Five-star F Koa Peat announces commitment to Arizona
The 6-foot-8, 235-pound senior from Gilbert, Ariz., is ranked No. 8 nationally by the 247 Sports composite.
"I chose Arizona, head coach Tommy Lloyd and his staff because I know I will be pushed," Peat told ESPN. "It's a winning program, and all I want to do is win."
Peat, who made his announcement on "The Pat McAfee Show," chose the Wildcats over Arizona State, Baylor, Houston and Texas.
He is the third top-50 commitment in Arizona's 2024 class, along with forward Dwayne Aristode and guard Bryce James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James.
It is a big day for the Arizona program. The fourth-seeded Wildcats face No. 1 Duke on Thursday night in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Newark, N.J.
--Field Level Media
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
D-backs' Eduardo Rodriguez looks to stay unbeaten vs. Guardians
August 19 - Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will look to maintain his perfect career record against Cleveland when the Diamondbacks and Guardians meet in the second contest of a three-game series in Phoenix on Tuesday. Rodriguez (5-7, 5.40 ERA) is to face Guardians' right-hander Tanner Bibee (9-9, 4.54) as the Diamondbacks attempt to break a four-game losing streak. The Guardians won the series opener 3-1. C.J. Kayfus and Brayan Rocchio homered for the Guardians, who broke a three-game losing streak. "I'm just trying to make it as simple as possible," said Kayfus, who has two homers in 15 games since being promoted from Triple-A Columbus. "I try to stay even keel." Rodriguez spent much of his career in the American League before signing a four-year, $80 million free agent deal with Arizona in 2023. He is 7-0 with a 2.51 ERA in nine career starts against the Guardians. He peaked in 2023, when he was 4-0 with four quality starts in the matchup, giving up two earned runs with 29 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. Rodriguez's most recent outing against them came just more than a year ago, a 5-3 road victory on Aug. 7, 2024. It was his first appearance of that season after spending four months on the injured list with a left shoulder strain. "The fun part is being able to come right in and help the team win important games," Rodriguez said at the time. The same situation applies this time as the Diamondbacks -- and the Guardians, for that matter -- attempt to gain traction in their respective wild-card chases. Arizona is seven games out of a wild-card in the National League. Rodriguez enters after arguably his best start of the season, an 8-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday in which he gave up one run and six hits in a season-high seven innings. He struck out six and walked one. "Not making mistakes in the middle of the zone," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said as the reason for Rodriguez's success in Denver. "He can paint edges as good as anybody, in particular the two-strike, not necessarily waste pitch, but something that is going to set up the next pitch. He manipulated the baseball as good as we have seen." Bibee, looking for his third straight season of double-digit wins, has won five of his past six decisions despite a 6.00 ERA in eight starts since July 2. He has given up at least four runs in seven of those games but benefited from an offense that scored 56 runs over that span. "He battled," Cleveland manager Steven Vogt said after Bibee's recent victory over the Chicago White Sox, when he gave up four runs in the 9-5 Guardians win. "It still wasn't the sharp Tanner that we're used to seeing, but there was definitely some progress." Bibee won his only career start against the Diamondbacks, giving up three runs on seven hits in a 12-3 victory at Chase Field on June 18, 2023, in his rookie season. The Guardians remain in the race for an American League wild-card spot. They enter play Tuesday three games behind the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners. Those three teams have identical .540 winning percentages and currently hold the three wild-card positions. Cleveland is 8 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. --Field Level Media
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
D-backs 2B Ketel Marte apologizes for missing games
August 19 - Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte, reportedly under fire from within and without the Diamondbacks' clubhouse, issued an apology on Monday for missing games this year. Marte has sat out 33 games throughout the season, including the first three after the All-Star break. While Marte was participating for the National League team in the Midsummer Classic at Atlanta, his home in the Phoenix area was burglarized. Marte didn't return to the team until the second day after play resumed, and he didn't play the next day either. According to USA Today, the Diamondbacks put him on the unpaid restricted list for the first two of those games. "Initially the intent was to come back on (for the first game) and be with his team and practice," Marte said through interpreter Rolando Valles. "He wants to publicly apologize for not backing that up. I mean, he obviously knew the circumstance of his situation. He got frustrated and was in a bad spot. He truly wants to apologize for his teammates and everybody else." Marte chalked up his other absences to health issues. "He's had injuries in the past and that is a plan that is being integrated within the coaching staff and himself in order to keep him on the field ..." Valles said. "It's intended to be for recovery. In those days (off), he does everything that he needs to do in order to get himself back on the field and help the team win." Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of Marte's apology, "I'm proud of him for doing that. That's not easy for him to do, and I know he showed some vulnerability. I'm really, really proud of him for digging in the way he did." After going 1-for-5 in the Diamondbacks' 3-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Monday in Phoenix, Marte is batting .295 with a .395 on-base percentage, a .553 slugging percentage, 23 homers and 56 RBIs in 93 games. The three-time All-Star has a career .282/.352/.474 batting line with 166 homers and 571 RBIs in 11 major league seasons -- 2015 and '16 with the Seattle Mariners and the past nine years with Arizona. --Field Level Media
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Frustrations abound as Guardians visit Diamondbacks
August 18 - Two teams with separate hills to climb in their pursuit of the postseason will open a three-game series on Monday night when the Cleveland Guardians visit the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Arizona's Zac Gallen (9-12, 5.31 ERA) is expected to oppose Cleveland's Gavin Williams (7-4, 3.38) in a battle of right-handers on Monday. The Guardians have been among the hottest teams in the American League since July 7, going 23-12, but they were swept over the weekend at home by Atlanta. Cleveland resides 3 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees in the race for the final wild-card spot in the American League. "Go get 'em tomorrow," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "It was a frustrating weekend for all of us. We know we need to play better. We know we need to continue to work and continue to fight. So let's get right back out there and let's get back in the win column and get on another run." The Diamondbacks had won six of seven games before losing the final three contests of a four-game set in Colorado. They trail the New York Mets by 6 1/2 games for the final wild-card spot in the National League. "We're frustrated," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "Nobody's happy with what happened out there. We have to figure it out. As fast as you get into things, you get out of it. We can reverse it and get back in it. "We're not going to climb back into this race in one series at Coors Field. We know that. But I want us to play good baseball." Gallen has been appreciably better since the July 31 trade deadline, going 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings. After leading the league in walks in the first half of the season, he has given up only 10 in his last eight starts. "You talk about determination and maybe like a little chip on his shoulder," Lovullo said. "He doesn't want to have the type of year that is going to be anything close to average. "He's got a championship mentality, and I think he just grew tired of pitching the way that he was. He drew a line in the sand and said, 'This is my time and I'm going to go out there and start to pitch more like myself.' And it's translated." Gallen is 2-0 with a 4.12 ERA in three career starts against Cleveland. Jose Ramirez is 5-for-9 with a homer and three RBIs against him, and Steven Kwan is 4-for-9 with a double and a triple. Williams took a no-hitter into the ninth inning of the Guardians' 4-1 victory over the New York Mets on Aug. 6 before Juan Soto homered. Williams left with two outs in the inning after throwing a career-high 126 pitches. His streak of four quality starts ended in his most recent outing, when he lasted three innings in a 13-4 home loss to Miami on Wednesday. Williams gave up four runs on five hits, including two homers. "The whole body was a little fatigued," he said. "But it's still no excuse. No matter what, I should have done better than what I did." Williams, who leads the majors with 67 walks, has yet to face the Diamondbacks in his career. --Field Level Media
