The 2021 Arizona Wildcats baseball team represented the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
during the
2021 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began on February 19, 2021. The season progressed through the regula ...
. The Wildcats played their home games for the 10th season at
Hi Corbett Field
Hi Corbett Field is a baseball park in the southwestern United States, located in Tucson, Arizona. With a seating capacity of approximately 9,500, it was the spring training home of the Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseb ...
. The team was coached by
Jay Johnson in his 6th season and final season at Arizona. Following the season, Coach Johnson was hired as the head baseball coach at
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
. The Wildcats ranked 10th in
Collegiate Baseball
''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...
's preseason poll - their highest preseason ranking in any poll since 2013 - and their incoming recruiting class was ranked 4th in the nation by D1Baseball. On May 23, the Wildcats clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 Championship for the first time since the
2012 season that saw the team win the
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
. Following a 3-11 loss by the
Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...
to the
California Golden Bears on May 28, the team clinched their first outright Pac-12 title since 1989. On May 30,
Hi Corbett Field
Hi Corbett Field is a baseball park in the southwestern United States, located in Tucson, Arizona. With a seating capacity of approximately 9,500, it was the spring training home of the Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseb ...
was selected as one of the NCAA's 16 postseason Regional sites for the first time since
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
. The following day the Wildcats were selected as the tournaments No. 5 overall seed - their first selection as a top 8 seed since the implementation of the current seeding system in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
- marking their first postseason appearance since
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
. On June 6, the Wildcats defeated
UC Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
5-2 to win the
Tucson Regional and advance to their first
Super Regional since
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
when the team forged their way to the
College World Series finals. The Wildcats would go on to defeat
Ole Miss 2 games to 1, to advance to their 18th
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
appearance all-time. They subsequently were eliminated in two games, losing to the defending champion from 2019, No. 4 seed
Vanderbilt as well as
Stanford.
Previous season
The Wildcats began the
2020 season 10–5, good for a tie for third-place in the
Pac-12 prior to the NCAA's decision to cancel the season on March 12 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Due to the season's cancellation, all Division I college baseball players were granted an extra year of eligibility.
Personnel
Roster
Coaches
Opening day
Schedule and results
Tucson Regional
Tucson Super Regional
College World Series
Rankings
2021 MLB draft
Notes
References
{{Arizona Wildcats baseball navbox
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
Arizona Wildcats baseball seasons
Arizona baseball
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
College World Series seasons
Pac-12 Conference baseball champion seasons