520 Day: These Tucson-bred athletes have stood out in the last year (2024)

Tucson’s birthday isn’t for another three months, but that shouldn’t deter us from celebrating the Old Pueblo and the high-profile athletes the city has produced.

So for “520 Day” on Monday — May 20 — we’ll take a look at five Tucson athletes who are impacting their sports of choice, in addition to 20 others who have done the Old Pueblo proud.

One caveat: Our list is limited to Tucsonans, not Arizona Wildcats or local pro athletes who were born and raised elsewhere.

Here’s our list:

The 5

Roman Bravo-Young: Bravo-Young qualified for the Olympics in March and will represent Mexico in the Paris games this summer. Bravo-Young qualified at the Pan-American Olympic event that features countries from North America (including the Caribbean) and South America. Only two spots are available for each weight class, and Bravo-Young, who has dual citizenship because his grandparents were born in Mexico, secured the final spot for the 125-pound weight class. The Olympics become the next chapter in Bravo-Young’s storied wrestling career, which includes four state championships and an unblemished 182-0 record at Sunnyside High School, along with two national championships at Penn State.

Audrey Jimenez: Jimenez made history and became the first female in Arizona history to win a wrestling state championship in a boys division. Jimenez’s milestone triumph in late February came after she won three straight championships at the girls level. The Pima County Board of Supervisors officially declared April 2 “Audrey Jimenez Day.” Last month, Jimenez was the only high school wrestler at the Olympic Trials at Penn State, where Team USA trains. Jimenez advanced to the 50kg freestyle finals, but lost to Olympic medalist and 30-year-old Sarah Hildebrandt. Jimenez has aspirations to wrestle in the Olympics and recently signed to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

Jordan Morgan: The former Arizona Wildcats star left tackle was taken by the Green Bay Packers at No. 25 overall in the first round of the NFL Draft. Morgan is the highest-selected draft pick from the UA since 1999, when cornerback Chris McAlister was chosen by the Baltimore Ravens at No. 10. The last Arizona offensive lineman to land in the first round was fellow Tucson native John Fina in 1992. Morgan is also the first Marana High School graduate drafted to the NFL since running back Paul Robinson was drafted 82nd overall in the third round of the 1968 draft; Robinson is the granduncle of Bijan Robinson, was chosen by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of last year’s draft. It’s the first time ever that two Tucson-area natives have been selected in the first round of back-to-back NFL Drafts.

Bijan Robinson: The highest-selected Tucsonan in NFL Draft history, settled into his NFL career right away and became a finalist for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, but fell short to Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud. Robinson had 214 rushing attempts for 946 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to 487 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Delaney Schnell: We’re jumping the gun on this one due to the fact that Schnell has been training for the Paris Olympics over the last 12 months, but all eyes will be on the former Tucson High Badger, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Schnell ended her diving career at the UA last year with a platform national championship and was named Pac-12 Diver of the Year for the third straight season.

Other 20

The Berryhill brothers: Stanley Berryhill III, a former Wildcat and NFL wide receiver and “gunner,” signed with the CFL’s BC Lions in British Columbia, Canada. His three younger brothers, Savaughn, Shamar and Romeo, helped the Sabino Sabercats win their first state championship since 1998. Savaughn Berryhill and Shamar Berryhill each caught a touchdown pass in the Class 3A state championship. Shamar Berryhill ranked fourth in Arizona last season with 1,392 yards.

The Bourguet siblings: Rylen Bourguet, a former seven-time state champion soccer and volleyball player at Salpointe Catholic, stepped away from the Arizona State beach volleyball program to focus on her flag football career and has aspirations to play for Team USA in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Trenton Bourguet, the oldest of the Bourguet siblings, threw for 1,486 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions as a fifth-year player. Bourguet is returning to ASU for his final season and will compete with transfers Jeff Sims (Nebraska) and Sam Leavitt (Michigan State) for the starting quarterback job this season. Sun Devils receiver Coben Bourguet recently graduated from the ASU engineering school with honors, and quarterback Treyson Bourguet transferred from Western Michigan to BYU.

Alex Bowman: The former Ironwood Ridge Nighthawk, who is succeeding Jimmie Johnson as the driver of the iconic No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports, ranks ninth in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.

Ka’Deem Carey: The former Wildcat and All-American rushed for 2,855 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns with 90 receptions for 732 receiving yards and one score in 44 career games with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL. Carey is signed with the Toronto Argonauts for the upcoming season.

