• Slug: Sports-Mercury Draft Preview, 1,300 words.
• Photo available.

By Justin de Haas
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The 2024 WNBA Draft is garnering plenty of excitement off the heels of record-high viewership from the 2024 Women’s NCAA Final Four, but the Phoenix Mercury will not participate in much of the action.

The NCAA Championship game April 7 drew 18.7 million viewers –nearly four million more viewers than the men’s championship – and the momentum keeps rolling Monday with the 2024 WNBA Draft.

The NCAA Tournament interest was fueled by the success of Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who is expected to go No. 1 to the Indiana Fever in today’s draft. But there were other generational stars in the tournament who also will be among the top players in today’s draft, including Stanford forward Cameron Brink, South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso, Connecticut forward Aailiya Edwards and Louisiana State center Angel Reese. Continue reading “WNBA Draft Day arrives, but Phoenix Mercury’s splash already made in Kahleah Copper trade”

• Slug: Sports-WNBA Draft Impact, 1,250 words.
• Photo available.

By Tia Reid
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Just eight days separate the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship game and Monday’s WNBA Draft, meaning players from teams who made it far into the tournament have had just a little over a week to reset and turn their attention to the next phase of their careers.

While the turnaround may be short, it can also have its benefits. Players who put up stellar performances in the later stages of March Madness can leave a lasting impression in the minds of WNBA general managers and executives. Draft stocks can shoot up and solidify based on the way a player performs in the final few games of their collegiate careers, drastically changing the outlook on their professional careers.

“I think body of work is always important because consistency is something that’s important, but I do think that there’s something to be said about meeting the moment,” ESPN basketball analyst Andraya Carter said. “And in a very high-pressure situation, performing well and doing exactly what your team needs for success when there are times where you could fold or there are times where the pressure could be too much.” Continue reading “How 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament affected WNBA Draft stock for collegiate superstars”

• Slug: Sports-Saguaro Beach Volleyball, 850 words.
• Photo available.

By Brett Lapinski
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE – One year ago, Saguaro High School’s beach volleyball team broke the mold for the program with its first playoff appearance, which included a first-round upset over No. 5 seed Valley Christian before losing a 3-2 heartbreaker in the quarterfinals to Northwest Christian. With this year’s playoffs slated to begin Tuesday afternoon, the Sabercats are in prime position for a title run just one season after their first playoff berth.

Saguaro enters the 2024 AIA Beach Volleyball Division II State Team Championship playoffs as the No. 6 seed behind a program-best 10-2 regular season and will face No. 11 AZ College Prep (10-3) in the first round.

Even though the Sabercats ended last season on a high note, they entered this season with multiple question marks. The first question was how would the team perform under new coach David Mietzner, who replaced Tim Church in the offseason. Mietzner came in with plenty of indoor volleyball coaching experience, but he knew beach volleyball is not the same playing field. Luckily for him, he happened to be friends with the most decorated high school beach volleyball coach in Arizona: Tim McHale. McHale has amassed eight championships during his current tenure at Xavier College Prep, so Mietzner knew if there was anyone to help him dip his toes into the beach volleyball coaching world, it would be McHale. Continue reading “Saguaro beach volleyball rides stellar season into promising playoff run”

• Slug: Sports-Brewers Hometown Teammates, 1,300 words.
• 2 file photos available.

By David Bernauer
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Familiarity may breed contempt, but not for pitchers JB Bukauskas and Taylor Clarke. They’ve found that, when entering a new situation for the first time, perhaps it’s better to have someone you know on your side.

Bukauskas and Clarke both hail from the same hometown, Ashburn, Virginia, and the two are both pitchers within the Milwaukee Brewers organization. The Brewers will look to them among others as they retool their pitching staff following the trade of 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and a season-ending injury to Brandon Woodruff.

While Ashburn may be a typical Washington D.C. suburb, the town of about 45,000 people isn’t historically a baseball hotbed. Continue reading “Reunited: From Ashburn to Arizona to Milwaukee, pitchers JB Bukauskas and Taylor Clarke together again”

• Slug: Sports-Coyotes Outside Noise, 950 words.
• 2 photos available.

By Sean Brennan
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Shortly after Wednesday’s overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes players celebrated in the visitors’ dressing room in the bowels of Rogers Arena.

