From Arizona Athletics:

The University of Arizona Athletics Department has received an extraordinary gift from an anonymous alumni couple to launch and fund the 5980 Academic Fund for scholarship and walk-on student-athletes for the first two years. The gift makes Arizona a part of a select, elite list of schools across the country to offer a full allotment of academic awards to all student-athletes in the first year of the new benefit.

"On behalf of the Wildcat Family, I would like to thank these donors for their powerful generosity," said Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke. "This incredible gift will help elevate the student-athlete experience at Arizona. The 5980 Academic Fund is one of the newest enhancements for our 500 student-athletes who proudly represent the University of Arizona. This gift bolsters our longstanding Commitment to an Athletes Total Success (C.A.T.S) and helps Arizona Athletics fulfill its Wildcat Way mission to develop academic, athletic and life champions."

Launched in the fall, the fund provides supplemental academic awards to student-athletes up to the established maximum of $5,980 per year. All Arizona student-athletes are eligible so long as they maintain good academic performances, meet NCAA eligibility requirements and embrace Arizona's Wildcat Way core values.

Arizona Athletics is actively seeking additional donor support as it continues funding the 5980 Academic Fund in future fiscal years. This fund is one of the recent initiatives launched by the athletics department to recruit and retain student-athletes and bolster its first-class experience in response to the ever-changing landscape of college athletics.

Arizona moves up one spot in the latest AP Poll after a home sweep of the Oregon Schools.

Hey guys I'm going to add all our postgame coverage in this post for you.


Tommy Lloyd press conference:

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Kylan Boswell and Filip Borovicanin postgame:

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Ari Koslow's recap:


We'll have more here shortly as well.

Currently on a five-game winning streak, No. 5 Arizona will look to extend the streak to six on Saturday night when the team takes on Oregon State at McKale Center.

After beating the Beavers 86-74 in Corvallis on January 12, Arizona will be hoping to get the season sweep. In the team's last home game before a Northern California road trip, Arizona is now in crunch time on the season and the team is now beginning to get ready to attempt a successful postseason run.

GAME INFO
Who: No. 5 Arizona (20-3, 9-3 Pac-12) vs. Oregon (13-10, 7-5 Pac-12)
When: 7:30 p.m. (MST)
Where: McKale Center
TV: Pac-12 Network

No. 22 Arizona went on the road to No. 15 UCLA in what looked to be an easy win for the Bruins with them up 61-50 with under five minutes left in the game. Then, the Wildcats came storming back going on an 11-0 run led by Cate Reese, who scored six-straight points to help send the game into overtime after Lauren Fields connected on a game-tying 3-point bucket.

The Wildcats went on to win 71-66 in what might be the most important win of the season for Adia Barnes' squad, who had was coming off a tough loss at home to WSU.


So, my question is, does this win change your thoughts on the Wildcats and what this team can accomplish come March? Did they show something they haven't before that might give you new optimism?

Matt, I listened to a conference wide podcast and they beat up our class a little because we were the only team in the top 8 who actually fell year over year in the recruiting rankings.

Looking at our class on the surface, I like what we got mostly based on their offers and the teams we beat for these guys. But to attack our drop I want to ask a few questions of you.

1) who did we miss out on that we were probably 1B that we could have seen a jump in our ranking (Lomu and Laloulou come to mind)

2) last year Big Jonah was undervalued, who in this class fo you think could have received another star of a bump up.

3) was our class drop in the rankings because we missed on so many top guys or was it simply that many of the programs had new coaches and had new energy

4) what is your outlook for this next seasons class. Will it be the best class this staff has signed as some suggest

Right here:

Fifth-ranked Arizona will take a four-game winning streak into Thursday night against Oregon at McKale Center coming off sweeps of the Los Angeles and Washington schools.

The Wildcats will be looking for some revenge after losing to Oregon 87-68 a few weeks ago. It was after that game when Tommy Lloyd moved Pelle Larsson back to his sixth man role and Cedric Henderson Jr. into the starting lineup and Arizona has won four straight games since.

