No. 20 UCLA (3-0) at No. 5 TCU (4-0)
Friday, Feb. 23, 2023 - 4:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2023 - 2 p.m. PT
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2023 - 11 a.m. PT
Location: Fort Worth, Texas (Lupton Stadium)
Stream: Big 12 on ESPN+
Live Stats

No. 20 UCLA Heads to Texas For Ranked Showdown at No. 5 TCU    
The UCLA baseball team — ranked as high as No. 16 in this week's national polls — embarks on its first road trip of 2024 this weekend, heading to Fort Worth, Texas for a three-game set at No. 5 TCU (4-0). It marks the Bruins' first-ever appearance in Fort Worth, after having played seven previous against the Horned Frogs since 2010 (all in Westwood or Omaha). The Friday-to-Sunday series is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., 2 p.m., and 11 a.m. PT start times, and will be streamed in its entirety via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Fans can also follow along with live stats (uclalivestats.com) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball). 

UCLA Quick Hits    

• UCLA is 3-0 on the season after sweeping Gonzaga at home to open the campaign
• Tuesday's home midweek against LMU was rained out (make-up date TBA)
• The Bruins outscored Gonzaga 24-10 for the weekend, and slashed .319/.500/.543 as a team
• Roch Cholowsky and Cody Schrier have hit safely in all three games so far
• Schrier (7-12, HR) and Michael Barnett (5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K) were Pac-12 Player/Pitcher of the Week nominees
• This weekend marks the first time ever that UCLA has played at TCU
• The Bruins enter the weekend with a plus-19 walk differential (27 drawn, eight issued)
• Freshman C Cashel Dugger has reached base in each of his first nine collegiate plate appearances
• The Bruins are 33-33-1 all-time against current Big 12 teams
• UCLA is coming off a 28-24-1 camapaign and a berth into the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament
• It marked the program's 7th consecutive winning season and 15th overall in 19 seasons under HC John Savage
• The Bruins' freshman class was the No. 1-ranked recruit class in the country (as was the junior class)
• Junior 2B Duce Gourson earned Preseason All-America acclaim from Baseball America and Perfect Game
• Gourson, Cody Schrier, and Luke Jewett were named to the 2024 Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team
• The Bruins were picked to finish 3rd in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
• Bruin alum Gerrit Cole won the 2023 AL Cy Young, making UCLA the first DI school ever to have had multiple Cy Young winners on the same team

Projected Pitching Matchups
Friday, Feb. 23 - 4:30 p.m. PT 
UCLA - Jr. RHP Luke Jewett (0-0, 6.75 ERA)
TCU - Jr. LHP Payton Tolle (0-0, 12.00 ERA)
Saturday, Feb. 24 - 2 p.m. PT 
UCLA - So. RHP Finn McIlroy (1-0, 1.80 ERA)
TCU - So. RHP Kole Klecker (0-0, 12.00 ERA)
Sunday, Feb. 25 - 11 a.m. PT 
UCLA - So. RHP Michael Barnett (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
TCU - Gr. LHP Zack Morris (0-0, 9.00 ERA)

The Week In Review    
UCLA opened its season by sweeping Gonzaga in a home series at Jackie Robinson Stadium:

• FRI — UCLA rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth to capture an 8-7 comeback win on Opening Day vs. Gonzaga. Quintt Landis (RBI double), Cameron Kim (game-tying pinch-single), and Cody Schrier (go-ahead RBI single) all had big hits during the game-winning rally. Schrier and freshman Roch Cholowsky each had two hits in the win, while frosh 1B Mulivai Levu hit his first-career home run. UCLA trailed for most of the game after Gonzaga hit a leadoff home run and built a 3-0 lead by the end of the second. 
• SAT — The Bruins scored in each of their first four offensive innings and never looked back in a series-clinching 10-3 win. Schrier (4-5, 3 R) and Levu (3-5, 3 RBIs) both had big days with the bat. Schrier, who hit a solo homer to center field, was joined in the home run club by Duce Gourson and AJ Salgado. Finn McIlroy picked up the win in his first collegiate start, limiting Gonzaga to one run on five hits over five innings. UCLA never trailed after a three-run first highlighted by Gourson's roundtripper. 
• SUN — UCLA finished off the sweep with a 6-0 win, as Michael Barnett delivered five scoreless frames in his 2024 debut. Eight of nine starters reached base for the Bruins, who drew 13 walks as a team. UCLA again scored three runs in the first and led 5-0 after three frames. Gourson provided his second first-inning homer in as many days to pace the Bruin bats. Barnett recorded six strikeouts for a new career high, and was rarely threatened by the Bulldogs. The relief trio of Landon Stump, Nate Leibold, and Rashad Ruff held Gonzaga off the board the rest of the day.
• UCLA outscored Gonzaga 24-10 for the series and had marked advantages in hitting (.319-.225), OBP (.500-.313), slugging (.543-.314), walks drawn (27-8), and ERA (2.67-9.00).
• Tuesday's home game against LMU was postponed due to rain. It was the second year in a row that UCLA-LMU had a game rained out (Feb. 28, 2023).

