Clockwise from top left: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s Brandon Williams, Hallie Pearson, Cate Reese, Marissa Shuld, Ya-Chun Chang, Emi Pua'a.
Each August I select the 10 leading newcomers/recruits in the UA athletic department and sometimes it gets predictable: Deandre Ayton,ÌýLauri Markkanen,ÌýAaron Gordon and on and on.
But there’s a new-look in the UA’s Class of 2018 and it begins with the most highly-touted sprinter since Olympic medalist Michael Bates entered ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in the fall of 1989.
Last week, UA track coach Fred Harvey completed the enrollment process for Texas state sprint champion Keishawn Everly of Fort Worth’s Trimble Tech High School.
Everly won the Texas 5A 100- and 200-meter championships last spring with Bates-like times. He has career bests of 10.14 in the 100 and 20.71 in the 200. Bates remains the fastest sprinter in UA history with a 10.17 clocking in 1991. Bates ran 20.53 in the 200 at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, the event in which he won a bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Everly ran a wind-aided 10.14 this year. Everly’s 20.71 in the 200 would be No. 9 in UA history.
On with the Class of 2018 list:
1. Everly. If you project normal progress, he could someday challenge the long-standing 1976 school record of 20.27, set by °Â²¹°ù»å±ð±ô±ôÌý³Ò¾±±ô²ú°ù±ð²¹³Ù³ó.
2. Marissa Schuld, softball. The national high school player of the year by , Schuld, of Phoenix Pinnacle, is, much like Jennie Finch a generation ago, a combo hitter-pitcher.
3.ÌýYa-Chun Chang, women’s golf. The Taiwanese freshman, who spent last year at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, finished ninth in the U.S. Women’s Amateur this month and will contend for playing time immediately on the UA’s defending NCAA championship team that returns all five starters.
4.ÌýCate Reese, women’s basketball. On paper, the 6-foot-3-inch Reese is the most highly-coveted women’s basketball recruit at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ since ³§³ó²¹·É²Ô³Ù¾±²Ô¾±³¦±ðÌý±Ê´Ç±ô°ì in 2001. Reese, of Cypress, Texas, was ranked as high as the No. 4 post player in the nation.
5.ÌýJames Smith Jr., hurdles. Smith’s dad is the head coach at Mesa Westwood High School, and his son could’ve gone to any place with track chops: Oregon, LSU, UCLA, you name it. But he chose ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in part because of Harvey’s history of coaching Olympic hurdlers Georganne MolineÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýSage Watson. Smith is the national Junior Olympic champion in the 400 hurdles and his time of 51.45 was third among all high school hurdlers this year.
6.ÌýBryce Collins, baseball. Could this be the franchise pitcher UA coach Jay Johnson has pursued since he was hired? It looks that way. Collins had an 0.98 ERA last season at SoCal’s Hart High School, striking out 86 in 57 innings.
7.ÌýHallie Pearson, soccer. In her recent UA debut, a 5-0 win over UTEP, Pearson, a defender, played 82 minutes, the most of any Wildcat on a veteran team returning from the NCAA round of 32. She is from Carmel, Indiana, where last year she was ranked as high as the No. 56 prospect in the country.
8.ÌýBrandon Williams, men’s basketball. The point guard from Crespi High in SoCal, Williams was the No. 16 overall recruit in ESPN’s yearly Top 100.
9.ÌýSanteri Lehesmaa, men’s golf. As coach Jim Anderson continues his rebuild of the Wildcats, he scored his first international recruiting coup by getting Lehesmaa, of Finland, who last month finished 12th in the International Amateur Championships in Germany.
10.ÌýEmi Pua’a, volleyball. Possibly the top transfer in the UA’s Class of 2018, Pua’a led Iowa Western to a No. 7 finish in the NJCAA finals. Pua’a is a libero/defensive specialist who helped Honolulu’s Punahou High School to the 2014 state title.