GAME INFO
Who: No. 5 Arizona (19-3, 8-3 Pac-12) vs. Oregon (13-9, 7-4 Pac-12)
When: 8:30 p.m. (MST)
Where: McKale Center
TV: ESPN

Hey guys, as promised I am posting my story from today's press conference with coach Jedd Fisch as he shared his thoughts on how this class wrapped up for Arizona.

Full story: https://arizona.rivals.com/news/jedd-fisch-talks-defense-in-arizona-s-signing-day-press-conference

If you have any questions, let me know.

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Kind of strange to see it done this way and probably indicative of the situation, but DeWayne Walker has announced he and Arizona are parting ways after two seasons. This is the time of year when coaches' contracts are being reworked/figured out, and he will not be back leading the Wildcats' cornerback group. It sounded like at the end of the season there could be one or two changes to the staff, so this is not completely shocking but is definitely something that Jedd Fisch will have to work through. I'd expect Fisch to work pretty quickly to bring in someone new.

Walker was hired Jan. 6, 2021, so that tells you why now when it comes to the decision. Working to get some of the details, but he very clearly (whether or not he meant to) left any mention of Jedd out of his statement there. Doesn't sound like things ended smoothly but trying to get some more information.

Here's from today's press conference with Tommy Lloyd and Kylan Boswell:

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“They throw the ball 82 percent of the time and had two wideouts have over 1,000 yards receiving last year, so it is a great offense for a wideout.” – Devin Hyatt

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Hey guys, I wanted to ask you a question and get your thoughts on this years women's basketball team.

Do you think it is time to question Adia Barnes' offensive coaching skills?

The regular signing period has arrived! It should be a quiet day for Arizona with all but one of its current commits signed. Defensive back Charles Yates has yet to sign with the program, but he is the only one that list. With four-star linebacker Leviticus Su'a already being announced, there is not much in the way new NLIs coming in for the Wildcats. There's always the chance for some surprises, but at this point the class is mostly complete. The team is still in play for more transfers, including receiver Gary Bryant Jr., so there is still more work to be done. However, Signing Day should be a quiet one for Jedd Fisch and his staff. If anything does change we will be sure to keep you posted throughout the day.

Fisch is holding a press conference today to discuss the class, and we will have full coverage of that.


NATIONAL SIGNING DAY LINKS

🔎 Recruit search

🔒 2023 Arizona commitment list

📈 2023 Rivals.com team recruiting rankings

📊 2023 Pac-12 recruiting rankings

NLI TRACKER

OL Raymond Pulido [STATUS: Signed]
QB Brayden Dorman [STATUS: Signed]
LB Leviticus Su'a [STATUS: Signed]
DE Julian Savaiinaea [STATUS: Signed]
OL Elijha Payne [STATUS: Signed]
S Canyon Moses [STATUS: Signed]
S Gavin Hunter [STATUS: Signed]
S Arian Parish [STATUS: Signed]
WR Jackson Holman [STATUS: Signed]
S Genesis Smith [STATUS: Signed]
CB Emmanuel Karnley [STATUS: Signed]
WR Malachi Riley [STATUS: Signed]
WR Carlos Wilson [STATUS: Signed]
OL Rhino Tapaatoutai [STATUS: Signed]
DE Dominic Lolesio [STATUS: Signed]
RB Brandon Johnson [STATUS: Signed]
DE Tristan Davis [STATUS: Signed]
LB Taye Brown [STATUS: Signed]
OL Tylen Gonzalez [STATUS: Signed]
LB Kamuela Kaaihue [STATUS: Signed]
DL Nicholas Fernandez [STATUS: Signed]
TE Dorian Thomas [STATUS: Signed]
DL Keanu Mailoto [STATUS: Signed]
CB Charles Yates [STATUS: Not Signed]

Since the the NCAA Transfer Portal is expected to keep Arizona busy throughout the offseason, I thought I'd open up a new thread to track all the potential transfers into and out of the program in the coming months. Arizona has already started to pursue some options, and this is expected to be a busy week with players deciding to enter the portal. There will undoubtedly be names to watch for Arizona, and I will do my best to keep tabs on all of them.

