Friday, February 16
Clearwater, FL
10:00 AM
UCLA
vs
Florida State
Photo by: Marie Goldfarb
No. 19 UCLA Returns to Clearwater
February 15, 2024 | Softball
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 19 UCLA softball team returns to the fourth edition of the Shriners Children's Hospital Clearwater Invitational in Florida this week. The Bruins (2-3) play five games in three days, including three against top-10 teams. All five of UCLA's games will be televised by the ESPN Family of Networks.
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The Bruins begin play Friday against No. 7 Florida State at 10 a.m. (PT) on ESPNU and No. 4 Georgia at 1 p.m. (PT) on ESPN+. On Saturday, UCLA plays No. 2 Tennessee at 1 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU. UCLA concludes the tournament Sunday facing North Carolina at 10:30 a.m. (PT) on ESPN+ and UCF at 3 p.m. (PT) on ESPN.
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Opening Week
The Bruins opened the regular season with a 2-3 record at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament at Easton Stadium last week. UCLA picked up a pair of one-run wins over Maryland (W, 6-5) and San Diego (W, 7-6) while losing twice to then-No. 8 Texas and once to then-No. 9 Oklahoma State. The Bruins dropped their first meeting with the Longhorns by one run, 3-2. In that game, sophomore pitcher Taylor Tinsley limited Texas to three runs in a complete-game effort and tied a career high with eight strikeouts.
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Key Notes About the Bruins
ยท The Bruins have returned seven key pieces from last season's batting lineup: redshirt seniors Maya Brady, Sharlize Palacios, Janelle Meoño and Seneca Curo, junior Savannah Pola and sophomores Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery. They return one arm from last season's pitching staff: sophomore Taylor Tinsley. UCLA has added seven incoming student-athletes with three transfers and four freshmen.
ยท Last season, UCLA went 52-7 and made a NCAA Tournament appearance for the 24th consecutive year which is the longest active streak among all programs. The No. 2 seed Bruins lost in the NCAA Regional round (0-2), marking the first time in seven years they did not reach the Women's College World Series. It was the first time in 10 years UCLA did not make it out of Regionals.
ยท Kelly Inouye-Perez enters her 18th season as the Bruins' head coach (The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach). Including her five years as a catcher on UCLA's roster, 13 years as an assistant coach and 17 years as head coach, the 2024 season marks Inouye-Perez's 36th consecutive season in Westwood. Known as "Coach I," Inouye-Perez is the only person to have won an NCAA Division I Softball Championship as both a player and coach. She led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships as head coach in 2010 and 2019. Inouye-Perez owns a 777-200-1 (.795) career record. Her .797 winning percentage entering the season ranks second among active head coaches and seventh all-time. UCLA's first two Hall-of-Fame head coaches, Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist, rank top two all-time in winning percentage.
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Looking at UCLA's History in Clearwater
ยท The Bruins have competed in every rendition of the Clearwater Invitational dating back to the 2020 season (three years) and have totaled a 13-2 lifetime record at the ESPN-produced event. UCLA has gone undefeated at the Clearwater Invitational twice in 2020 and, most recently, last season in 2023.
ยท Every year of the tournament, fans have been treated to an instant classic between UCLA and ACC power Florida State with all three previous contests between the Bruins and Seminoles at the Invitational being decided by two runs or less. All three games have also been decided in the seventh or extra innings. Last year against Florida State, Seneca Curo and Megan Grant recorded two go-ahead RBI base hits in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, to lead UCLA to a thrilling 6-4 victory. As a freshman in 2020, Curo sparked a rally in the top of the seventh against then-No. 5 Florida State with a lead-off double and came around to score on a two-out, two-RBI double by Aaliyah Jordan to give the Bruins a 3-2 win.
ยท Last year, then-freshman Jordan Woolery announced her arrival on a national stage on Feb. 17, 2023 by hitting her first career homer which was a go-ahead grand slam off Alabama's Montana Fouts to lead UCLA to a 5-3 victory. She went on to be named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 List.
