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“I’m sure hearing a lot about Will Smith,� he said, and then cited a roll-call of Tucson’s elite baseball players of the previous century: Ron Hassey, Eddie Leon, Frank Castro, Paul Moskau, Ed Vosberg, Mark Carreon, Chad Cislak, Tavo Alvarez, Shelley Duncan, Alex Kellner and a few more.

Adkins’ credibility was unchallenged. He coached the 1972 Tucson High Badgers to a perfect 25-0 season, the best in Tucson history.

Smith, an outfielder-pitcher at Palo Verde, had a junior season in 1999 that was unsurpassed in Tucson baseball history, hitting .599 with a still-standing city record 17 home runs and 60 RBIs. He struck out once in 122 plate appearances.

I remembered Adkins’ endorsement of Smith when I began assembling the Star’s All-Quarter Century High School Baseball Team, 2000-25. I had forgotten how good Smith was in 2000. Was it good enough that one season would qualify him for our All-Quarter Century team?

It was. Smith hit .544 with 14 home runs in 2000. Not only that, he led the city with a pitching ERA of 1.34, with 117 strikeouts. He also stole 10 bases and led the Titans to the Class 4A state semifinals.

He was then named Arizona’s Gatorade Player of the Year. No Tucson prep baseball player has won that award since.

Smith made our 20-man team easily. The only other Tucson baseball players to be the Gatorade Player of the Year since its inception in 1986, are Tucson High’s Alvarez, 1990; Sabino’s Cislak, 1997, and Salpointe’s Ben White, 1992, father of Arizona star shortstop, Mason White.

Our All-Quarter Century High School Baseball Team includes a nine-man lineup, three pitchers and 10 reserves. We also selected 15 honorable mention players and, frankly, that list could’ve been double or triple that.

LINEUP

First base: Nick Ames, Canyon del Oro (2013-15)

Ames set a Tucson record with 68 RBIs in 2015, and was a first-team all-state pick. He was an All-Tucson selection in 2014 and 2015. He went on to a productive all-MWC career for the UNLV Rebels.

Second base: Mike Brownstein, Sahuaro (2003-05)

As a Cougar senior, Brownstein led Tucson with a .490 batting average, with 35 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. It wasn’t a fluke; he went on to be the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year in 2009 at New Mexico.

Shortstop: J.J. Hardy, Sabino (2000-01)

In his senior season, Hardy not only hit .426 for the Sabercats, he recorded eight saves as a relief pitcher. A flawless fielder, Hardy would go on to win three Gold Gloves as the shortstop of the Baltimore Orioles in a 15-year MLB career in which he twice made the American League All-Star team.

Third base: Zach Malis, Desert Christian (2012-15)

In a four-year career at the 1A powerhouse, Malis hit .548 with 97 extra-base hits and 222 RBIs. Malis was also 29-3 as a pitcher. He still holds 1A state records in career hits, RBI runs and pitching wins. He played at Grand Canyon (he was All-WAC in 2018) and three years in the minor leagues. His Desert Christian teams went 86-7 in four years and won three state titles.

Outfield: Chris Moon, Tucson (2004-07)

The 2006 Tucson Player of the Year, Moon hit .467 as an outfielder but was also 6-1 as a pitcher with a 1.32 ERA. After signing with Arizona, Moon chose to enter the Army. Tragically, he died from wounds sustained when he stepped on a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2010.

Outfield: Will Smith, Palo Verde (2000)

After his record-setting high school career, Smith chose to sign with the Miami Marlins over a scholarship offer from ASU. He played seven seasons in the minor leagues, capped by two years with Triple-A Oklahoma.

Outfield: C.J. Ziegler, Canyon del Oro (2002-04)

A power hitter with few equals, Ziegler hit .595 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs for the Dorados in ’04. He hit 31 career homers, second to Smith in Tucson prep history. He became a two-year starter at Arizona, an All-Pac-10 choice on the UA’s 2008 NCAA regional final team.

