Arizona was a win away from returning to the College World Series two seasons ago.

The Wildcats lived a nightmare last season.

Arizona had suspensions, academic issues and of course on top of those things, key injuries that set them back even further last season.

The Wildcats hope to move forward sooner rather than later. Accomplishing that goal, though, could be incredibly difficult.

'Zona will enter the spring without six key hitters from last year's team. It also must find a way to replace several key arms, including ace pitcher Preston Guilmet and relievers Jason Stoffel and Cory Burns.

Perhaps you could say the Wildcats will have a solid core of hitters coming back in the spring. But on the mound, this team has much to prove.

First, coach Andy Lopez needs to restore order.

Arizona's five keys

1. Build a strong foundation -- If you build a house on a foundation full of cracks, there's a good chance the house eventually will fail. The same theory applies to the Wildcats. Arizona had several issues last season. They had injuries, suspensions and academic issues. The injury part is out of the players' control. However, suspensions and academic issues can be avoided. It's not too hard to go to class this day and age. Lopez had a team filled with great leaders two seasons ago, but last season was a completely different story. Before Arizona even thinks about returning to a regional in the spring, it first must find leaders and take care of business off the field. Everything else will take care of itself. At least you hope.

2. Stay healthy -- The Wildcats were unable to stay healthy last season and that hurt them. Arizona finished last season with an unimpressive 5.46 ERA and could've used pitchers Matt Chaffee and Ryan Doyle. However, both pitchers were injured for much of last season. Chaffee made just eight appearances and Doyle made just three. The Wildcats had additional injuries last season, but at least a couple of those players have since left the program. Still, the Wildcats will have a tough time returning to normal in the spring if they don't stay healthy. Staying injury free is a huge key to the '10 campaign.

3. Replace the Big Three on the mound -- The Wildcats certainly return a couple talented pitchers in the spring, but replacing Preston Guilmet, Cory Burns and Jason Stoffel won't be easy. It may be an impossible chore to accomplish the next few months. Guilmet started 14 games last season and had a 3.74 ERA 91 1/3 innings, Burns made 40 appearances and had a 3.80 ERA in 47 1/3 innings and Stoffel made 39 appearances and had a 4.67 ERA in 54 innings. Overall, the Wildcats lost 94 innings from last year's team. That's simply a staggering number, but a reality the Wildcats must deal with. Daniel Workman and Joe Allison are a pair of pitchers the Wildcats can count on for the spring. Bryce Bandilla and Kyle Simon also showed some positive signs last season. This unit, though, has much work to do between now and February.

4. Create more pitching depth -- In addition to the lack of consistency that plagued the pitching staff last season, the Wildcats also had little depth. That has to change for this team to make a return to an NCAA regional in the spring. The Wildcats will receive a boost from the returns of Chaffee and Doyle, but needs others to rise to the occasion. There's a good chance newcomers Nick Cunningham, Tyler Hale and Kurt Heyer will have important roles. Both Cunningham and Heyer have opened some eyes this fall with good outings. Creating more pitching depth is an incredibly important goal for this club.

5. Get things together at the plate -- The offense was the lone bright spot for the Wildcats last season with a .314 batting average. But now the top three hitters are gone and a total of at least six key hitters have departed since last season. There's a chance that spells trouble for the Wildcats, but a strong core still is in place. Bryce Ortega and Steve Selsky each hit over .300 last season. Kyle Stiner and Jett Bandy looked very solid at times and Rafael Valenzuela and Shaun Cooper are guys the Wildcats believe have the ability to rise to the occasion. There's little chance this team hits .314 barring a major surprise, but there's no reason they can't at least hit over .290. Perhaps newcomers Jake Meskin, Trey Ford, Alex Mejia, Joey Rickard and Cole Frenzel will provide boosts. It'll be very interesting to see how this unit unfolds when spring arrives.