Noah Fifita headlines Arizona’s presence on Big 12’s preseason All-Conference team

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita has been recognized as one of the Big 12’s most impactful returning players, earning a spot on the league’s preseason All-Conference team announced Monday ahead of media days in Frisco, Texas. The selection makes Fifita the lone Arizona representative on the preseason squad, a notable marker for a Wildcats program that has leaned heavily on his passing production over the past two seasons.

The preseason team announcement also put several other storylines in motion for the league. Big 12 Commissioner and media members voted on awards and preseason selections, including Preseason Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin of BYU, and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year A.J. Holmes Jr. of Texas Tech. Drew Mestemaker of Oklahoma State was chosen as Preseason Newcomer of the Year, underscoring how the league’s preseason voting spreads recognition beyond established front-runners.

For Arizona, Fifita’s preseason nod continues a run of career milestones already established in Big 12 play. According to reporting around the announcement, Fifita set Arizona single-season and career touchdown pass records in 2025, throwing for 3,228 yards and 29 touchdown passes as the Wildcats finished 9-4 and reached the Holiday Bowl a year after a 4-8 season. The production is central to why preseason lists have treated Fifita as the league’s high-end report-caller, rather than simply a capable starter.

The Wildcats’ quarterback status has also become a statistical storyline within the Big 12. Reporting tied to the preseason team notes Fifita is approaching Nick Foles’ career passing mark at Arizona, with 829 yards separating him from Foles’ school record of 10,111 career passing yards. It also places Fifita’s current total (9,183) among active quarterbacks behind former Big 12 passers, highlighting how the Arizona offense has been built around his arm and tempo.

Fifita’s preseason selection has additional significance because of the program history that surrounds it. As detailed in local coverage ahead of the league media days, it marks the first time Arizona has had a preseason All-Conference quarterback in school history. It also follows a winter season in which Fifita made history as the first Arizona quarterback to earn first-team all-conference honors since 1975, with the preseason honor serving as an extension of that momentum.

Arizona is not the only program with multiple presences on the preseason All-Big 12 team. Other league outlets and preseason previews describe key names across the conference, reflecting a widespread expectation that multiple teams will challenge for top-of-the-table results. Still, for the Wildcats, the preseason emphasis on Fifita functions as both a compliment and a test, because quarterback play is often the hinge on which Arizona’s offensive efficiency swings from game to game.

Going forward, the immediate watch item is how the Wildcats translate preseason recognition into early-season consistency against the Big 12’s first wave of opponents. Preseason teams are not predictive on their own, but when a quarterback is placed among the conference’s expected best, it tends to raise the internal standard and the external expectations. Arizona will likely be judged on whether it can sustain the kind of passing production that produced last season’s postseason trip.

Ultimately, the preseason All-Conference honor is another chapter in Fifita’s Arizona story, one shaped by record setting and by longevity as the Wildcats’ starter. As the Big 12 begins the 2026 season, Arizona’s offense will be expected to remain quarterback-driven, and Fifita’s performance will determine whether the preseason recognition turns into postseason relevance again.