PROVO, Utah — The No. 22 Arizona Wildcats (26-10, 10-5) hit the road this week for a three-game series against the BYU Cougars (18-18, 5-10).

All three games will be televised on ESPN+ and broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM, with the latter option featuring play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.

The Wildcats are fresh off a midweek run-rule victory over GCU and have strung together back-to-back Big 12 series wins over Arizona State and Oklahoma State.

This week marks the beginning of the second half of Big 12 Conference play, and the Wildcats are within striking distance of first place in the league.

For more, a complete series preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Thursday, April 17	BYU	3:30 PM	RHP Collin McKinney (0-1, 2.25)	LHP Justis Reiser (3-0, 5.00)
Friday, April 18	BYU	3:30 PM	RHP Owen Kramkowski (5-3, 4.86)	RHP Jaden Harris (1-3, 8.24)
Saturday, April 19	BYU	10:30 AM	RHP Smith Bailey (1-1, 3.46)	RHP Garrison Sumner (3-1, 7.36)

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats visit Provo for the first time in nearly a decade this weekend for a three-game series against the BYU Cougars.
• All three games will be televised on ESPN+ with Dave McCann and Gary Sheide on the call. The series will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• Arizona and BYU have met 31 times previously, with games dating back to 1963 and the Wildcats holding a 22-9 edge in the all-time series. 15 of the previous 31 matchups between the two programs came during the postseason.
• The most recent matchup between the Wildcats and Cougars came in 2018, a 6-1 victory for Arizona in Tucson. The last meeting in Provo came in 2016, an 11-5 win for the Wildcats. Arizona's last series win at BYU came in 1974, a two-game sweep.
• Mason White currently ranks tied for fourth in program history with 36 career home runs. He is tied with Kenny Corley (1995-98) and sits just three home runs shy of a tie for third. Of his 36 career home runs, 26 have been hit away from Hi Corbett Field at road/neutral venues.
• The Wildcats currently lead all Division I programs with 26 triples, seven of which have been hit by the middle infield duo of Mason White (4) and Garen Caulfield (3).
• Arizona's defense has excelled at turning double plays this season; they currently lead the Big 12 and rank tied for sixth nationally with 35 twin killings. Their average of just under one double play per game (0.97() is the eighth-best mark nationally.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats hit the road for a Big 12 Conference road series against the BYU Cougars this week; the series will be contested over three games Thursday–Saturday...This marks the Wildcats first trip to Provo in nearly a decade...All three games will be televised on ESPN+ with Dave McCann and Gary Sheide on the call...The series will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries...Arizona and BYU have met 31 times previously, with games dating back to 1963 and the Wildcats holding a 22-9 edge in the all-time series...15 of the previous 31 matchups between the two programs came during the postseason...The most recent matchup between the Wildcats and Cougars came in 2018, a 6-1 victory for Arizona in Tucson...The last meeting in Provo came in 2016, an 11-5 win for the Wildcats...Arizona's last series win at BYU came in 1974, a two-game sweep...Midway through Big 12 Conference play, Arizona proudly sports a 10-5 record; they are tied for third in the league and sit one game back of first place West Virginia...The Wildcats enter this week's series ranked in all five of the major national polls, checking in at No. 22 from D1Baseball and USA Today, No. 23 from Baseball America and the NCBWA, and No. 19 from Perfect Game...Mason White currently ranks tied for fourth in program history with 36 career home runs; he is tied with Kenny Corley (1995-98) and sits just three home runs shy of a tie for third...Of White's 36 career home runs, 26 have been hit away from Hi Corbett Field at road/neutral venues...The Wildcats currently lead all Division I programs with 26 triples, seven of which have been hit by the middle infield duo of Mason White (4) and Garen Caulfield (3)...Arizona's defense has excelled at turning double plays this season; they currently lead the Big 12 and rank tied for sixth nationally with 35 twin killings...BYU is led by fourth-year head coach Trent Pratt, who has led the Cougars to a 79-84 (.485) record during his time in Provo.

STREAKONOMICS: Three Wildcats enter this week's action sporting extended on-base streaks, led by outfielder Aaron Walton, who has safely reached base in each of his last 11 games. Infielders Mason White and Richie Morales have both reached base in five consecutive games. The longest active hit streak on the team also belongs to Walton, who has hit safely in five straight games. Outfielder Brendan Summerhill also boasts an active 23-game on base streak, though he is currently unavailable due to injury.

