When head coach Adia Barnes arrived, Arizona recruiting classes were not ranked. The Wildcats didn’t regularly pull in top 100 players let alone top 35. Those things started to change in 2017 when Sam Thomasa arrived. The next season, Arizona had the No. 14 class in the country according to ESPN HoopGurlz. Cate Reese, ranked No. 12 by HoopGurlz, became the highest-ranked recruit to ever sign. Those “highest-ranked ever” marks have now been bested.
“I’m really excited to see where this program is gonna go after I’m gone,” Thomas said. “We have a lot of good kids coming in.