University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
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UCLA Ranked No. 3 in USA Softball Preseason Poll
January 25, 2022 | Softball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA softball team enters the 2022 season at No. 3 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Preseason Top 25, USA Softball announced Tuesday.
The Bruins received 549 points after finishing the 2021 campaign as the No. 5 team in the country. Ahead of UCLA is No. 1 Oklahoma – who received 625 points and all 25 first-place votes – and No. 2 Alabama. The full top 25 can be seen at this link.
This marks the fourth consecutive year that UCLA has been ranked within the top 5 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll as well as the 12th overall time the Bruins have appeared in the top 5 in the preseason poll's 20-year history.
The poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 11 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball Regions and by media members.
Coming off a 47-7 (19-2 Pac-12) record in 2021, a No. 5 final ranking in the USA Today/NFCA poll and a sixth-straight appearance at the Women's College World Series, UCLA is returning a veteran team featuring 10 players who appeared in at least 40 games and 17 total letter winners who accounted for 63% of its hits and 82% of its runs.
The Bruins have also added six newcomers, including freshman utility Savannah Pola who was slotted as one of D1Softball's Top 75 impact freshman and left-handed grad transfer pitcher Lauren Shaw from Iowa who posted a career 2.26 earned run average over three seasons as a Hawkeye.
Among UCLA's returners are National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Americans Aaliyah Jordan, Megan Faraimo and Maya Brady on the First Team as well as Briana Perez on the Third Team.
The Bruins received 549 points after finishing the 2021 campaign as the No. 5 team in the country. Ahead of UCLA is No. 1 Oklahoma – who received 625 points and all 25 first-place votes – and No. 2 Alabama. The full top 25 can be seen at this link.
This marks the fourth consecutive year that UCLA has been ranked within the top 5 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll as well as the 12th overall time the Bruins have appeared in the top 5 in the preseason poll's 20-year history.
The poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 11 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball Regions and by media members.
Coming off a 47-7 (19-2 Pac-12) record in 2021, a No. 5 final ranking in the USA Today/NFCA poll and a sixth-straight appearance at the Women's College World Series, UCLA is returning a veteran team featuring 10 players who appeared in at least 40 games and 17 total letter winners who accounted for 63% of its hits and 82% of its runs.
The Bruins have also added six newcomers, including freshman utility Savannah Pola who was slotted as one of D1Softball's Top 75 impact freshman and left-handed grad transfer pitcher Lauren Shaw from Iowa who posted a career 2.26 earned run average over three seasons as a Hawkeye.
Among UCLA's returners are National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Americans Aaliyah Jordan, Megan Faraimo and Maya Brady on the First Team as well as Briana Perez on the Third Team.
Players Mentioned
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