Forward Liam O’Brien handed a football meant to symbolize a “game ball” given to the squad’s best player that night to rookie forward Logan Cooley, who scored the game-winning goal, as cheers from his teammates filled the room. Amid the endless saga of recent relocation rumors, the latest of which came Wednesday and hinted at the franchise potentially relocating to Salt Lake City, none of it seemed to matter during that very moment.

While much of the sports world was riveted by rampant speculation that this might be the team’s final season in Arizona, the players seemed unfazed by the off-ice drama. After all, they’d just taken the Canucks, one of the NHL’s elite teams this season, to overtime before Cooley lit the lamp with just over a minute left in the frame to cement a 4-3 victory. Continue reading “Blocking the noise: Arizona Coyotes aim to limit outside distractions, finish season strong”

• Slug: Sports-Pat’s Run, 800 words.
• 3 photos available.

By Hannah Pedeferri
Cronkite News

TEMPE – In what has become an April ritual and a highlight of the Valley’s sports scene, approximately 30,000 people will flood the streets around Arizona State’s Tempe campus Saturday morning to participate in the 20th annual Pat’s Run, honoring fallen hero Pat Tillman.

As of Friday morning, more than 24,000 people had registered for the race, while more than 4,000 people signed up to participate virtually.

The 4.2-mile run was first held in 2005 by friends and family who wanted to honor the legacy of Tillman, a linebacker for Arizona State (and later an Arizona Cardinals safety for four seasons) who wore No. 42 for the Sun Devils while leading ASU to the Rose Bowl in 1997. Continue reading “‘We’re here because Pat lived’: Tempe gears up for 20th annual Pat’s Run, in honor of Pat Tillman”

• Slug: Sports-Cactus League Attendance, 900 words.
• Photo available.

By Sammy Nute
Cronkite News

PEORIA – To trace the success of this spring’s Cactus League, look no further back than the 2023 World Series, when the Texas Rangers blanked the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-0, in Game 5 at Chase Field to win the championship.

Fast forwarding from the Fall Classic, the residual effects produced one of the best fan turnouts at spring training since 2019, with hordes of people flocking to Arizona to get the first look at the reigning World Series champions, the runner-up and, of course, Shohei Ohtani, Major League Baseball’s biggest star.

Cactus League executive director Bridget Binsbacher announced that 1,630,436 attendees across the league’s 216 games marked the most since before the pandemic, an increase of over 65,000 fans from last year. For the 11th straight season, the Chicago Cubs topped attendance as Sloan Park’s 10th season saw a total of 241,215 baseball fans walk through the turnstiles throughout the spring.  Continue reading “Cactus League announces highest attendance total since pre-pandemic”

• Slug: Sports-Rhys Hoskins MDA, 1,900 words.
• 3 photos available.

By Grace Del Pizzo
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – In 2017, Rhys Hoskins made his MLB debut with the Philadelphia Phillies, and over the next six seasons, he became a fixture as the team’s first baseman. He served as the organization’s bridge from an 11-year postseason drought to achieving long-awaited playoff success in 2022. Just three months ago, he signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, leaving Philly fans who had grown attached to his dedication and personality distraught.

Before all that, however, he was just a student at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California who had to earn 50 community service hours to graduate. He signed up to be a camp counselor at a nearby summer camp run by the Muscular Dystrophy Association to meet the requirement, but what began as an obligation in the eyes of a teenager became so much more.

“I was assigned a camper that I was there to help with (his) care, but also to show him what summer camp is like,” Hoskins said. “And I just fell in love with the community that was there to bring some sort of normalcy to these kids’ lives, but also give a chance for caregivers and parents to have a break. It’s a full-time job, with these kids that are living with these neuromuscular diseases, full-time job for caregivers.” Continue reading “From Phillies hero to championing muscular dystrophy awareness, Rhys Hoskins’ journey is one of heart, home runs”

• Slug: Sports-ASU Running Backs, 850 words.
• 3 photos available.

By Justin de Haas
Cronkite News

TEMPE – “Skattebo, Skatte-can, Skatte-touchdown!”

Those were the words of Fox Sports college football play-by-play announcer Tim Brando when Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo broke through two missed tackles to scamper in for a 52-yard touchdown against USC last season.

That was a breakout moment for Skattebo, who finished the season as the team’s leading rusher with 783 rushing yards and the third-most receiving yards (286). In a rebuilding 3-9 season, the performances from the ASU running back room was a silver lining amid the struggles. Continue reading “‘There ain’t no soft-baked cookies’: Arizona State taps transfer portal with running backs primed to reverse backslide”