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Top Southern Arizona sports stories of 2025: March

By Javier Morales

Posted on December 28, 2025

Top Southern Arizona sports stories of 2025:

Arizona Athletics

Arizona’s Hopes End in Sweet 16: Arizona, a No. 4 seed, advanced to the Sweet 16, where it lost to No. 1 Duke on March 27. Arizona battled back after trailing by 19 points in the second half following a stretch in which Duke made 13 straight shots from the field, but the Wildcats came up short 100-93 at Newark, N.J. Arizona finished its fourth season under Tommy Lloyd 24-13 overall after starting 4-5 with a cloud of doubt heading into its first vaunted Big 12 slate. Caleb Love was spectacular in his last game of a productive five-year career with 35 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field, 5 of 11 from 3-point range and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line.
National Champions!: The Arizona men’s wheelchair basketball team, a No. 1 seed in the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, earned its first national championship with a 75-65 win over No. 2 Texas-Arlington at Champaign, Ill., on March 29. The Wildcats, who finished 29-4, went 3-0 at Champaign after earning a first-round bye. They beat UT-Arlington after topping No. 8 Edinboro 79-54 in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State 81-51 in the semifinals.
Home Sweet Home: The Arizona baseball team extended its winning streak at Hi Corbett Field to 14 games.
Peat Commits: Gilbert Perry senior forward Koa Peat, one of the top recruits in the country, announced on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN on March 27 that he will attend Arizona and play for Lloyd’s program. Peat, a 6-foot-8 five-star recruit who can defend every position, made the announcement after unzipping a Perry hoodie and unveiling an Arizona t-shirt.
Netz Perfection: Devyn Netz pitched the 11th perfect game in Arizona softball history in No. 9 Arizona’s 8-0 win in five innings March 28. She also belted her 11th home run this season. Netz, an Ironwood Ridge graduate, improved to 13-3 in the circle and Arizona was 30-5.
Arizona Ends Barnes Era with WBIT Loss: In what proved to be the last game of the storied Adia Barnes era as Arizona’s coach, the Wildcats lost in the first round of the WBIT to NAU 71-69 at McKale Center on March 20. It was the second loss of the season for Arizona against the Lumberjacks. The Wildcats finished the season 19-14.

High School Sports

Pusch Ridge Earns First State Title: From four games under .500 to feeling on top of the world as champions — the Pusch Ridge boys basketball story. When Pusch Ridge lost at home to Palo Verde on Jan. 17, the Lions were 6-10 and losers of eight out of nine games. On March 1 at Phoenix’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Lions lofted the 3A state championship trophy in the air as an 11th seed after defeating the No. 5 Titans 69-46. Pusch Ridge, which earned its first state title in boys basketball, finished 13-1 after the earlier loss against the Titans under second-year coach Steve Solita.
Salpointe Girls Soccer Champs Again: Salpointe earned its 11th state championship, sixth under coach Kelly Pierce, in a 1-0 win over No. 1 seed Prescott at Mesa Mountain View High School on March 1. Salpointe seniors Gianna Estavillo and Emma Veliz combined for the Lancers’ lone goal at the 71-minute mark. Estavillo found Veliz at the center of the near the top of the box and Veliz maneuvered around defenders and kicked the ball past the goalie.
Wolfgang Weber Coaches Salpointe Boys to Fifth Straight State Title: Never has a boys soccer team won five straight state championships in Arizona. Never has a coach in the sport in the state won 793 games in a career. The legendary Wolfgang Weber, in his 43rd year as Salpointe’s head coach, is at both untouchable marks after March 1’s 7-2 win over No. 3 Scottsdale Saguaro in the 4A state championship game at Mesa Mountain View High School. The Lancers overcame an early 1-0 deficit — two minutes into the match — and a 2-2 score at halftime by immediately pulling away to start the second half behind standout forward Leo Gutierrez. Emiliano Castro scored twice in the first three minutes of the second half, both times as a result of Gutierrez attacking. Castro scored the first goal off a deflection from the goalie following Gutierrez’s attempt, and the second goal was netted off a perfect center pass from Gutierrez. At the 68-minute mark, Gutierrez put Salpointe ahead 5-2.

Pima Community College

Pima Men Finish 35-1: The Aztecs closed a historic 2024-25 season on March 22 with a 35-1 record and third-place finish in the NJCAA Division II national tournament at the Mary Miller Center in Danville, Ill. The No. 1 Aztecs defeated No. 7 Kalamazoo (Mich.) Valley 103-88, securing their 16th game of the season of scoring in triple digits. They lost their first game of the season in the semifinal round on March 21 in a 95-74 setback to No. 4 Champaign (Ill.) Parkland. They closed the season leading NJCAA Division II with a 99.5-point scoring average.
Pima Women National Runner-up: After rallying late to win an overtime game the night before, No. 6 Pima Community College tried to exert energy to overcome No. 4 Overland Park (Kan.) Johnson County in the fourth quarter March 22 in the NJCAA Division II championship game at Joplin, Mo. The challenge and Johnson County proved to be too tough to overcome in a 75-67 loss. Pima, which finished its season 29-6, had its 12-game winning streak and its hope for its first national championship come to an end. The Aztecs returned to the national championship for the second time, the first since 2011 when the program played Moore (N.Y.) with the likes of Nadi Carey and Deanna Daniels.
Aztecs Claim Honors: Brian Peabody was selected the the ACCAC men’s basketball Coach of the Year and his poing guard Cohenj Gonzales was chosen the Player of the Year. The women’s team featured the Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year — post player Kiley Sours-Miller.
Cosgrove Earns National Honor: Pima men’s soccer coach David Cosgrove was named March 13 to the inaugural class of the NJCAA Legacy Award, presented by Nufabrx — a recognition of him as one of the most successful junior college coaches in history. Cosgrove, the Aztecs’ coach since 1998, earned the honor along with nearly 200 coaches across 28 different sports. They were nominated by their respective colleges.Pima athletic director Ken Jacome no minated Cosgrove.

Other Highlights

World Baseball Classic Qualifier Comes to Tucson: Southern Arizona civic leaders were successful in their proposal to MLB to bring the World Baseball Classic Qualifier to Tucson. The event including Brazil, Colombia, China and Germany, ran from March 2-6 at the Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, bringing the feel of professional spring training back to Tucson. Brazil, playing in its first WBC qualifier championship in 13 years, emerged as the top team from the Tucson field to qualify for the World Baseball Classic in spring 2026.
Alker Earns Cologuard Classic Championship: The PGA Tour Championship returned to Tucson from March 7–9 at La Paloma Country Club and Steven Alker captured his ninth career title in the first-ever playoff in Cologuard Classic history. He defeated Jason Caron with a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole. Alker started the final round six strokes behind but surged on the back nine with an eagle and three late birdies to finish at –12.