ยท After beating then-No. 6 Florida State last year, UCLA put up a six spot in the first inning with five straight hits to open the game later that day against then-No. 8 Virginia Tech. Brady put an exclamation point on the Bruins' 8-4 win over the Hokies with a towering home run over the right field wall.
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Preseason Notes
ยท The 2023-24 school year marks the 49th season in which UCLA has fielded a softball team (first season was 1975). UCLA entered the 2024 season ranked 10th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Poll for its highest preseason ranking since 2014 (ranked 16th). This marks the 10th straight season the Bruins have been ranked in the top 10 of the NFCA Preseason Poll dating back to 2015. UCLA has been ranked in the top 25 of the NFCA Preseason Poll for 26 straight seasons (unranked heading into the 1998 season).
ยท In addition, the Bruins have been slotted in the No. 2 spot in the final Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office on Feb. 1. Stanford was selected as the league's preseason favorite, garnering seven of nine first-place votes. Washington and Utah each received one first-place vote.
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Series Histories Versus UCLA's Clearwater Opponents
ยท UCLA leads the all-time series versus Florida State by a 11-10 margin. The two programs have met in the Women's College World Series eight times and have a 4-4 record in Oklahoma City.
ยท UCLA leads the all-time series versus Georgia, 15-2. This weekend will mark the two programs' first meeting since 2020 which occurred at the Clearwater Invitational with the Bruins defeating the Bulldogs, 8-3.
ยท UCLA leads the all-time series versus Tennessee, 8-4.ย The Bruins last faced the Lady Vols at the 2022 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where UCLA won, 2-1, in eight innings. This weekend marks just the second meeting between the two programs in the last 10 years.
ยท UCLA defeated North Carolina in its one previous meeting with the Tarheels in 2010 by a score of 1-0.
ยท UCLA is an undefeated 8-0 against UCF.
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Allchin Impresses in UCLA Debut
Graduate transfer outfielder Jadelyn Allchin from Washington (2020-23) recorded four hits (4-for-12) in her UCLA debut weekend. Allchin belted her first home run as a Bruin โ a two-run shot to opposite, left field โ to help UCLA to a 7-6 victory over San Diego. She also recorded her fourth career outfield assist against Oklahoma State while play center field, throwing out a runner attempting to stretch a single into a double (recorded three while at Washington).
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Encore! Encore!
Redshirt senior shortstop Maya Brady was named as one of the Pac-12 Conference's 20 selections to the preseason all-league team, as announced in February. Last season, Brady was honored as a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist and became the ninth student-athlete in UCLA history to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year (18th time a UCLA player won the award, which ranks first among conference schools). She was honored as an NFCA First Team All-American for the second time in her career. Brady won the Pac-12 Batting Crown with a .456 average in the regular season.
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Preseason Recognition
Redshirt seniors Maya Brady and Sharlize Palacios and sophomores Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery were named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, as announced in January. UCLA ranked second in terms of representation on the list, trailing only Oklahoma who had six players listed. Recognized as the most distinguished individual honor in NCAA Division I Softball, two Bruins have received the honor a total of three times. Rachel Garcia was a back-to-back winner of the award following the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and Stacey Nuveman won the award in 2002. Additionally, Brady, Palacios, Grant and Woolery were selected to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team.
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Top 5 on UCLA's Home Runs List
Brady is one home run away from jumping into a four-way tie for fifth place on UCLA's career home runs list. Brady, with 54 career home runs, needs one more homer to tie Caitlin Benyi, Andrea Harrison and B.B. Bates with 55 career home runs. Additionally, Brady needs 12 more home runs to tie Stephany LaRosa for second on UCLA's all-time home runs list with 64. Stacey Nuveman Deniz is UCLA's record holder for career home runs with 90.
