Arizona shortstop Nik McClaughry took home his first Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award Tuesday morning ahead of the Wildcats' game against ASU.

McClaughry also became one of five Wildcats to be recipients of Pac-12 All-Conference, alongside Mac Bingham, Kiko Romero, Tony Bullard and Chase Davis.

“I’ve always been a good defender and it’s one of the my best attributes as a player,” McClaughry noted. “I work really hard on (my defense), so that is what I am most proud about.”

McClaughry, the 2023 Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference and Brooks Wallace award watch list member was on tear all season long for the Wildcats, logging 63 putouts, an .983 fielding percentage with only four errors.

The star infielder and the eighth seed Wildcats will look to add onto their accolades with the Pac-12 Tournament when they take on in-state rival fifth seed Arizona State beginning on Tuesday at 10 a.m. (MST) at Scottsdale Stadium.

“We’re just going out there and burning the boat,” McClaughry said. "...I think it’s important to play (the game against ASU) like any other game because you don’t want to get too caught up in that.”

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