Since taking over Arizona, head coach Tommy Lloyd has been one of the most successful up-and-coming coaches in college basketball going 112-33 over the course of the last four seasons making the NCAA Tournament each season and leading the program to three Sweet Sixteen appearances.
This past season, Lloyd and his program entered a new era of Arizona basketball with the Wildcats leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big 12 Conference. In UA’s first season in a new conference, the team went 24-13 while finishing third in the conference standings.
Mar 23, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka (30) dunks the ball against the Oregon Ducks in the first half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
In the Big 12 Tournament, the Wildcats made it to the conference title game and fell 72-64 to Houston, which would go on to play for the National Title.
Following the end to the season, Arizona lost star guard Caleb Love to graduation and forward Carter Bryant to the NBA Draft where he went No. 14 overall to the San Antonio Spurs.
Plus, Arizona saw two key players in KJ Lewis and Henri Veesaar leave the program and transfer to Power 4 programs.
Despite that, Arizona will be fully loaded again with four key returners in Jaden Badley, Tobe Awaka, Anthony Dell’Orso and Motiejus Krivas. Plus, Lloyd and his staff signed the No. 2 recruiting class according to 24/7 Sports.
Now, Arizona is locking in on the recruiting trail again and working to put together another high-level class for the 2026 recruiting cycle.
Mar 23, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) drives to the basket against Oregon Ducks guard TJ Bamba (5) in the first half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Lloyd and his staff always make sure to turn over every rock and even go back to check on the status of high-level recruits across the country to see if they can get a footing in the recruitment.
When looking at 24/7 Sports’ breakdown of five-star guard Caleb Holt out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Arizona is cold on his recruiting list and he doesn’t have a visit setup to come to Tucson.
Well, while on the road for recruiting, Lloyd and his staff made sure to drop by Prolific Prep showing that they have an interest in Holt and his talents.
Now, Arizona clearly has a massive mountain to climb when it comes to the recruitment of Holt. However, the Wildcats have proven to be able to get in the mix for massive recruits when others think they are out of the conversation.
It will be interesting to see if Holt schedules a visit to Tucson sometime for the regular season of college basketball. If so, it shows that the trip to Florida by Lloyd might’ve helped get the WIldcats back in the mix.
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