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Sophomore Stars
Grant and Woolery, two NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 Finalists in 2023, look to repeat their successes in their sophomore campaigns. The duo each received NFCA All-American status last season (Grant to the Second Team and Woolery to the Third Team). In 2023, Grant and Woolery combined for 104 runs batted in which was the most by a freshman duo in UCLA history, surpassing the mark of 90 RBI set by Stacey Nuveman (71) and Courtney Dale (19) in 1997. The 104 RBI ranked second in the NCAA last season, trailing Indiana's Taryn Kern and Avery Parker (105 RBI).
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History & Tradition
ยท The Bruins have won a nation-leading 12 NCAA Championships and 13 total national championships (1978 AIAW title).ย UCLA has won a national title in every decade dating back to the 1970s, including the NCAA's first Division I Softball Championship in 1982. UCLA was the first program to repeat NCAA Championships in 1984 and 1985 and the first to three-peat in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
ยท UCLA has made a record 38 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including 24 straight since 1999. UCLA owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 233-66 (.785). The 233 postseason wins are the most in NCAA history. UCLA's 31 Women's College World Series appearances lead all programs.
ยท UCLA leads all collegiate softball programs with 11 Honda Sport Award accolades and leads all NCAA Division I women's athletic programs, regardless of sport, with four Honda Cup awards: Lisa Fernandez (1993), Natasha Watley (2003) and the only two-time winner in the Cup's history, Rachel Garcia (2019, 2021).
ยท The UCLA softball program has been represented in each of the five Olympic Games sponsoring softball. A total of 14 former UCLA players have competed for the U.S. Olympic Team. UCLA's 17 total Olympians and nine different gold medal winners rank as the most among all college programs. The 17 Olympians have totaled 32 medals, including 16 gold medals.
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Returning Lineup Production
UCLA returns much of its production from last year's lineup. The Bruins' returners in 2024 accounted for 75.9 percent of last season's runs batted in (252 RBI), 67.6 percent of last season's hits (353 H), 71.3 percent of last season's runs scored (261 R) and 87.8 percent of last season's home runs (58 HR). UCLA's top five RBI leaders from last season all return in 2024: Brady (59), Grant (58), Woolery (46), Palacios (33) and Pola (26).
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The Bruins' Schedule
ยท UCLA will play a 50-game regular-season schedule with 23 games against 12 opponents ranked in the NFCA Preseason Poll. The Bruins square off against six opponents who appeared at the 2023 Women's College World Series: Florida State, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Tennessee, Washington and Utah.
ยท From Feb. 16-18, UCLA will compete at the fourth-annual Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. The following week, the Bruins head to Cathedral City, Calif. for the 18th rendition of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 23-25. Concluding the tournament schedule is the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif. (March 1-3).
ยท UCLA will embark in its final season in the Pac-12 Conference in 2024. The Pac-12 has produced 22 NCAA Division I Softball championships, the most by any conference. Next closest is the Big 12 with seven. The Bruins conclude the regular season with a three-game series versus longtime Pac-12 rival Arizona for senior weekend (April 26-28).
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A Look at the Arms
ยท Sophomore Taylor Tinsley is the lone returning pitcher from last year's staff which was headlined by Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Megan Faraimo and All-Pac-12 Second Team selection Brooke Yanez. Tinsley totaled a 6-1 record with 57.1 innings pitched and a 1.47 earned run average in her debut season. Her top performances last season were a shutout victory over Texas A&M at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 25 (W, 3-0) and a no-hitter in her first career start against CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 11 (W, 8-0 in five innings). Tinsley's performance marked the first time a Bruin hurler tossed a no-hitter in their first career pitching appearance since Amanda Freed in 1999.
ยท Joining Tinsley in the circle are freshman Kaitlyn Terry (Glendale, Ariz.) and junior transfer Jada Cecil from UC San Diego.ย The left-handed Terry prepped at Greenway High School where she earned Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year twice as a senior in 2023 and sophomore in 2021. She finished her four-year career with a 62-9 record, 0.53 earned run average, 1,227 strikeouts over 511.1 innings pitched, 26 no-hitters and six perfect games. Terry, a two-way player, recorded a lifetime .626 batting average, 1.567 slugging percentage, 152 hits and 53 home runs for Greenway.
