University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Senior Kylee Perez is the 12th Bruin ever to earn four All-Region awards.
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
Seven Bruins Earn NFCA All-Region Accolades
May 17, 2018 | Softball
UCLA Softball Twitterย |ย Facebookย |ย Instagram
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Seven Bruins were named to the NFCA All-Region Teams, as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Thursday, as senior Kylee Perez (second base), junior Brianna Tautalafua (third base), redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia (utility/pitcher), sophomore Bubba Nickles (outfield) and redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan (outfield) were named to the First Team, while freshmen Holly Azevedoย (pitcher) and Briana Perez (shortstop) earned Second Team honors.
The seven All-Region awards tied a school record for the Bruins, who also accomplished the feat in 2015. UCLA tied for the third-most All-Region awards in the nation, while the five First Team accolades tied for the most in the country.
Kylee Perez is the 12th Bruin ever to earn four All-Region honors, picking up Third Team as a freshman and First Team each of the last three seasons. Garcia (Second Team in 2017) and Tautalafuaย (Second Team in 2016) both received their second All-Region awards, while it was the first for Azevedo, Jordan, Nickles and Briana Perez.
Garcia leads the Bruins' pitching staff with a 1.08 earned run average, a 21-2 record and 218 strikeouts in 142 2/3 innings, while adding a .355 batting average, nine home runs and 44 runs batted in, the latter two categories ranking second on the team. She is a Top 10 finalist for the USA Softball National Player of the Year award, a two-time NFCA National Pitcher of the Week (April 17 and 24), a two-time USA Softball National Player of the Week (Feb. 27 and April 17), a one-time NFCA National Player of the Week (Feb. 27), a four-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week (April 16, April 23, May 7 and May 14) and a one-time Pac-12 Player of the Week (April 16). Garcia has pitched 14 complete games and has been a part of nine shutouts, including seven solo blankings, adding two saves and limiting opponents to a .127 batting average. At the plate, she is third with 20 walks and tied for first with five sacrifice flies.
Jordan is tops on the squad with a .444 average, 11 homers, 63 RBI, 14 doubles, 123 total bases, a .759 slugging and a .497 on base percentage. She is also tied for first with five sacrifice flies, second with 21 walks and third with 53 runs scored. A Top 10 finalist for both the USA Softball POY and the NFCA National Freshman of the Year, Jordan is a six-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Feb. 20, Feb. 27, March 13, April 2, April 23 and April 30) to go with Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on April 23. She is ranked in the Top 40 in eight offensive categories, including fifth in average, tied for sixth in RBI, tied for 12th in sacrifice flies, tied for 13th in runs and tied for 16th in hits.
Nickles ranks second on the team with a .390 batting average, 12 doubles and a .610 slugging, as she is also first with five sacrifice hits and third with 41 runs batted in, a .455 on base percentage and 94 total bases, adding six homers.
Kylee Perez is first on the team in runs scored with 55, ranking in the Top 10 nationally. She is also second on the Bruins with a .459 on base percentage and 10 stolen bases, third in batting average (.388) and hits (66) and tied for third in doubles with 10 and walks with 20, adding five homers and 30 RBI. A Top 10 finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, she is second on the team with 20 multiple-hit games.
Tautalafuaย is third on the team with eight home runs, adding a .270 batting average and 34 runs batted in. She is also first with 24 walks. Tautalafuaย has added eight multiple-hit games and eight multiple-RBI contests.
Azevedo has a spotless record on the season at 15-0, posting a 2.05 earned run average and 82 strikeouts in 106 innings. She has 10 complete games, including two solo shutouts, tossing a five-hitter on May 4 at California.
Briana Perez, a Top 25 finalist for the NFCA Freshman of the Year and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Feb. 13 and May 14, is batting .387 with five home runs and 34 runs batted in. She is first with 11 stolen bases and seven hit by pitches, second with 54 runs scored, 67 hits and 98 total bases and tied for third with 10 doubles.
NFCAย All-Region Teams
First Team: Rachel Garcia (UTIL/P), Aaliyah Jordan (OF), Bubba Nickles (OF), Kylee Perez (2B), Brianna Tautalafua (3B)
Second Team: Holly Azevedo (P), Briana Perez (SS)
The Bruins, seeded third in the NCAA Tournament, open up Regional play at Easton Stadium on Friday against Sacramento State at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and will feature free live audio on UCLABruins.com. Three-day passes can be purchasedย here.
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
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