CATS COACHES: The Wildcats are led this season by fourth-year head coach Chip Hale — he was hired on July 5, 2021. Hale, the Wildcats all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases during his time in Tucson from 1984-87, brought nearly two decades of professional coaching experience to Arizona. During his collegiate career, Hale helped steer the 1986 Arizona Wildcats to their third NCAA National Championship. His professional coaching career was highlighted by a stint as the manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks (2015-16) and a World Series championship with the Washington Nationals in 2019. Hale is once again joined by assistant coaches Toby DeMello, Trip Couch, and Kevin Vance. DeMello, who joined the Wildcats from Sacramento State in 2022, was promoted from volunteer assistant into a full-time coaching role after his second season in Tucson. Since arriving, he has helped craft one of the most dangerous offenses in America, one that has averaged 7.15 runs per game and batted .289 under his guidance. Couch, one of the nation's top recruiting coordinators, joined the Wildcats in the same role in 2022 after splitting the previous 11 years between Houston and South Carolina. Across his decades of collegiate coaching experience, Couch has made 14 NCAA postseason appearances, developed 15 All-Americans, and directly coached 42 MLB Draft selections. The Wildcats newest full-time staff addition was assistant coach Kevin Vance, who arrived in Tucson prior to the 2024 season to develop the Arizona pitching staff. Vance's staff led the entire nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio and BB/9 rate last year while dropping their ERA over a run and a half, the 20th best improvement in the country. 

VITAMIN K: During a 16-inning marathon win against West Virginia on Friday, March 21 the Wildcats pitching staff tallied a program-record 29 strikeouts. The impressive mark shattered the previous program high of 21, set on April 26, 1940. The previous high-water mark of 21, accomplished 85 years ago, was solely the work of one man: Ken Heist. He struck out 21 New Mexico Lobos in a game played at Hi Corbett Field, then named Randolph Park, decades before it became the permanent home of the Wildcats. Arizona's program record 29 strikeout performance fell just two strikeouts shy of tying the NCAA record of 31.

TUCSON'S OWN: Infielder and Tucson native Mason White has slugged his way into the Arizona Baseball record books. With 10 home runs as a true freshman, a team-leading 19 last year as a sophomore, and seven more so far this year, White is now tied for fourth in program history with 36 dingers. In two-plus years he has averaged one home run every 16.61 at-bats, putting him on pace to finish with approximately 40 career home runs and rank third all-time for his hometown program. He has also cracked the Wildcats career top 10 in extra-base hits, with 88.

MAJOR LEAGUE CATS: The Arizona Wildcats are proudly represented among the Major League Baseball ranks once again this season. Six Arizona letterwinners earned spots on Opening Day rosters last month, while former standout and Golden Spikes Award winner Terry Francona returned to the game as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Arizona's six MLB players on Opening Day rosters were the second most among all Big 12 programs, trailing on Arizona State's seven.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION: Arizona infielder Mathis Meurant, who was born and raised in France, is the lone player on the Wildcats roster from outside the United States. With assistance from Jeff Duda (@INTLBaseball24 on Twitter) and the French Baseball and Softball Federation it has been confirmed that, upon his Wildcat debut on opening weekend in Arlington, Meurant became the first French player at the Power Conference level in NCAA history. Meurant originally hails from Vaires-sur-Marne, a small town just east of Paris. Following a breakout performance in week two against San Diego in which he posted a 2.200 OPS, Meurant was selected as the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week, making him the first Arizona Baseball player to receive a Big 12 weekly award.

3,000 CLUB: Arizona Baseball is one of just 10 programs in the history of college baseball to win 3,000 games. As it currently stands, Arizona is the 10th all-time winningest program in the history of the sport. The Wildcats logged their 3,000th victory with a 3-2 win over UCLA on March 29, 2024. Across time as a player (1984-87) and as a coach (2022-present), Arizona head coach Chip Hale has contributed to over 9% (286) of the program's all-time wins.

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Arizona has consistently taken advantage of the large dimensions at Hi Corbett Field since moving there in 2012 — in the decade-plus since the move off campus, the Wildcats have swatted 2,490 extra-base hits. Over that stretch, only one current members of the Big 12 Conference have tallied more extra-base hits: Texas Tech (2,657). Across 13 seasons at Hi Corbett Field as members of the Pac-12 Conference, Arizona paced the league in doubles seven times and triples eight times; they currently lead the Big 12 and the nation with 26 triples.

IRON ARM: Wildcats southpaw Eric Orloff is climbing the career charts at Arizona, currently boasting 80 games pitched in his four seasons in Tucson. Orloff is two appearances shy of moving past Ben White (1993-96) on the all-time leaderboard, the father of Eric's current teammate, Mason White.

FIRST STRIKE CAPABILITY: Arizona's pitching staff has excelled at throwing strikes in two seasons under assistant coach Kevin Vance. The Wildcats have ranked among the Top 10 teams in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio and fewest walks per nine innings pitched in each of the last two years.