So far we’ve previewed the best teams in the SEC and Big Ten, letting fans know what to expect this season from their favorite teams. This week we’re highlighting PAC-12, the matriarch conference for collegiate softball.

No other program in NCAA history, other than perhaps UCLA, comes with the rich history of the Arizona Wildcats. From Mike Candrea to Jennie Finch to Nancy Evans, Arizona is softball.

The program began in 1974 but didn’t rise to preeminence until the hire of legendary head coach Mike Candrea in 1986. Though Candrea missed the postseason his first year, he hasn’t missed one since; and it only took him two years to make his first Women’s College World Series, beginning his 16-year streak of WCWS appearances from 1988-2003. Arizona won its first of eight WCWS in 1991 and would follow with back-to-back wins in 1993 and 1994 as well as 1996 and 1997. Success continued under Candrea when Arizona won its sixth WCWS in 2001. Arizona’s consecutive streak of WCWS appearances ended in 2004 when Candrea left to coach the 2004 gold medal Olympic team in Athens. After his return in 2005, the Wildcats picked up right where they left off, winning their seventh and eighth WCWS in 2006 and 2007. Candrea would leave one more time in 2008 to coach the silver medal Olympic team in Beijing.


Storied coach Mike Candrea has coached 94 of Arizona's 95 All-Americans entering his 30th season with the Wildcats

Though Candrea and Arizona’s last WCWS was 2010, the program is second only to UCLA in national championships and boasts 11 conference championships. With super regional appearances the last two years and a legend like Candrea at the helm, the Wildcats are always a strong competitor to take it all.

If Arizona is going to rise to dominance again, they will have to do it without the five seniors they graduated from 2015, including second team All-American Chelsea Goodacre. The power-hitting catcher signed a free agent deal to play in the National Pro Fastpitch league with the USSSA Pride this past summer. Goodacre led the NCAA in runs batted in with 86 and was second on the team with 24 home runs last season.

Another key loss for the Wildcats is third team All-American and USA National Team member Kellie Fox. The shortstop started all 61 games for the Wildcats and led the team with a .400 batting average while contributing 15 home runs and 66 runs batted in on the season, good for third on the team in both categories.

The Wildcats will also feel the loss of Hailie Wilson, who lead the team in hits with 78, was right behind Fox in batting average at .394. The 2015 PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year was drafted by the USSSA Pride over the summer. Trish Parks, a freshman pitcher with the Wildcats last year, won’t be returning in 2016. The All-freshman selection last season had a 4.68 ERA with 16 wins while batting .371. Parks is reported to have left Arizona for “personal reasons.”

Even with the loss of five seniors, the Wildcats bring back plenty of offensive firepower. Leading the way is power-hitting outfielder Katiyana Mauga. The junior third team All-American led the PAC-12 in home runs last year with 26 and was behind Goodacre on the team in runs batted in with 76. Also returning for the Wildcats is junior infielder is Mo Mercado. The second baseman started all 61 games last year as a sophomore, was third on the team in hits with 63, and batted a career best .339.


Katiyana Mauga led the PAC-12 in home runs last year as a sophomore with 26

Perhaps most exciting for the Wildcats is their class of seven for 2016. Headlining the freshmen class are pitcher Taylor McQuillin and outfielder Alyssa Palomino. Teammates on the OC Batbuster Haning/Stith team, McQuillin and Palomino are considered to be one of the best pitching/power hitting recruiting combinations in the country. McQuillin, a product of the OC Batbusters Haning/Stith team, is the FloSoftball Hot 100. No 5 player and will be expected to contribute to the Arizona pitching staff immediately. Palomino is another FloSoftball Hot 100 top 10 player, earning the No. 8 spot. Palomino played with the USA Junior National team this summer and to give some perspective into this freshman’s power, she broke current NCAA career home run leader Lauren Chamberlain’s Orange County record with 18 home runs in 2014. But the Wildcats took a hit last week when Palomino reportedly suffered a knee injury that looks like it will require surgery and could force her to redshirt this upcoming season.


High School and club teammates Alyssa Palomino and Taylor McQuillin continue their softball journey together with the Wildcats

Additional rookies for the Wildcats include FloSoftball Hot 100 No. 78 player Hillary Edior, FloSoftball Hot 100 No. 86 pitcher Tamara Statman, infielder Joelle Krist, outfielder Merrilee Miller, and infielder/outfielder Monica Pasillas.