ยท Cecil earned Big West Pitcher of the Year honors in her freshman season with the Tritons in 2022 after posting a 20-5 record, 1.88 earned run average and a program-record 234 strikeouts. Cecil was coached by 2019 NCAA Champion and two-time Honda Cup winner Rachel Garcia while at UC San Diego.
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Overview of Last Season
ยท UCLA's 52 regular-season wins were its most since 2001 and fourth-most in the history of the program. The 52 regular-season wins were also the most in the NCAA last season. The season was highlighted by a 25-game winning streak which ended in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game on May 13 (lost to Utah, 7-4). The winning streak was tied for the longest of Inouye-Perez's career.
ยท UCLA captured its 17th regular-season conference title and its 12th as a member of the Pac-10/12 Conference in 2023.The Bruins went 21-3 in league play and closed the regular-season slate on a 17-conference game winning streak which was their longest in a single season since 2002. The 21 conference wins were UCLA's most in a season since 1999.
ยท UCLA was one of just three teams to not drop a conference series in 2023 (Oklahoma and Florida State are the others). For the second time in the last 20 years, UCLA took the season series against every Pac-12 opponent (2021).
ยท UCLA ranked top 10 nationally in both batting average (2nd, .336) and earned run average (8th, 1.69) in 2023. The only other Power 5 program to accomplish that feat was Oklahoma.
ยท UCLA ranked top two in the Pac-12 in essentially every hitting and statistical category. UCLA was top two in the Pac-12 in earned run average for the sixth consecutive year, finishing second with a 1.69 mark behind Stanford. UCLA's pitching staff ranked first in opposing batting average (.189) and shutouts (21), and was second in strikeouts (416) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.89). Both marks trailed Stanford. The Bruins' bats led the Pac-12 in average (.336) and slugging percentage (.523).
ยท Brady (.448 avg., 59 RBI, 18 HR) was named a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist and was honored as the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year. She became the ninth UCLA player to win the prestigious Player of the Year award and the first Bruin recipient since Rachel Garcia who won the award three years in a row from 2018-21.
ยท Faraimo (29-3, 1.42 ERA, 232 SO) was recognized as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season, accomplishing that feat for the first time in program history. She was also named a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 10 Finalist.
ยท Woolery (.390 avg., 46 RBI, 10 HR) and Grant (.333 avg., 58 RBI, 15 HR) were named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 List. UCLA was one of two programs with a duo on the list (Duke). Woolery was also honored as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, becoming the ninth Bruin to win that award and first since Faraimo in 2018.
ยท Kelly Inouye-Perez rounded out the 2023 conference trophy case, being selected for her third Pac-12 Coach of the Year award (2010, 2012). Inouye-Perez is now tied with her predecessor and fellow UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Sue Enquist with three conference coach of the year honors.
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The Bruins begin play Friday against No. 7 Florida State at 10 a.m. (PT) on ESPNU and No. 4 Georgia at 1 p.m. (PT) on ESPN+. On Saturday, UCLA plays No. 2 Tennessee at 1 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU. UCLA concludes the tournament Sunday facing North Carolina at 10:30 a.m. (PT) on ESPN+ and UCF at 3 p.m. (PT) on ESPN.
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Opening Week
The Bruins opened the regular season with a 2-3 record at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament at Easton Stadium last week. UCLA picked up a pair of one-run wins over Maryland (W, 6-5) and San Diego (W, 7-6) while losing twice to then-No. 8 Texas and once to then-No. 9 Oklahoma State. The Bruins dropped their first meeting with the Longhorns by one run, 3-2. In that game, sophomore pitcher Taylor Tinsley limited Texas to three runs in a complete-game effort and tied a career high with eight strikeouts.
