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Most of Southern Arizona鈥檚 leading high school athletes of the last five years 鈥� including Sahuaro outfielder聽Alex Verdugo, Canyon del Oro golfer聽Chris Meyers, Salpointe Catholic basketball player聽Majok Deng, Rio Rico distance runner聽Allie Schadler聽and CDO softball player聽Kayla Bonstrom聽鈥� had one thing in common.

All were one-sport athletes.

The days of someone like聽Rodney Peete聽pitching Sahuaro High to the state baseball championship, playing a key role on the Cougars鈥� state title basketball team, and setting city passing records as a quarterback are long gone.

When the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame holds its Class of 2017 induction ceremony and banquet October 29 at the Double Tree Hotel, it will honor not only Peete (who also started at third base on USC鈥檚 baseball team while leading the Trojans to the 1988 Rose Bowl) but three of the top multi-sport athletes in Tucson history.

Santa Rita shooting guard聽Jim Pyers聽scored 50 points for the Eagles in a 1979 game against Sunnyside, and went on to star at Grand Canyon and play 12 years of European basketball. But he also was Tucson鈥檚 No. 2 high jumper of the day 鈥� he cleared 6 feet 5 inches 鈥� and was a leading runner on Santa Rita鈥檚 cross country and track teams.

Flowing Wells outfielder聽Robbie Moen, a two-time All-Pac-10 hitter at Arizona, was also one of Tucson鈥檚 leading football players in the late 1980s. He started at quarterback, safety and as a running back. He is most known for hitting .402 for Arizona in 1992, but he also threw five touchdown passes in a game against Rincon in 1987. Moen has since coached at Kansas State, Loyola Marymount and been a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays.

UA second baseman聽Ken Kurtz聽was one of the last two-sport athletes at Arizona. In addition to being selected to the 1966 All-District 7 team with future major-leaguers聽Reggie Jackson听补苍诲听Eddie Leon, Kurtz was a backup guard on Arizona鈥檚 basketball teams of the mid-'60s. After six years in the minor-leagues, Kurtz became a basketball official for 31 years in the Pac-12, WAC and Big Sky conferences, in addition to coaching for seven years at Santa Rita High School.

Peete, Kurtz, Moen and Pyers will be in Tucson for the Hall of Fame ceremonies Oct. 29. They are part of a class that also includes ex-major league sluggers聽Shelley Duncan听补苍诲听Chris Duncan聽of CDO and UA football coach聽Dick Tomey.

Believe it or not, Tomey鈥檚 best sport was baseball at Depauw University. Even while coaching Arizona鈥檚 Desert Swarm teams of the 1990s, Tomey was a catcher in a Tucson city baseball league playing against those 30 years younger and more than holding his own.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame ceremony are available at 520-244-8907 or at pcshf.tickets@gmail.com.

The top team in Tucson sports in the fall of 2017? It is once again Pima College鈥檚 men鈥檚 soccer team, coached by聽Dave Cosgrove, ranked No. 7 in the NJCAA.

The Aztecs, 11-1-3, are now 42-8-5 over the last three seasons in the most difficult soccer conference in the NJCAA. Pima has twice tied No. 4 Yavapai, and also tied No. 9 Arizona Western. When the ACCAC playoffs begin in two weeks they will essentially be a Final Four in itself; No. 14 Phoenix College last week stunned Yavapai 5-0.

Cosgrove鈥檚 club is led by Tucson High product聽Julian Gaona, who has 11 goals, and by University High grad聽Chris Cooper, who has six. The Aztecs, who were 16-3-1 and barred from playing in the Region championship game after a post-game altercation that the NJCAA later admitted was not Pima鈥檚 fault, added three significant Japanese players this season:聽Daisuke Takanaka,听Hugo Kametani聽补苍诲听Tatsuma Yuki聽have helped to make PCC a national championship contender.

When Arizona opened its fall softball schedule Friday at Hillenbrand Stadium, freshman聽Jenna Kean聽started in centerfield and batted leadoff. She went 6 for 7 in two games, and seems likely to hold that spot for a long time, even after injured outfielder聽Alyssa Palamino聽recovers from a knee injury. Kean is from Los Alamitos High School in Southern California, which produced star UA athletes聽J.T. Snow听补苍诲听Antoine Cason. The UA plays Pima College at 3 p.m. Sunday and continues its fall schedule through Oct. 26.

Pima College sophomore linebacker聽Bryant Pirtle聽is on everyone鈥檚 map in FBS football. The 6-foot 2-inch 235-pound run stopper from Louisville, Kentucky, last week was offered scholarships by Texas A&M, Arkansas, Syracuse and Toledo. Arizona and ASU have also offered Pirtle a chance to play in the Pac-12.

UA football coach聽Rich Rodriguez聽last week said the $18 million indoor facility that will primarily be used for UA football workouts, 鈥渨ill be used every day.鈥欌�� He suggested it might be available for other sports teams in Tucson, such as high school soccer and football teams training for state tournament games.聽Tony Amato鈥檚 UA women鈥檚 soccer team is also sure to benefit by working out indoors in August and September to avoid 100 degree workouts at their off-campus facility.