Kayden Lyles (Sr., OL | Wisconsin)

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Here's a new one to track. Wisconsin senior offensive lineman Kayden Lyles is leaving the program and has decided to enter the portal today. The fifth-year player from Madison has ties back to Arizona, and my expectation is that the Wildcats will be active in pursuing the former Rivals250 recruit. Though he is originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Lyles began his high school career at Saguaro High in Scottsdale after moving with his family to the desert in middle school. He ultimately returned to Wisconsin before beginning his career with the Badgers as he played his senior season in Madison. However, there is enough of a connection for Arizona to pursue him. He generated some NFL buzz ahead of the season and was on the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy that goes to the best lineman in college football. However, he was beat out in camp by a redshirt sophomore and was not able to get on the field the last two games. Lyles has had an injury history with his knees and hips, but he has been healthy this year. Overall he has played in 34 games in his career and made 16 starts with almost half of those starts coming on defense. He began his college career as a defensive end before making the move back to offense in recent years. He had been the starting center for a time last season before a season-ending knee injury took him down. I personally don't think there's going to be a strong enough connection to Arizona for the Wildcats to pull him away from the Midwest, but the staff is already working to make a move with Lyles. He's going to have some solid options, I believe, so he will not be easy for the Wildcats to bring back to Arizona. It is a different situation than someone like Noah Nelson who still calls Arizona home. Lyles only called Arizona home for a short time and as far as I know his family no longer has a home in the area. So, a bit of an uphill climb but he's absolutely someone Arizona has to pursue until he says no.

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Hey Guys, as defensive back Charles Yates is excepted to sign with Arizona today, I wanted to share by one-on-one interview with Yates that talks about him picking Arizona, what his role will look like with the program and more.

Story: https://arizona.rivals.com/news/defensive-back-charles-yates-is-ready-to-make-his-mark-on-arizona

Hey guys, wanted to jump in and make sure to put this on the boards as the Wildcats host the Oregon Schools this week starting with the Ducks on Thursday.

Here are my top three things to watch during the Wildcats' games this week:

I know it’s been a very hectic last 12 months and it’s a time when everyone gets to take a breath but I am wondering what we can expect as subscribers going forward?

I know Matt’s doing his recruiting for the west coast for rivals and is reporting on the many prospects to each school. He drops an article that relates to us and a podcast focused on recruiting or a program from time to time but I am wondering about the everyday things.

Baseball is still going strong and softball is still playing. Golf is also entering into its NCAA tournaments and football has its off season work outs.

Just curious what we should expect going toward? I will apologize in advance if this isn’t taken the right way as I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t care

Current Utah running back commit Kobe Boykin and former USC athlete commit Jett White both visited Arizona today. The four-star prospects recently checked out of Orange High School and will now be playing at Los Alamitos in Southern California, a school that has several other high-level players and has continued stacking talent. White is likely to end up as a defensive back in college while Boykin is an impressive all-purpose back with a huge offer list. He's been committed to Utah for a while but has continued to take visits across the country.

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Arizona is back in action this afternoon as the sixth-ranked Wildcats look to sweep the Washington schools. Thursday night's game in Pullman was anything but a strong performance for Tommy Lloyd's group, and the Huskies certainly gave UA some problems in their last meeting back in Tucson. It's an important game for Arizona and we'll have updates throughout the day as it plays out in Seattle.

As always, we invite you to join the conversation for today's game, which will be nationally televised by FOX.

