longer about hierarchy and control. To Fisch, the Star's No. 1 sports figure of 2023, success is now measured by collaboration and empowerment.
VIDEO: Canyon del Oro High School senior Kayden Luke scores on a 5-yard TD run during the Dorados’ 35-27 victory over Yuma Catholic on Dec. 1, 2023 in the Arizona Class 4A high school state championship game in Tempe. (James Kelley/Special to the Arizona Daily Star)
VIDEO: Canyon del Oro High School senior Kayden Luke scores on an 11-yard TD run during the Dorados’ 35-27 victory over Yuma Catholic on Dec. 1, 2023 in the Arizona Class 4A high school state championship game in Tempe. (James Kelley/Special to the Arizona Daily Star)
