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It was 50 years ago this week that Arizona won the first of its four NCAA titles in baseball, winning the 1976 College World Series. And one of the most integral members of that championship team is finally getting his flowers.
Dave Stegman, an outfielder who played for the UA from 1973-76 and is among the school’s single-season and career leaders in several categories, is one of 21 people making up the 2026 class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. He will be formally inducted in February.
Stegman, 72, is the Arizona career leader in runs scored (287) and doubles (72) and held the mark for extra-base hits (110) until Mason White passed him last year. He’s also second in hits (321) and total bases (487), both to current UA coach Chip Hale, and holds the single-season records for runs (91), hits (111) and doubles (30).
In his senior season, Stegman hit .425 and was 3 for 4 with three RBI in the title-clinching win over Eastern Michigan.
Drafted three times, Stegman played professionally for 11 seasons and spent time in the Major Leagues with the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the University of Arizona Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981.
Stegman becomes the fourth UA player or coach to make the College Baseball Hall of Fame, joining Jerry Kindall (2007), Terry Francona (2011) and Frank Sancet (2012).
Portal update
Arizona has earned commitments from a trio of Division I transfers out of the portal as it retools the roster following a terrible 2026 season.
The most recent pickup is ex-GCU right-handed pitcher Garrett Ahern, who comes to Tucson with one season of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Ahern has spent the past two seasons as a starter for the Lopes, going 2-3 with a 5.05 ERA in 46.1 innings this past season, and as a freshman in 2024 he made a pair of relief appearances against the UA.
Arizona has also added ex-Southern Miss righty McCarty English and former Tennessee infielder Ariel Antigua as well as JUCO All-American righty Collin Cobb.
According to 64Analytics, Ahern ranks as the No. 178 player to enter the NCAA transfer portal, which remains open until the end of June.
Of the 12 UA players from the 2026 roster who have entered the portal, three has publicly announced their commitments. Righty reliever Corey Kling is headed to Auburn, utilityman Jackson Forbes is going to San Diego and catcher Roman Meyers is off to Cal Poly.
Current, future Wildcats set for draft combine
The 2026 MLB Draft is July 11-12, and only one Wildcat is for certain to get picked. That’s righty Owen Kramkowski, whom Baseball America ranks as the No. 202 overall prospect which would put him in the 5th- to 7th-round range.
Hoping to improve his stock, especially after a down junior season in which he was 1-8 with a 6.13 ERA, Kramkowski is one 335 players scheduled to participate in the MLB Draft Combine June 23-26 at Chase Field.
Also set to attend is incoming UA freshman catcher Francisco Rivero Jr., one of 140 high school players going to the combine. Rivero, who played for Canyon del Oro High School in Oro Valley, is ranked 368th on Baseball America’s list of the top 500 prep draft prospects.
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