Foward Sam Thomas might be one of the most recognizable faces on the Arizona campus.

From her time on the basketball court to helping with athletic events as a student sports information director and starting up her own clothing line that coaches, players, and fans can be spotted wear around Tucson, Thomas has done everything during her time with the program. Now that time is nearing an end as the 2021-22 season approaches March.

When Thomas first arrived on campus, the state of the women's basketball program was vastly different from where it is now. At the time, she was the program's highest-ranked recruit and signed to play for Adia Barnes despite her being a second-year head coach that hadn't had a winning season.

"I chose Arizona because I bonded with the coaches at the time. After coming on my visit and meeting Adia, she was just straight-up honest with me," Thomas said, reflecting back on that decision. "And I kind of felt that trust with her being that honest with me of just letting me know that we're not going to be top of the Pac-12. We're probably not going to be very good for a while. And so, I just liked how she built that trust with me. And so, I decided just to take a chance, and I've loved every second of it since."

In that first season with the team, Thomas had her career-high scoring average of 10.2 points per game, along with 7 rebounds per game, while being named a team captain.

"I just remember a lot of losses. But I mean, honestly, like, I still had fun. It's fun being the team that has no pressure. You're just going in as the underdog, and you're expected to lose every single game," Thomas said. "So, I just went in every game, just doing the best that I could for the team. And I mean, I think I had a pretty good freshman year myself personally. So, I think that was a really big growing process for me, and especially a confidence boost being a freshman."

Although the Wildcats finished the 2017-18 season going 6-24, and were outscored by an average of 12.8 points a game, Thomas and Barnes started to build the foundation. The following season, Arizona went from near the bottom of the Pac-12 to a 24-win team that captured a WNIT title.

During the team's run to the WNIT title, McKale Center hosted each round of the tournament games the Wildcats played in, and during the championship game, hosted the largest crowd of 14,644 for a women's basketball in program history.

"It was insane, especially with it being one year difference from going to around 400-500 fans at a game to then go into a WNIT sold-out and so many fans, they're supporting us, and just kind of proving everyone that we are getting better," Thomas said. "And we are going to be a better team than we were my freshman year. So just having that experience and playing in front of everyone. That really brought the excitement back into the McKale and for women's basketball."