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OKLAHOMA CITY - Redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia and redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan are two of 25 finalists for the 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, as announced on Wednesday.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award enters its 17th season and recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country. Previous recipients of the award include the first honoree in 2002, UCLA's Stacey Nuveman. Four Bruins have been Top 3 finalists for the award (Nuveman, 2002; Natasha Watley, 2002-2003; Megan Langenfeld, 2010; Ally Carda, 2014).
The Top 25 list includes nine seniors, nine juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen, representing 17 universities and eight conferences. The Top 10 finalists will be named on May 9, with the Top 3 announced on May 23. The POY will be revealed on May 29.
Garcia leads the team with a 1.21 earned run average, a 15-1 record and 157 strikeouts in 104 1/3 innings, while adding a .382 batting average, eight home runs and 37 runs batted in. In the circle, she has 10 complete games and has been a part of eight shutouts, including six solos, while adding two saves and limiting opponents to a .132 batting average. Garcia is second on the team in homers and RBI and tied for third with a .382 average, while also ranking second in sacrifice flies (3), third in slugging (.627) and tied for third with 15 walks. The redshirt sophomore has earned five National awards this season, being named USA Softball Player of the Week twice (Feb. 27 and April 17), NFCA National Pitcher of the Week twice (April 17 and 24), and NFCA National Player of the Week once (Feb. 27). She has also received three Pac-12 awards (Player: April 16; Pitcher: April 16 and 23). Nationally, Garcia is fifth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.15), sixth in strikeouts per seven innings (10.5), 11th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.48), 21st in ERA and tied for 28th in shutouts. She is tied for sixth among Pac-12 hitters in homers, while ranking second in opposing batting average and sixth in ERA and strikeouts.
Jordan leads the Bruins with a .473 batting average, nine home runs, 56 runs batted in, 61 hits, 14 doubles, 106 total bases, an .822 slugging, a .523 on base percentage and four sacrifice flies, is second with 44 runs scored and 17 walks and tied for second with two triples. She is also first with 22 multiple-hit games and 15 multi-RBI contests. Jordan has been named Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week five times this season (Feb. 20, Feb. 27, March 13, April 2 and April 23), as well as Pac-12 Player of the Week on April 23. She is sixth in the nation in batting average and RBI, tied for 20th in runs and sacrifice flies, 19th in slugging, 23rd in on base, 24th in hits, tied for 28th in total bases and tied for 35th in doubles. Among Pac-12 players, the redshirt freshman is first in average, slugging, on base, hits, RBI and total bases, third in doubles, tied for third in runs and sacrifice flies and tied for ninth in homers.
The top-ranked Bruins take a break from Pac-12 play this weekend, hosting a round-robin tournament with #21 Oklahoma State and South Dakota at Easton Stadium. UCLA will play a doubleheader on Friday (OSU at 4:30 p.m. and USD at 7 p.m.) before another twinbill on Saturday (USD at 4:30 p.m. and OSU at 7 p.m.).