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Key Notes About the Bruins
ยท The Bruins have returned seven key pieces from last season's batting lineup: redshirt seniors Maya Brady, Sharlize Palacios, Janelle Meoño and Seneca Curo, junior Savannah Pola and sophomores Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery. They return one arm from last season's pitching staff: sophomore Taylor Tinsley. UCLA has added seven incoming student-athletes with three transfers and four freshmen.
ยท Last season, UCLA went 52-7 and made a NCAA Tournament appearance for the 24th consecutive year which is the longest active streak among all programs. The No. 2 seed Bruins lost in the NCAA Regional round (0-2), marking the first time in seven years they did not reach the Women's College World Series. It was the first time in 10 years UCLA did not make it out of Regionals.
ยท Kelly Inouye-Perez enters her 18th season as the Bruins' head coach (The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach). Including her five years as a catcher on UCLA's roster, 13 years as an assistant coach and 17 years as head coach, the 2024 season marks Inouye-Perez's 36th consecutive season in Westwood. Known as "Coach I," Inouye-Perez is the only person to have won an NCAA Division I Softball Championship as both a player and coach. She led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships as head coach in 2010 and 2019. Inouye-Perez owns a 777-200-1 (.795) career record. Her .797 winning percentage entering the season ranks second among active head coaches and seventh all-time. UCLA's first two Hall-of-Fame head coaches, Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist, rank top two all-time in winning percentage.
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Looking at UCLA's History in Clearwater
ยท The Bruins have competed in every rendition of the Clearwater Invitational dating back to the 2020 season (three years) and have totaled a 13-2 lifetime record at the ESPN-produced event. UCLA has gone undefeated at the Clearwater Invitational twice in 2020 and, most recently, last season in 2023.
ยท Every year of the tournament, fans have been treated to an instant classic between UCLA and ACC power Florida State with all three previous contests between the Bruins and Seminoles at the Invitational being decided by two runs or less. All three games have also been decided in the seventh or extra innings. Last year against Florida State, Seneca Curo and Megan Grant recorded two go-ahead RBI base hits in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, to lead UCLA to a thrilling 6-4 victory. As a freshman in 2020, Curo sparked a rally in the top of the seventh against then-No. 5 Florida State with a lead-off double and came around to score on a two-out, two-RBI double by Aaliyah Jordan to give the Bruins a 3-2 win.
ยท Last year, then-freshman Jordan Woolery announced her arrival on a national stage on Feb. 17, 2023 by hitting her first career homer which was a go-ahead grand slam off Alabama's Montana Fouts to lead UCLA to a 5-3 victory. She went on to be named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 List.
ยท After beating then-No. 6 Florida State last year, UCLA put up a six spot in the first inning with five straight hits to open the game later that day against then-No. 8 Virginia Tech. Brady put an exclamation point on the Bruins' 8-4 win over the Hokies with a towering home run over the right field wall.
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Preseason Notes
ยท The 2023-24 school year marks the 49th season in which UCLA has fielded a softball team (first season was 1975). UCLA entered the 2024 season ranked 10th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Poll for its highest preseason ranking since 2014 (ranked 16th). This marks the 10th straight season the Bruins have been ranked in the top 10 of the NFCA Preseason Poll dating back to 2015. UCLA has been ranked in the top 25 of the NFCA Preseason Poll for 26 straight seasons (unranked heading into the 1998 season).
ยท In addition, the Bruins have been slotted in the No. 2 spot in the final Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office on Feb. 1. Stanford was selected as the league's preseason favorite, garnering seven of nine first-place votes. Washington and Utah each received one first-place vote.
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Series Histories Versus UCLA's Clearwater Opponents
ยท UCLA leads the all-time series versus Florida State by a 11-10 margin. The two programs have met in the Women's College World Series eight times and have a 4-4 record in Oklahoma City.
ยท UCLA leads the all-time series versus Georgia, 15-2. This weekend will mark the two programs' first meeting since 2020 which occurred at the Clearwater Invitational with the Bruins defeating the Bulldogs, 8-3.
