Arizona Gets Cut from Elite 2025 Guard's Updated Top Schools List

The Arizona women's basketball program will likely have to go back to the drawing board after getting excluded from the top schools.

Feb 7, 2020; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Adia Barnes watches from the sideline against the Oregon Ducks during the first half at Matthew Knight Arena / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona is searching for their first national championship in women's basketball in program history. They came close in 2021, finishing as the runner-ups to Stanford when their last second heave hit the back of the rim at the buzzer and didn't go through the hoop.

Since that point, they've made the NCAA Tournament in all three subsequent seasons but have failed to advance past the Round of 32.

Getting to the top of the sport is difficult when powerhouses like UConn, South Carolina, LSU, and others are constantly getting elite talent from the high school ranks, and in this new era, poaching through the transfer portal.

That's why it's important Adia Barnes is able to start stacking together some great recruiting classes of her own.

The ninth-year head coach is hoping to get off to a good start in the 2025 class, having made the top schools list of a talented four-star who is starting to focus on which teams and coaching staffs she would like to play for at the college level.

Unfortunately, they couldn't pair together good news on the recruiting trail as another one of their targets, Holland Harris, updated her top schools list and didn't include the Wildcats.

Back in February, the six teams she listed was Arizona, Florida, Miami, Stanford, Tennessee, and USC, but now per Talia Goodman of On3, the final list consists of Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Miami, and Stanford.

Harris has set up official visits to four of those five programs already and is in the process of scheduling one to Florida.

The 6-foot-2 guard plays for Montverde Academy down in Florida, winning the state championship in 2023 and continuing to dominate the AAU circuit this summer.

She's looking to move fast in this process, hoping to make her commitment in the fall before her senior season starts. Her official visits begin this month and carry over through October.

Ultimately, this one is a tough pill to swallow for the Wildcats as Harris is the No. 42 overall player in her class according to ESPN's rankings and they were in the running for a long time before getting cut.

Now, Barnes and her staff will have to turn their attention elsewhere to land their first recruit in the 2025 class.