Designated-hitter: Alex Verdugo, Sahuaro (2014)

Verdugo, now an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, was equally skilled as a pitcher as he was hitting. He hit .532, .484, .476 and .452 in four years as a starting outfielder. As a pitcher, he went 26-9, including 10-0 as a junior. His team won 88 games in four seasons.

Catcher: Donny Sands, Cienega/Salpointe (2015)

We squeezed Sands onto the first team as a catcher, where he reached the big leagues with the Yankees and Tigers. In high school, he mostly played shortstop and pitched. As a Salpointe senior he hit .451 with 36 RBIs, he also pitched, with six saves and 38 strikeouts in 24 innings.

Pitcher: Tyler Fallwell, Palo Verde (2014)

When the Titans won the 2014 state championship, Falwell was 9-0 with a 1.24 ERA , striking out 98 in 68 innings. He also hit .392 with 38 RBIs when he played second base.

Pitcher: Ryan Schroyer, Canyon del Oro (2000)

The ace of the Dorados’ 2000 state championship team, Schroyer was 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA. He went on to be the closer for ASU and San Diego State.

Pitcher: Tom Wilhelmsen, Tucson (2000-02)

An intimidating figure at 6-6 and 210 pounds, Wilhelmsen was Tucson’s co-player of the year in 2002, going 11-3 for the Badgers. His ERA was 1.60. He was named the state’s No. 3 overall draft prospect and played seven years for the Mariners, Rangers and Diamondbacks.

RESERVES

Nick Gonzales, Cienega (2017)

Before he became a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020, Gonzales hit .543 as a Bobcat senior shortstop. He had 89 RBIs in 111 career games.

Nicco Blank, Catalina (2011)

When the Trojans won the 2011 state championship, Blank was 10-3 with two saves and also hit .327 with 20 stolen bases.

Dan Slania, Salpointe (2010)

Slania reached the major leagues with the San Francisco Giants, creating that path by hitting .406 with 39 RBIs as a Salpointe senior. When not hitting, Slania struck out 89 batters in 2010, and became a standout pitcher at Notre Dame.

Seth Mejias-Brean, Cienega (2009)

The former San Diego Padres third baseman and star infielder for Arizona’s 2012 NCAA championship team hit .409, .388 and .351 in three years at Cienega, with 101 hits and 42 extra base hits.

T.J. Steele, Canyon del Oro (2005)

On CDO’s 2005 team, Steele, an outfielder, hit .472 with 10 home runs and 22 stolen bases, capping a remarkable prep career. He went on to be a star outfielder at Arizona.

Joseph Serrano, Salpointe (2011)

In 2011, Serrano hit .544 with 62 RBIs and a state-record 26 doubles. He also hit .405 as a junior and .455 as a sophomore.

Preston Clifford, Sabino (2019)

Helping the Sabercats win two state titles, Clifford hit .422 as a senior and .415 as a junior and also was 3-2 as a starting pitcher with a 1.07 ERA. He played college ball at Washington State.

Isaiah Jackson, Cienega (2022)

The slick-fielding centerfielder made the All-Big 12 team at Arizona State this year with 17 home runs. As a senior at Cienega in 2022, he hit .506 with 24 extra-base hits.

Brian Anderson, Canyon del Oro (2000)

Perhaps the best two-way player in modern Tucson prep history, Anderson was a starting centerfielder and rotation pitcher for CDO’s 2000 state championship team, and then did similar work at Arizona for three seasons, becoming a first-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox, No. 17 overall.

Luis Gonzalez, Catalina Foothills (2014)

In his final two seasons at Foothills, Gonzalez hit .477 and .492 with 13 home runs. After playing at New Mexico, an All-Mountain West conference selection, he spent three seasons with the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants.

COACH

Jason Hisey

The former UA baseball pitcher’s journey through the last quarter century took him to five state championship games. He won it all in back-to-back seasons at CDO, 2023 and 2024. That ended his long heartache from losses in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 state title games as head coach at Catalina Foothills, seasons in which his Falcons went 33-3, 27-4 and 26-5. Hisey has gone 335-101 in high school coaching the last 25 years (including two seasons at Ironwood Ridge). He also spent seven years as the head coach at Pima College. In total, he has won 642 games at those Tucson schools.