ยท UCLA leads the all-time series versus Tennessee, 8-4.ย The Bruins last faced the Lady Vols at the 2022 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where UCLA won, 2-1, in eight innings. This weekend marks just the second meeting between the two programs in the last 10 years.
ยท UCLA defeated North Carolina in its one previous meeting with the Tarheels in 2010 by a score of 1-0.
ยท UCLA is an undefeated 8-0 against UCF.
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Allchin Impresses in UCLA Debut
Graduate transfer outfielder Jadelyn Allchin from Washington (2020-23) recorded four hits (4-for-12) in her UCLA debut weekend. Allchin belted her first home run as a Bruin โ a two-run shot to opposite, left field โ to help UCLA to a 7-6 victory over San Diego. She also recorded her fourth career outfield assist against Oklahoma State while play center field, throwing out a runner attempting to stretch a single into a double (recorded three while at Washington).
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Encore! Encore!
Redshirt senior shortstop Maya Brady was named as one of the Pac-12 Conference's 20 selections to the preseason all-league team, as announced in February. Last season, Brady was honored as a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist and became the ninth student-athlete in UCLA history to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year (18th time a UCLA player won the award, which ranks first among conference schools). She was honored as an NFCA First Team All-American for the second time in her career. Brady won the Pac-12 Batting Crown with a .456 average in the regular season.
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Preseason Recognition
Redshirt seniors Maya Brady and Sharlize Palacios and sophomores Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery were named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, as announced in January. UCLA ranked second in terms of representation on the list, trailing only Oklahoma who had six players listed. Recognized as the most distinguished individual honor in NCAA Division I Softball, two Bruins have received the honor a total of three times. Rachel Garcia was a back-to-back winner of the award following the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and Stacey Nuveman won the award in 2002. Additionally, Brady, Palacios, Grant and Woolery were selected to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team.
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Top 5 on UCLA's Home Runs List
Brady is one home run away from jumping into a four-way tie for fifth place on UCLA's career home runs list. Brady, with 54 career home runs, needs one more homer to tie Caitlin Benyi, Andrea Harrison and B.B. Bates with 55 career home runs. Additionally, Brady needs 12 more home runs to tie Stephany LaRosa for second on UCLA's all-time home runs list with 64. Stacey Nuveman Deniz is UCLA's record holder for career home runs with 90.
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Sophomore Stars
Grant and Woolery, two NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 Finalists in 2023, look to repeat their successes in their sophomore campaigns. The duo each received NFCA All-American status last season (Grant to the Second Team and Woolery to the Third Team). In 2023, Grant and Woolery combined for 104 runs batted in which was the most by a freshman duo in UCLA history, surpassing the mark of 90 RBI set by Stacey Nuveman (71) and Courtney Dale (19) in 1997. The 104 RBI ranked second in the NCAA last season, trailing Indiana's Taryn Kern and Avery Parker (105 RBI).
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History & Tradition
ยท The Bruins have won a nation-leading 12 NCAA Championships and 13 total national championships (1978 AIAW title).ย UCLA has won a national title in every decade dating back to the 1970s, including the NCAA's first Division I Softball Championship in 1982. UCLA was the first program to repeat NCAA Championships in 1984 and 1985 and the first to three-peat in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
ยท UCLA has made a record 38 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including 24 straight since 1999. UCLA owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 233-66 (.785). The 233 postseason wins are the most in NCAA history. UCLA's 31 Women's College World Series appearances lead all programs.
ยท UCLA leads all collegiate softball programs with 11 Honda Sport Award accolades and leads all NCAA Division I women's athletic programs, regardless of sport, with four Honda Cup awards: Lisa Fernandez (1993), Natasha Watley (2003) and the only two-time winner in the Cup's history, Rachel Garcia (2019, 2021).
