Sunnyside conducted its first sports media day this morning. Tremendous the district is doing this. Desert View has their winter sports media day tomorrow. https://t.co/sBGzTkt36G
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 9, 2026
Salpointe’s football program is the only 6A team in Southern Arizona, so the Lancers generally have to play half of their schedule up the I-10 in the Phoenix area.
Now, the winter sports teams of boys and girls soccer and boys and girls basketball at Sunnyside, Tucson and Marana will have to do the same for at least the next two years during the AIA’s present two-year scheduling block.
Sunnyside is in the 6A Fiesta with Gilbert, Gilbert Highland, Gilbert Higley, Gilbert Williams Field and Queen Creek.
Tucson is in the 6A East Valley with Mesa Dobson, Mesa, Mesa Mountain View, Mesa Red Mountain and Mesa Westwood.
Marana is in the 6A Metro with Phoenix Carl Hayden, Mesa Desert Ridge, Avondale La Joya Community, Phoenix Maryvale and Phoenix Trevor Browne.
The reason for this shift is Rincon/University went from 6A to 5A, leaving Sunnyside, Tucson and Marana as the only 6A schools from Southern Arizona.
Sunnyside boys soccer coach Casey O’Brien, also the school’s athletic director, welcomes new region alignment.
“We have a lot of marquee matchups this year,” he said, noting the Blue Devils will play in tournaments such as the Brandon Bean Invitational that will have highly-rated teams. “Trying to put ourselves out there. Trying to find everybody and anybody to play. I’m really excited to test ourselves.”
Sunnyside’s boys basketball coach Adrian Lopez believes the more difficult schedule will get his players’ attention.
“We’re going to go up and play some tough teams, some tough games, a lot of adversity, but being focused on 35 seconds at a time (length of a shot clock), win each possession, defense and offense, it’s going to put us in the best position to win,” he said.
HERE ARE VIDEOS OF INTERVIEWS FROM SUNNYSIDE’S WINTER SPORTS MEDIA DAY:
TAYLOR RAINWATER — CHEERLEADER
Taylor Rainwater at Sunnyside is multi-skilled. In addition to playing basketball and being a cheerleader, she is part of the student council and a student advisory committee member that reports to the Sunnyside School District board. She is also a Junior ROTC member and FAFSA peer mentor. She also sings the national anthem at sporting events. All this while being a model student. She has committed to the Santa Monica (Calif.) College basketball program. She aspires to enter UCLA’s medical school after earning an associate’s degree and then enlist in the Air Force and be a registered nurse in the Air Force.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 10, 2026
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Sunnyside girls basketball is a perennial power now under Justin Delgado. The restructuring of their region competition in 6A now includes mostly schools from the highly populated Gilbert area so the Blue Devils will be challenged. Taylor Rainwater, Dora Medina, Kyla Cannon and Rayanna Ortiz comment on the season ahead.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 11, 2026
BOYS BASKETBALL
Sunnyside boys hoops starts play in a new region filled only with Phoenix-area schools — the 6A Fiesta with Gilbert, Gilbert Highland, Gilbert Higley, Queen Creek, and Gilbert Williams Field. Tucson High is in another 6A region with Mesa-area schools and Marana in a different region with mostly Phoenix schools. The Blue Devils seniors and coach Adrian Lopez talked about their upcoming 2026-27 season at Sunnyside’s Winter Sports Media Day.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 10, 2026
WRESTLING COACH ANTHONY LEON
.@SSBDwrestling coach Anthony Leon is leading both of the highly successful boys and girls wrestling programs at the school. He has coached the boys to nine consecutive state titles and 10 overall and the girls to the last two state championships. One of the best coaches in the state no matter the sport because of how he gets the most out of the system and his wrestlers.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 11, 2026
BOYS WRESTLING
Sunnyside wrestlers Xavier Chavez, Malik Hoskins, Jack Thrush and Carmine Cruz discuss being part of the nationally-recognized Blue Devil dynasty. Chavez, Hoskins, and Thrush won a state title and Cruz placed second last year when Sunnyside earned its 39th state championship. Chavez, a senior, has committed to Big Ten power Iowa.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 11, 2026
GIRLS WRESTLING
Sunnyside girls wrestling is going for its third straight state championship with a mixture of competitors who have wrestled since grade school with others who have picked it up in recent years when the sport’s popularity took off. Riella Garza, Miabella Martinez, Sunny Robles and Sariah Moreno talk about being part of the burgeoning program.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 11, 2026
BOYS SOCCER
Sunnyside boys soccer is a challenger for a state title year after year, despite significant talented player turnover, because of the culture coach Casey O’Brien has instituted. Now playing in a challenging 6A region with Phoenix-area schools, the Blue Devils figure to be more prepared come state playoff time.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 10, 2026
GIRLS SOCCER
Former Arizona placekicker OJ Rodriquez is in his second year coaching the girls soccer program at Sunnyside. His daughter Lanica is competing with her dad as coach similar to the recently completed golf season. Watch for the Blue Devils to become more competitive with Rodriquez establishing a winning mentality with his players.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 10, 2026
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