Winter is here in Arizona, and there’s plenty of sports activity. The college athletic seasons are well underway, including those at Arizona State and Grand Canyon. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns’ NBA G League affiliate, the Valley Suns, has started its season.
Here are the news and events happening around Arizona sports:
Diamondbacks announce times for all games
The Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Jan. 20, joined Major League Baseball in announcing game times for all regular season and spring training games.
Spring training home games start at 1:10 p.m. MT, starting Feb. 20. The Diamondbacks play exhibition games on March 23 and 24 at 6:40 p.m. and 12:40 p.m.
Opening Day for the regular season is on Thursday, March 26. The Diamondbacks will be in Los Angeles to open 2026 against the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers at 5:30 p.m. Phoenix time.
The Diamondbacks’ home opener is March 30 against Detroit Tigers at 7:10 p.m. Arizona will be the home team for two games in Mexico City, hosting the San Diego Padres at 3:05 p.m. on April 25 and 1:05 p.m. on April 25.
Eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado, recently acquired by the Diamondbacks in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, will return to Busch Stadium when Arizona plays four-game series against the Cardinals starting on June 11.
The Diamondbacks have series against the Dodgers in June, July and August, the home series in June and August at Chase Field.
— José M. Romero
Rising FC signs former MLS draft pick
Phoenix Rising FC on Wednesday, Jan. 21, announced it has signed Serbian defender Aleksandar Vukovic to a multi-year contract.
Vukovic moved to the United States at the age of 20 to play college soccer. The defender recorded 10 goal contributions (six goals, four assists) in 84 appearances (68 starts) across four different schools, LSU-Eunice, California-Riverside, Marshall and Duke.
Drafted by Real Salt Lake in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft following the national title run, Vukovic elected to return for one more season of college soccer, playing his graduate season at Duke.
Vukovic is the seventh defender on the Rising FC roster at present.
-Jose M. Romero
ASU pitcher named to USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List
Arizona State softball pitcher Kenzie Brown was selected to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Brown is ASU’s first representative on the watch list since Kindra Hackbarth in the 2021 season.
In 2025, Brown posted a team-high 19 wins in 35 pitching appearances to go along with 289 strikeouts, the fourth most in Division I softball and second most in the Big 12. Her 11.60 strikeouts per seven innings ranked second in the nation and first in the conference. She also matched the program’s single-game strikeout record by recording 18 strikeouts against BYU on March 6.
The Top 25 finalists for the 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced on April 29.
–Jenna Ortiz
ASU men’s tennis takes down UTSA
Arizona State men’s tennis defeated UTSA, 6-1, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at Whiteman Tennis Center.
The Sun Devils improved to a program-best 6-0 start since the program’s reinstatement. ASU is already halfway to reaching its 2024-25 win total and has hit the six-win mark more than a month earlier than in the past year.
ASU will participate in the ITA Indoor Kickoffs hosted by USD at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center in San Diego, California, spanning January 23-24.
–Jenna Ortiz
ASU gymnastics to host 50th anniversary celebration
Arizona State gymnastics will kick off Big 12 competition with No. 22 BYU coming to Desert Financial Arena on Friday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m.
The meet will celebrate 50 years of the program, welcoming alumni back to Tempe. Fans will receive a keychain at the east tunnel before the meet.
ASU faced off against the Cougars twice last season, with the Sun Devils losing the first meeting but winning the second. ASU is 13-2 all-time against BYU.
The meet will be live on ESPN+, with live scoring available on Virtius as well.
–Jenna Ortiz
ASU sophomore named Big 12 Tennis Player of the Week
Arizona State sophomore Niels Villard was named Player of the Week on Jan. 20, following three singles and four doubles wins in four dual matches. ASU’s 5-0 start to the season is the best mark since the program’s reinstatement.
After picking up three singles wins last week from the third through fifth position, Villard has a team-leading four singles wins. Villard earned the team’s first weekly honor this season.
–Jenna Ortiz