A familiar face was seen courtside Wednesday night as the Bearcats took on the Arizona Wildcats.With only a few weeks left until putting the spikes back on, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona spent one of his final offseason evenings taking in some college basketball, watching his new hometown team.However, it was Cincinnati’s opponent he was supporting. Francona sat courtside for the Bearcats’ 77-51 loss to the top-ranked Wildcats, supporting his alma mater less than 20 days out from Cincinnati’s pitchers and catchers reporting to Goodyear. His ties to the Copper State run deep.A 2011 member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, Francona starred for ‘Zona from 1978-80, winning the College World Series in 1980 with the Wildcats en route to winning the Golden Spikes Award (given to the top amateur player in the country).That season, he hit .401, and hit .458 at the CWS. In addition to winning the Golden Spikes, he was named the College Player of the Year by The Sporting News. His efforts earned him the No. 22 overall selection in the MLB draft, taken by the Montreal Expos.A resident of Tucson, Arizona in the offseason, Francona takes in games at his alma mater from time to time. Two seasons ago, he attended a game against UCLA and in 2023 he was courtside for a game against Wisconsin.Reds pitchers and catchers will report to Goodyear for spring training by Feb. 9, a bit of an earlier start to the season, thanks to the World Baseball Classic being contested in March.Cincinnati’s first spring training game of the year will be on Saturday, Feb. 21, against the Cleveland Guardians.

TUCSON, Ariz. —

A familiar face was seen courtside Wednesday night as the Bearcats took on the Arizona Wildcats.

With only a few weeks left until putting the spikes back on, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona spent one of his final offseason evenings taking in some college basketball, watching his new hometown team.

However, it was Cincinnati’s opponent he was supporting.

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Francona sat courtside for the Bearcats’ 77-51 loss to the top-ranked Wildcats, supporting his alma mater less than 20 days out from Cincinnati’s pitchers and catchers reporting to Goodyear.

His ties to the Copper State run deep.

A 2011 member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, Francona starred for ‘Zona from 1978-80, winning the College World Series in 1980 with the Wildcats en route to winning the Golden Spikes Award (given to the top amateur player in the country).

That season, he hit .401, and hit .458 at the CWS. In addition to winning the Golden Spikes, he was named the College Player of the Year by The Sporting News. His efforts earned him the No. 22 overall selection in the MLB draft, taken by the Montreal Expos.

A resident of Tucson, Arizona in the offseason, Francona takes in games at his alma mater from time to time. Two seasons ago, he attended a game against UCLA and in 2023 he was courtside for a game against Wisconsin.

Reds pitchers and catchers will report to Goodyear for spring training by Feb. 9, a bit of an earlier start to the season, thanks to the World Baseball Classic being contested in March.

Cincinnati’s first spring training game of the year will be on Saturday, Feb. 21, against the Cleveland Guardians.