No. 17 Arizona softball opens season against old friends, WCWS stalwarts

Opening weekend is a big one for Arizona softball. The No. 17 Wildcats will welcome former UA star and current Southern Utah pitching coach Taylor McQuillin along with her Thunderbirds for a doubleheader on Thursday. The next day, they kick off a three-game series against the eight-time national champions from the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners.

“Taylor McQuillin is going to have a little homecoming on Thursday with Southern Utah,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said. “They’re playing in a different tournament, actually. So we have that doubleheader scheduled for Thursday, but it was a full field of teams, and then just luck of the draw, people started dropping out. And so it’s going to be a nice challenge.”

When those teams dropped out of this year’s Candrea Classic, it left something that was far more compelling. The doubleheader allows Arizona to get its feet wet and have a reunion with the woman who helped lead the program back to the Women’s College World Series in 2019.

That will be all the game preparation the Wildcats get before they face college softball’s current dynasty. The Sooners tied Arizona with the second-most national titles in 2024 when they defeated Texas Tech in the championship series. Last season, they were dismissed by that same Red Raiders team in the national semifinals. They are once again projected as a team that will be among the top four.

Both the Thunderbirds and the Sooners will be facing an Arizona team that looks very different than last year. Gone to graduation are Big 12 Player of the Year Devyn Netz, Big 12 first-teamer Miranda Stoddard, ultimate teammate Paige Dimler, and relief pitcher Saya Swain. UA lost nine active players to transfer, although the big losses were contained to outfielders Dakota Kennedy and Kaiah Altmeyer.

In came highly rated transfer and freshman classes that include All-Big Ten pitcher Jalen Adams and freshman righty Rylie Holder, All-Big 12 second baseman Sereniti Trice, Big East Player of the Year Grace Jenkins, and freshmen infielders Sina Talataina and Kezi Lucas. The three freshmen were named by at least one publication as Big 12 freshmen to watch.

Getting Lucas healthy will give Arizona more depth. She missed fall ball as she recovered from a knee injury suffered last spring.

As for the battery, it has a very different look this year. Arizona has three well-regarded catchers led by All-American Sydney Stewart. Jenkins and sophomore returner Emma Kavanagh round out the group. Each one of the trio should be able to do things offensively. Jenkins and Kavanagh have both worked hard to become serviceable outfielders since Stewart is the primary catcher.

“I think it says a lot about our team, because they’re team centric, focused and, like, whatever the team needs to win,” Lowe said. “Like, if that means me in left field, right field, because I’m in the offensive lineup, great.”

Up Next for Arizona Softball

Who: Southern Utah Thunderbirds @ No. 17 Arizona Wildcats

When: Thursday, Feb. 5 @ 2:30 p.m. MST and 4:30 p.m. MST

Where: Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.

Streaming:ESPN+

Stats: Arizona Live Stats (2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.)

Who: No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners @ No. 17 Arizona Wildcats

When: Friday, Feb. 6 @ 4 p.m. MST; Saturday, Feb. 7 @ 5 p.m. MST; Sunday, Feb. 8 @ 11 a.m. MST

Where: Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.

Streaming: ESPN+ (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

Stats: Arizona Live Stats (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

Jenkins came in with a bit of a jump on the transition because she played some outfield in high school. Kavanagh played outfield this summer in the Northwoods League to try to open up playing time by becoming more versatile.

Despite being an established star and in high demand, the thought of joining a team with an All-American catcher didn’t concern Jenkins.

“At the end of the day, it was more so about the people that I was going to play for and with,” Jenkins said. “I love this team so much, and I knew going into it it wasn’t about positions. It wasn’t about that. It was more so about finding a place to spend my final year. And Sydney Stewart is an amazing person. She’s an amazing player, and part of the reason why I entered the transfer portal was to play with people like her. So being able to play with her is just like an amazing thing to do in my last year.”

Lowe was also upfront with what the prospects were for Jenkins at Arizona.

“You see a catcher go in [the portal] and you’re like, Man, that is not the position of need,” Lowe said. “So you want to be very careful about that. And…catching is one of those positions you don’t expect to be super versatile, as far as being able to plug and play anywhere, and I think it takes a special person to be a senior, enter the portal with the stats that she has, in the position that she had, and be willing to reinvent their game in a way defensively. And she is that special person, and she is selfless. She stepped right in, and I was fully upfront and honest in our commitment meeting. I was like, I want to work you in right field, and how do you feel about that? Because one thing I’m not going to do is lie to you and then stick you out there. It’s never going to provide for a good experience.”

Not only was Jenkins willing to do that, she was also to part ways with her twin sister. The pitcher ended up in at Ole Miss.

“It was hard, but it was also super rewarding,” Jenkins said. “You know, it’s really cool to to be a twin and to experience [playing together]. Obviously we’re two different people, and when entering the portal, different teams needed different things, but she’s loving it at Ole Miss, and I can’t wait to see what she does.”

The other half of the battery is half the size it was last year. A group of eight pitchers has shrunk to four, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a less effective group. Lowe was more interested in talking about the intangibles of Adams, Holder, Sarah Wright, and Jenae Berry than their stuff.

Lowe believes that the group is adapting well to the way Arizona manages its bullpen. She doesn’t believe that’s simply because their are fewer pitchers. An example is Adams, who threw over 200 innings at Iowa last year and may not do that for Arizona in her final year.

“I think that has been a collective experience in the bullpen that we were missing a little bit last year, as far as the buy in,” Lowe said. “And I think it’s been exciting to watch them fail a little bit, but buy into the process. Fail a little bit, buy into the process. Have some success, keep buying into the process.”

That may be the identity of this Wildcat team.

“I think it’s the right mentality, to be honest,” Lowe said. “I think you got to show up and kind of check some things and be all into the program. And I don’t say that pitching wise. I say that collectively. I think you know, for Grace to buy into right field, and EK has been working behind the plate and left field, and, you know, Kiki [Escobar] has played, I mean, every position except for pitcher and catcher, and it’s just that’s the personality that they have. So it’s very selfless, team-centric, and whatever we need to find a way to win. I think I’ve had to check them maybe two times as far as like, come on, refocus. They just come ready to work every single day.”