GAME INFO

Who: No. 6 Arizona (18-3, 7-3 Pac-12; last game: 63-58 win over Washington State) vs. Washington (13-9, 5-6 Pac-12; last game: 69-66 (OT) win over Arizona State)

When: 3:30 p.m. (MST)

Where: Alaska Airlines Arena | Seattle, Washington

TV: Fox

All-time series: Arizona leads 56-31 (last matchup: Arizona won 70-67 on Jan. 5, 2023 in Tucson)

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Scottsdale-Desert Mountain edge rusher Nolan Clement is the next in-state player to turn down scholarship offers at other programs to walk-on at Arizona. NAU, Portland State and UC Davis had been some of the schools in the mix late. He visited UA earlier in the weekend and decided tonight that he would take the opportunity to play for the Wildcats. He's a solid player who had 73 tackles and set the school record with 18 sacks in 2022.

Jedd Fisch has been really good about finding the right types of walk-on players, and Clement is another impressive pickup in that regard. It also is Jedd playing chess as Clement and 2024 athlete Dylan Tapley are close, and Tapley is quickly becoming a coveted in-state prospect.

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Hey all, I have a very encouraging update to share about WR transfer target Gary Bryant Jr.'s Arizona visit last weekend.

I have a good relationship with his father, who just texted me this:

"I was absolutely blown away on everything they have to offer," Gary Bryant Sr. said. "I mean, we went to Miami and the facilities at Arizona are right there -- everything looked brand new, everything was well manicured, state of the art, the locker room was beautiful, the coaching staff, [NFL] pedigree. I told the coaches if they started sending out videos and showing people exactly who they are, more people [would] want to come who would never have thought that Arizona, Tucson had all this to offer. We were blown away."

Bryant would be a huge get for Arizona. I covered him as a recruit and watched him the last three years at USC. He got a slow start his freshman year due to injury and it being the shortened pandemic season, but he emerged as USC's No. 2 WR (behind first-round draft pick Drake London) as a sophomore with 44 catches for 579 yards and 7 touchdowns. Lincoln Riley then came in, brought in four wide receiver transfers and Bryant had a limited role the first two games this year (while mostly returning kicks). He and his family made the decision to redshirt after two games to protect his eligibility. He continued practicing with the Trojans all fall, even making the trip to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl. Initially, the thought was he would stay and compete for a role next year, they decided it was time to move on and find a fuller opportunity to showcase himself. He's a natural downfield target who just glides down the field -- one of those guys who is moving faster than it looks like he is. I have a lot of confidence that he would put up a big statistical season if given steady targets.

Bryant graduates from USC this spring so that's why he didn't look to enroll elsewhere this semester. He's going to stay and get his degree and then relocate at the start of summer, but his father tells me they want to make the decision ASAP so he knows where he's going and can start learning the offense remotely.

And it sounds like the Wildcats are in great position to reel him in ...

"I think Arizona is [at] the top," Bryant Sr. said. "Georgia just called, but for me -- this is me speaking -- I think it's a beautiful fit at Arizona. Gary ... wants to find his new home, start the new chapter, this way he can focus on finishing [his degree] in the spring and he can start doing Zoom [meetings] and be ready to go."

Arizona will get a chance for some revenge as it heads up to Pullman to take on Washington State and avenge one of its three losses this season. This week marks the turn for teams across the league with the first opportunity to see teams for a second time on the conference schedule. It is another important weekend for the Wildcats after both Wazzu and UW gave Arizona all it could handle a few weeks ago.

We'll have updates throughout the night plus invite you to join the conversation of the late-night matchup up in the Pacific Northwest.

GAME INFO
Who: No. 6 Arizona (17-3, 6-3 Pac-12; last game: 58-52 win over UCLA) vs. Washington State (9-12, 4-6 Pac-12; last game: 58-55 loss to Colorado)
When: 9 p.m. (MST)
Where: Beasley Coliseum | Pullman, Washington
TV: FS1
All-time series: Arizona leads 66-17 (last matchup: Arizona loss, 74-61, on Jan. 7, 2023 in Tucson)

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Arizona has announced a couple new hires for the upcoming season. Austin Herink will serve in an operations role for the program and he comes over from Nebraska. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have a new second in line to Tyler Owens on the strength staff as Blair Vaughan is coming over from Army as the new associate head strength coach for the Wildcats. Vaughan is replacing Ben Hilgart, who left UA in December to take over the top job at Boise State.