The offseason is here for most Arizona sports, the 2025-26 season in the books and the 2026-27 seasons still a few months away.
What better time than now to press pause and check the pulse of each Wildcat program?
Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at each of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletic programs to see what shape they’re in, as well as the prospects for the near future. We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it has performed under the current coaching staff, comparing it to how it looked beforehand, and assess how it fits into the Big 12 Conference.
Now, we look at Clancy Shields’ men’s tennis program.
Men’s tennis was a sport for Arizona that was not highly thought of, as it struggled through conference play in the Pac-12. The Wildcats did not have a winning record from 2011-16, which also included going winless in Pac-10/12 play with the exception of one season.
However, in 2016 former athletic director Greg Byrne made one of the most underrated hires as of recent history for Arizona in Shields.
Coming from Utah State, Shields was fresh off a Mountain West Coach of the year award. He arrived in Tucson with a vision to turn Arizona into a more competitive program.
While it may have been a rough start, which included staying winless in Pac-12 play for his first two seasons, an NCAA tournament appearance in 2019 was just the beginning of the turnaround in Tucson.
The offseason provides a great opportunity to evaluate each of Arizona’s athletic programs under its current leadership. Check back each day for another sport breakdown.
Friday, June 12: Men’s tennis
Saturday, June 13: Baseball
Sunday, June 14: Softball
Monday, June 15: Men’s golf
Tuesday, June 16: Men’s and women’s track and field
Entering this season, the Wildcats had made the Sweet Sixteen in four of the last five seasons, but could not find a way past that round. Arizona also entered into its second season in the Big 12, after winning the conference tournament last season.
To start the season, Arizona did face strong opponents which brought some setbacks. Losses to Oklahoma, LSU, and San Diego put a dent into the Wildcats record. However, they countered with wins against Florida State (twice) and Pepperdine.
Following the loss to San Diego, Arizona rattled off 15 straight wins going into the Big 12 tournament and stayed undefeated in Big 12 play to secure the program’s first Big 12 regular season championship.
Key conference games included home victories against No. 8 Baylor and No. 2 TCU. Arizona took on UCF in the first round of the Big 12 tournament and advanced to play TCU in the championship where it ultimately fell to the Horned Frogs.
Attention then turned to the NCAA tournament, and for the fourth straight season Arizona hosted the first three rounds. The first round brought in-state foe NAU and the Wildcats handled business with ease.
The second round brought Clemson to the table and after a hard fought match, Arizona advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth straight season. Oklahoma, who the Wildcats lost to at the beginning of the season, was the obstacle between Arizona and its first Elite Eight appearance in program history.
In doubles play, Arizona could not secure a win and the Sooners took the doubles point. This meant the Wildcats would have to win four out of six singles matches.
Oklahoma added to its lead with the first win in the singles matches, but sophomore Glib Sekachov responded to get Arizona on the scoreboard. However, the Sooners got a second singles win and were one win away from advancing.
Arizona stayed alive with a win by junior Alexander Rozin to stay alive, and then it was freshman Alejandro Arcila that brought the match to a 3-3 tie. All the attention turned to senior Jay Friend for the deciding match.
Friend took the first set, but dropped the second. In the final set, Friend took it all with a 6-0 clinching set to win the match for Arizona, sending it to the program’s first Elite Eight appearance.
Arizona was set to face No.1 seeded Wake Forest in Athens, Georgia. The season ended at the hands of the Demon Deacons, as they were too much for the Wildcats to handle.
Friend finished with the best singles match records at 14-2 on the season and was also named the Big 12 Co-Player of the Year.
The underclassmen duo of Sekachov and Arcila finished with records of 11-1. The best doubles duo was the sophomore pairing of Sekachov and Filip Gustafsson who finished at 15-2.
The Wildcats bring back almost all of its roster, outside of Friend, so another Elite Eight run should be in the sights for Arizona.
Arizona has established itself as a top contender in the Big 12. With a Big 12 tournament championship in its first season, UA followed it up with a Big 12 regular season championship and back to back players of the year.
The Wildcats also finished this season undefeated in Big 12 play, aside from the Big 12 tournament championship loss to TCU. The biggest conference foes for Arizona have been TCU and UCF.
Outside of the Horned Frogs and Knights, Arizona will need to continue to take business where it can to maintain a top spot in the conference.
Who will lead next year’s team? Friend had to follow up on the excellent season that Colton Smith had last season. In his final season, he matched it almost identically, but got one step further in the NCAA tournament.
Now, who will be the next leader for the Wildcats? The first candidate could come from the experience of senior Rozin. It could also be a collective effort from juniors Gustafsson and Sekachov.
Arizona also added GCU sophomore transfer Tristan Berard who has earned multiple ATP points. He will bring a breath of fresh air to the team but the Wildcats as a whole will be bringing back most of the roster. If all holds well for Arizona, fans should expect another deep run in the NCAA tournament. Possibly the program’s first Final Four appearance.
