University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Delaney Spaulding has played two straight summers with Team USA.
Photo by: USA Softball
Six Bruins Accept Invitation to USA WNT Camp
October 11, 2017 | Softball
UCLA Softball Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - USA Softball announced on Wednesday the list of 56 athletes who accepted an invitation to participate at the 2018 Women's National Team Selection Camp, and included on the list are six Bruins. UCLA alums Ally Carda and Delaney Spaulding will take part in the camp to be held in Clearwater, Fla. (Jan. 1-5, 2018), as will four current Bruins, senior Kylee Perez, junior Paige Halstead and sophomores Rachel Garcia and Bubba Nickles.
The selection camp attendees will vie for a spot on the 2018 USA Softball Women's National Team roster, which will compete at the WBSC Women's World Championship in Japan (August 2018), the World Cup of Softball XIII and select invitational events. During the selection process, athletes will participate in position drills, as well as simulated games, and will be evaluated by the USA Softball Women's National Team Selection Committee. Team USA will be looking to defend their gold medal at the 2016 WBSC Women's World Championship.
The six UCLA selections tied for third most, trailing only Florida and Oklahoma's seven accepted invitations.
Carda has been on the WNT for three seasons in a row (2015-2017), having earned four gold medals and three silvers. In last year's Pan American Championship, Carda went 3-1 with a 2.15 earned run average in 13 innings to help the U.S. to a gold medal. She did not allow a run in 8 1/3 innings at the 2017 World Cup of Softball XII, striking out a team-best 14 and allowing just six hits and two walks, earning a silver medal. Carda was a member of the 2016 gold-medal winning Worlds team, throwing 6 1/3 scoreless with 12 strikeouts. She also picked up gold at the 2015 Japan Cup, where she was named the Most Valuable Player after throwing 14 scoreless innings.
Spaulding has played two straight summers with the USA WNT. She won gold at the Pan Am Championship last year, hitting .357 (10-for-28) with 11 runs batted in and nine runs scored. Spaulding also earned silver medals at the 2016 and 2017 World Cups of Softball, hitting .474 (9-for-19) with seven runs and eight RBI in '17 and .529 (9-for-17) with three home runs, nine RBI and eight runs in '16. At the 2016 Worlds, she earned her first gold with Team USA after hitting a pair of homers and driving in nine.
Halstead has played three seasons with Team USA, including the last two with the WNT. She has participated in each of the last three World Cups of Softball ('15 with Junior Women's National Team) and was 4-for-6 (.667) with three RBI in 2016. Halstead was an alternate at the 2016 Worlds and a gold medalist with the JWNT in 2015 at the Junior Worlds, batting .500 (4-for-8) with five RBI and four runs.
Nickles has worn the Red, White and Blue for each of the last three summers with the JWNT (2015, 2017) and the Elite Team (2016). Last year, she set event records for hits (20), batting average (.690, 20-for-29), runs batted in (30) and home runs (6) at the Junior Women's Worlds, earning a gold medal. Nickles also play at the World Cup last summer, hitting .550 (11-for-20) with 10 RBI, four runs and two homers. In 2016, she was 3-for-6 with a homer and three RBI at the World Cup of Softball, while a year prior, she went 5-for-15 (.333) with four RBI. Nickles picked up her first gold in 2015 at the Junior Women's Worlds, hitting .400 (10-for-25) with a homer, 10 RBI and 10 runs.
Garcia was named to the USA JWNT in 2015, but did not play due to injury. Perez will be trying out for her first USA WNT.
Players Mentioned
P/UTIL
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ Softball
P/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballHighlights - UCLA Softball vs. LSU (Feb. 15, 2026)
Sunday, February 15
Highlights - UCLA Softball vs. Oklahoma State & Missouri (Feb. 13, 2026)
Friday, February 13
Highlights - UCLA Softball vs. UC Riverside (Feb. 8, 2026)
Monday, February 09
UCLA Softball Highlights - UC Riverside (Feb. 8, 2026)
Sunday, February 08