Arizona Athletics

Hires of Ronnie Palmer, Leighton Milton Increase Total of Former Arizona Wildcats as Head Coaches to 39


The total number of former Arizona football players as head coaches increased by two to a total of 10 this week with the hires of Ronnie Palmer and Leighton Milton.

Palmer, a heralded linebacker from 2005-08, was hired by Monterey Peninsula (Calif.) Junior College.

Milton, a defensive end who had one of Arizona’s four sacks in the Wildcats’ 29-0 drubbing of Miami in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl, was elevated to head coach at Hollywood (Calif.) High School. Milton has taught social studies at the school for almost 20 years.

New Monterey Peninsula College football coach Ronnie Palmer. (Monterey Peninsula photo)

Their hires also increase the total number of former Arizona athletes as head coaches to 39.

Milton was an unsung junior college transfer who bided his time playing on the defensive line as a reserve for the Desert Swarm defense.

Palmer was four-year starting linebacker for Mike Stoops. He was the team’s defensive MVP in 2008 when the Wildcats beat BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. He spent a training camp with the Washington Redskins in 2009.

Leighton Milton

He later played in the United Football League with the Las Vegas Locomotives and Sacramento Mountain Lions, where his head coach was the late Denny Green.

An assistant coach at Northern Colorado the past two years, Palmer is a head coach for the first time in his eight-year college coaching career. He was once a defensive coordinator at Monterrey Peninsula in addition to being an assistant for three years at Division III Texas A&M-Kingsville as the defensive line coach and two seasons at Colorado State as a graduate assistant.

“You could have those thoughts about, ‘Is this the right decision?’ until you’re blue in the face,” Palmer told the Monterey Herald. “I’m going back to where I’ve had some success. Anytime you get an opportunity, it’s worth it.”

Palmer is married to former Arizona softball player Lauren Schutzler, who was a four-year starter in center field for Arizona from 2008-11. She was part of three Women’s College World Series appearances.

FORMER ARIZONA ATHLETES WHO ARE HEAD COACHES

List of head coaches of various sports and different levels who competed at Arizona. Compiled by AllSportsTucson.com.
NameUATeam SportStart
Adia Barnes1995-99ArizonaWomen's hoops2016
Heidi Bomberger-Bruschi1993-97Attleboro (MA) Feehan HSVolleyball 2020
Matt Brase2003-05Pallacanestro Varese (Italy)Men's hoops2022
Robert Bonillas1995-98Desert View HSFootball2012
Tod Brown1990-94New MexicoBaseball2022
Casey Candaele1979-82Buffalo (AAA) Blue JaysBaseball2021
Jackie Coburn2002-05Scottsdale Horizon HSSoftball2013
Clark Crist1977-80Pulaski (VA) River TurtlesBaseball2021
Debby Day1989-91Cal-LutheranSoftball2002
Shelley Duncan1999-2001Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA) YankeesBaseball2023
Byron Evans 1983-86South Mountain HSFootball2020
Terry Francona1977-80Cleveland IndiansMLB2013
Tanya Farhat-Villarreal1994-97West Bend (WI) Slinger HSSoftball2015
Brenda Frese1989-93MarylandWomen's hoops2002
Kristie Fox2004-07UNLVSoftball2017
Margo Geer2011-14AlabamaSwimming/Diving2020
Chip Hale 1984-87ArizonaBaseball 2022
Jason Hisey1988-91Canyon del Oro HSBaseball2019
Jack Howell1983Tri-City (A) AngelsBaseball2021
Krista Humphreys1993-96Corona (CA) Centennial HSSoftball2015
Mark Keel1979-82Silverdale (WA) Central Kitsap HSFootball2000
Steve Kerr1983-88Golden State WarriorsNBA2014
Andy Litten1999-03Scottsdale Horizon HSFootball2021
Hunter Long2013-15Douglas HSFootball2019
Caitlin Lowe2004-07Arizona Softball2022
Brandon Manumaleuna1997-00Lawndale (CA) Leuzinger HSFootball2020
Jennifer Martinez-Walls2008-09Abraham Baldwin (GA) JCSoftball2017
Craig McMillan1984-88Santa Rosa (CA) JCMen's hoops2000
Richard Mercado2002-04Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei HSBaseball2019
Leighton Milton1992-93Hollywood (CA) HSFootball2020
Edwin Mulitalo1995-98Southern VirginiaFootball2018
Ronnie Palmer2005-08Monterrey Peninsula (CA) JCFootball2020
Jose Portilla1996-97Heritage AcademyFootball2017
Rebekah Quiroz2002Pima CCSoftball2019
Colt Sedbrook2006-08Crown College (MN)Baseball2024
Jason Stewart1997-99Encinitas (CA) San Dieguito HSBoys hoops2014
Damon Stoudamire1992-95Georgia TechMen's hoops2023
Rafael Valenzuela2008-10Bowling Green (A) RaysBaseball2023


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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.

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