In The Polls    
UCLA enters the weekend ranked as high as No. 16 (Perfect Game) in the national polls. The Bruins also checked in at No. 19 (NCBWA), No. 20 (D1Baseball), and No. 24 (Baseball America). UCLA was ranked No. 24 in the Preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll, which was not updated after the first weekend of results. This week's opponent, TCU, is ranked as high as No. 3 nationally, and is a consensus top-six team in the polls. 

The All-Time Series Against TCU    

• UCLA owns a 4-3 record all-time against TCU, with all matchups occuring since the 2010 College World Series.
• 2010 (2-1) — UCLA and TCU met three consecutive times in the CWS at Rosenblatt Stadium, with the Bruins taking two of three to eliminate the Horned Frogs and move on to the final against Mississippi State.
• 2012 (2-0) — The Bruins and Horned Frogs once again met in the postseason, with UCLA taking two straight in the Los Angeles Super Regional to advance to the College World Series.
• 2015 (0-1) — Meeting for the first time ever in the regular season, TCU handed UCLA a 3-1 loss on Mar. 7, 2015 at Jackie Robinson Stadium as part of the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic.
• 2020 (0-1) — TCU again dealt the Bruins a loss in the Dodger Stadium Tournament, an 8-4 decision at JRS on Mar. 7. It was UCLA's penultimate game before the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
• UCLA is 2-2 against TCU in home games, 2-1 in neutral games, and is facing them in a true road fashion for the first time ever
• The Bruins are 33-33-1 all-time against current Big 12 teams. Besides TCU (4-3), they've faced Baylor (7-5), BYU (2-1-1), Central Florida (1-0), Houston (0-2), Kansas (1-0), Kansas State (0-3), Oklahoma (8-8), Oklahoma State (5-1), Texas (5-8), and Texas Tech (0-2). UCLA has never faced Cincinnati or West Virginia. 

Opening Day Success    
With Friday's win, UCLA improved to 14-6 all-time in season openers under head coach John Savage. In addition, the Bruins have now won their opening series in 10 of the last 12 years. UCLA opened at home for the 14th consecutive season in 2024, and the 21st time in the last 22 seasons. 

Bruins On the National Leaderboards    
After the opening weekend of the 2024 season, the Bruins grade out well nationally in the following statistics:

• OBP - .500 (1st in the Pac-12 / 12th in the NCAA)
• Shutouts - 1 (T-1st / T-6th)
• BB/9 - 2.7 (3rd / 26th)
• K-BB Ratio - 3.50 (2nd / 33rd)
• ERA - 2.67 (3rd / 35th)
• Walks Drawn - 27 (1st / 38th)
• Stolen Bases - 8 (2nd / 39th)
• WHIP - 1.15 (3rd / 40th)
• Slugging - .543 (6th / 45th)

Gourson Draws Preseason Buzz    
UCLA junior infielder Duce Gourson received the most preseason acclaim of any Bruin this winter. He was tabbed a Preseason All-American by Perfect Game (Second Team) and Baseball America (Third Team), was selected to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team, and ranked No. 4 on D1Baseball's preseason power rankings for second basemen. Gourson (.319/.438/.515, 10 HR, 48 RBIs) led UCLA in nearly every offensive category a season ago, earning an invite to the United States Collegiate National Team over the summer. 

UCLA Imports the No. 1-Ranked Recruit Class    
The freshman class on this year's Bruin squad was ranked the No. 1 recruit class in the country by Baseball America, marking the second time in three years that UCLA has brought in the top-ranked class in the country. More broadly, UCLA has signed a top-10 class in 12 of the last 18 years under John Savage, including eight groups that garnered top-five status. Infielder Roch Cholowsky was the highest-ranked high school position player in the country to make it to campus from Baseball America's draft rankings. Other ranked players to make it to Westwood included Grant Gray, Justin Lee, Phoenix Call, Cameron Kim, Dean West, and Luke Rodriguez.