7 footer, 260 lbs, 43.5 inch vert 馃憖馃槇

鈥� Deandre Ayton (@RealDeandreAy)

The most impressive player-centric detail disclosed by UA basketball coach聽Sean Miller聽last week was that 7-foot freshman聽DeAndre Ayton聽has a 43 陆-inch vertical jump. 鈥淲ith his size, that means he touches the top of the backboard. I鈥檝e never seen anyone touch the top of the backboard,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had聽Aaron Gordon聽and we鈥檝e had聽Nick Johnson,鈥欌�� said Miller. 鈥淏ut to see DeAndre鈥檚 athleticism with as big as he is, you don鈥檛 often times see that.鈥�

Although it was painful to watch Arizona鈥檚 2005 All-Pac-10 kicker聽Nick Folk聽miss three field goals in Tampa Bay鈥檚 Thursday night loss to the New England Patriots, his career has been a big success. Folk was a Pro Bowl kicker for the New York Jets and made 245 of 305 career field goal attempts, or 81 percent over 10 seasons. He signed a $12 million contract with the Jets during his career and probably earned in excess of $20 million. The two most celebrated kickers in UA history,听Max Zendejas聽补苍诲听Steve McLaughlin,听can鈥檛 touch Folk鈥檚 NFL success. Zendejas, a fourth round pick in 1986, was 34 for 49 as an NFL field-goal kicker; McLaughlin, a third round draft choice in 1995, was 8 for 16 kicking in the NFL.

Jim Geist, captain of Arizona鈥檚 1959 football team, died last week in Denver. He was 79. Typical of that generation, Geist was a two-sport athlete, quarterback of the UA football team and pitcher for UA baseball teams that reached the College World Series in 1958, 1959 and 1960. His post-UA days were even more accomplished: Geist retired from the Air Force as a highly-decorated Colonel, having flown 187 missions in Vietnam and was an assistant football coach at the Air Force before leaving the service.

In her second season coaching Arizona鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball team,听Adia Barnes聽will聽benefit from the Pac-12鈥檚 more sensible approach to women鈥檚 basketball scheduling. For the first time, all 18 of Arizona鈥檚 league games will be played in a Friday-Sunday rotation, which is much preferable to playing opposite an Arizona men鈥檚 game on a Thursday or Saturday.

Honored, grateful and excited to coach the 2017-18 Team! Day 1 鉁咅煇�

— Coach Josh Pastner (@GTJoshPastner)

Last week, Georgia Tech chose a strange time to announce it will extend the contract of basketball coach聽Josh Pastner聽through the 2022-23 season. Most contract extensions are done over the summer, but once Arizona became engulfed in an FBI and NCAA recruiting scandal, Pastner obviously became one of the first mentioned as a possible successor at Arizona, should the investigation lead to a coaching change. Pastner was 21-16, reaching the NIT finals, in his first year at Georgia Tech.

Arizona鈥檚 rousing sweep of No. 15 USC Friday night at McKale Center meant that聽Dave Rubio鈥檚 volleyball team has beaten a top-25 USC or UCLA team seven years in succession. After beating the Trojans, Rubio said 鈥淭he problem is that in our conference, even if you鈥檙e playing well, it doesn鈥檛 always mean you鈥檙e winning.鈥欌�� No kidding. The current Top 25 volleyball poll includes No. 2 Stanford, No. 9 Washington, No. 13 UCLA, No. 15 USC, No. 16 Oregon, No. 17 Utah and No. 25 Colorado. The league was tough enough before Utah and Colorado were admitted in 2011; now it is ridiculous.

The shift of power in Tucson high school football hasn鈥檛 changed at the top. It鈥檚 Cienega, Salpointe Catholic and Ironwood Ridge.

All have the numbers and the tradition to compete for state championships each fall; they are a combined 18-3 this season.

The change is that Marana, with an explosive offense, and Pusch Ridge Christian, with a terrific senior class, have made a move, and should play deep into the November playoffs.

Pusch Ridge, 7-0, seems destined to meet Queen Creek's Casteel High School in the Class 3A state championship game. Pusch Ridge has about 300 students; Casteel, which is in just its third year as a school, has roughly 600 students, mostly juniors and sophomores, including 6-foot-4-inch quarterback聽Gunner Cruz, who has already been offered a scholarship by ASU.

That鈥檚 a story for another day.

Marana, which has gone 5-0 after losing tense, one-possession thrillers to Cienega and Ironwood Ridge to open the season, has since outscored five opponents 239-46, should finish the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.

I wouldn鈥檛 want to play them in November.

The collateral damage from Arizona鈥檚 alleged involvement in an FBI investigation into college basketball recruiting has begun.

Five-star recruits聽R.J. Barrett, who visited Arizona last month, has eliminated Arizona from consideration. Another five-star recruit,听Simisola Shittu聽canceled his recruiting visit to Arizona. Another elite recruit on Arizona鈥檚 must-get list,听Nassir Little, then committed to North Carolina.

Later, Class of 2019 recruit聽Scottie Lewis聽also eliminated Arizona.

Traditionally, Arizona鈥檚 most important recruiting weekend of the season, held during October鈥檚 Red-Blue Game festivities, is now full of uncertainty.

It鈥檚 also uncertain what Miller will do to replace聽Book Richardson鈥檚 spot on his coaching staff. Do you fill it with a traditional recruiting-first coach, such as previous Arizona coaches聽Jessie Evans,听Kevin O鈥橬eill听补苍诲听Josh Pastner?

There will always be a worry that someone like UCLA鈥檚聽David Grace, probably the Pac-12鈥檚 most formidable recruiter, is a step ahead of you.

Or do you add an X鈥檚 and O鈥檚 coach like聽Jim Rosborough, one whose strength is internal matters and player relationships?

If nothing else, the recruiting scandal will force Arizona and every other elite college basketball program to re-think the composition and direction of their coaching staff.