Bryce Cotton: The Perth Wildcats star received the Andrew Gaze Trophy as Australia’s National Basketball League’s Most Valuable Player for the fourth time of his career, which is the second-most in NBL history behind Gaze. Cotton led the NBL in scoring and averaged 23.1 points and 4.3 assists per game.

Bruno Fina: The former Salpointe offensive lineman started 13 games at left tackle for the UCLA Bruins last season, before transferring to Duke.

Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles: DFF was a special teams standout and backup linebacker for a San Francisco 49ers team that went to the Super Bowl and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. Former Sabino tight end Matt Bushman won his second straight Super Bowl as a member of the Chiefs practice squad.

Nick Gonzales: The former Cienega star and first-round pick made his big-league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates last June and finished the season with a .209 batting average, 24 hits, 13 RBIs and two home runs. After getting called up again last week, the second baseman has a .265 batting average and nine hits in 10 games.

Leo Gutierrez: The junior forward for the Salpointe boys soccer team tallied a hat trick to upend Mica Mountain for the 4A state championship. The Lancers’ fourth straight state title set a big-school Arizona record.

Cameron Hackworth: The Sabino quarterback passed for 3,871 yards, 40 touchdowns and interceptions while running for 908 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior and led the Sabercats to their first state in 25 years. Hackworth ended his Sabino career as Southern Arizona’s all-time passing leader with 8,799 yards and 97 touchdowns.

KJ Lewis: The one-time Tucson resident, who finished his high school career in Texas, averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds off the bench for UA basketball. After testing the NBA Draft waters, Lewis opted to return for his sophomore season. Lewis is expected to have a starting role for the Wildcats next season.

Kayden Luke: The CDO running back and linebacker led the state in rushing yards (2,302) yards and helped the Dorados to a perfect 14-0 season en route to a 4A state championship. Luke had 217 yards and two touchdowns in the state title game. Luke is also a state champion at wrestling and signed to play for the UA football team as a preferred walk-on.

Lathan Ransom: The former Salpointe safety had 34 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ransom returned to start for OSU’s defensive secondary in 2024.

Elijah Rushing: One of the highest-rated football recruits in Tucson history flipped his commitment from the hometown Wildcats to Oregon in the fall, and is the only five-star signee in the Ducks’ 2024 recruiting class. The 6-6, 251-pound Rushing is rated by 247Sports.com as the third-best edge rusher for ’24.

Kelsey Slade: The Cienega graduate is one of the top gymnasts nationally and recently signed with the Oklahoma Sooners, a program that has won six national championships since 2014.

Carlie Scupin: On Senior Day, the former Tucson High Badger smacked a walk-off hit to beat rival Arizona State and complete the sweep of the Sun Devils, which was also the final Pac-12 softball series at Rita Hillenbrand Stadium. Scupin and the Wildcats are advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals.

Alex Verdugo: The Boston Red Sox traded the ex-Sahuaro standout to the New York Yankees, where he had to shave his beard due to the club’s rule that prohibits players from having facial hair (other than mustaches). In his first season with the Yankees, Verdugo is batting .244 and has 21 RBIs and five home runs as their left fielder.

Vivien Villarreal: The sophomore at Walden Grove scored the match-tying and match-winning goal to help the Red Wolves beat Salpointe in the 4A girls soccer state championship. Villarreal’s two goals placed her ahead of Meredith Scott for most goals (48) in a season for WGHS. Walden Grove ended the season with a 20-0-1 record.

Levi Wallace: Wallace, who played five years with the Buffalo Bills after going undrafted out of Alabama, recently finished his sixth season in the NFL with 38 tackles and two interceptions in 16 games; he has 306 tackles, 12 interceptions and 54 pass breakups over his career. Wallace signed with the Denver Broncos after two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mason White: The standout sophomore shortstop has two walk-offs this season for the Arizona baseball team, the last-ever Pac-12 regular-season champions. White’s first walk-off was a single against Washington State at Hi Corbett Field and then a two-run home run to complete the sweep of UCLA — both games were in extra innings. White is third in the Pac-12 with 60 RBIs and is tied for third in the conference with 17 home runs this season. Fellow Tucsonan and former Ironwood Ridge standout Andrew Cain has 23 starts at first base for the Wildcats this year.