ยท The UCLA softball program has been represented in each of the five Olympic Games sponsoring softball. A total of 14 former UCLA players have competed for the U.S. Olympic Team. UCLA's 17 total Olympians and nine different gold medal winners rank as the most among all college programs. The 17 Olympians have totaled 32 medals, including 16 gold medals.
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Returning Lineup Production
UCLA returns much of its production from last year's lineup. The Bruins' returners in 2024 accounted for 75.9 percent of last season's runs batted in (252 RBI), 67.6 percent of last season's hits (353 H), 71.3 percent of last season's runs scored (261 R) and 87.8 percent of last season's home runs (58 HR). UCLA's top five RBI leaders from last season all return in 2024: Brady (59), Grant (58), Woolery (46), Palacios (33) and Pola (26).
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The Bruins' Schedule
ยท UCLA will play a 50-game regular-season schedule with 23 games against 12 opponents ranked in the NFCA Preseason Poll. The Bruins square off against six opponents who appeared at the 2023 Women's College World Series: Florida State, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Tennessee, Washington and Utah.
ยท From Feb. 16-18, UCLA will compete at the fourth-annual Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. The following week, the Bruins head to Cathedral City, Calif. for the 18th rendition of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 23-25. Concluding the tournament schedule is the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif. (March 1-3).
ยท UCLA will embark in its final season in the Pac-12 Conference in 2024. The Pac-12 has produced 22 NCAA Division I Softball championships, the most by any conference. Next closest is the Big 12 with seven. The Bruins conclude the regular season with a three-game series versus longtime Pac-12 rival Arizona for senior weekend (April 26-28).
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A Look at the Arms
ยท Sophomore Taylor Tinsley is the lone returning pitcher from last year's staff which was headlined by Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Megan Faraimo and All-Pac-12 Second Team selection Brooke Yanez. Tinsley totaled a 6-1 record with 57.1 innings pitched and a 1.47 earned run average in her debut season. Her top performances last season were a shutout victory over Texas A&M at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 25 (W, 3-0) and a no-hitter in her first career start against CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 11 (W, 8-0 in five innings). Tinsley's performance marked the first time a Bruin hurler tossed a no-hitter in their first career pitching appearance since Amanda Freed in 1999.
ยท Joining Tinsley in the circle are freshman Kaitlyn Terry (Glendale, Ariz.) and junior transfer Jada Cecil from UC San Diego.ย The left-handed Terry prepped at Greenway High School where she earned Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year twice as a senior in 2023 and sophomore in 2021. She finished her four-year career with a 62-9 record, 0.53 earned run average, 1,227 strikeouts over 511.1 innings pitched, 26 no-hitters and six perfect games. Terry, a two-way player, recorded a lifetime .626 batting average, 1.567 slugging percentage, 152 hits and 53 home runs for Greenway.
ยท Cecil earned Big West Pitcher of the Year honors in her freshman season with the Tritons in 2022 after posting a 20-5 record, 1.88 earned run average and a program-record 234 strikeouts. Cecil was coached by 2019 NCAA Champion and two-time Honda Cup winner Rachel Garcia while at UC San Diego.
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Overview of Last Season
ยท UCLA's 52 regular-season wins were its most since 2001 and fourth-most in the history of the program. The 52 regular-season wins were also the most in the NCAA last season. The season was highlighted by a 25-game winning streak which ended in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game on May 13 (lost to Utah, 7-4). The winning streak was tied for the longest of Inouye-Perez's career.
ยท UCLA captured its 17th regular-season conference title and its 12th as a member of the Pac-10/12 Conference in 2023.The Bruins went 21-3 in league play and closed the regular-season slate on a 17-conference game winning streak which was their longest in a single season since 2002. The 21 conference wins were UCLA's most in a season since 1999.
ยท UCLA was one of just three teams to not drop a conference series in 2023 (Oklahoma and Florida State are the others). For the second time in the last 20 years, UCLA took the season series against every Pac-12 opponent (2021).
ยท UCLA ranked top 10 nationally in both batting average (2nd, .336) and earned run average (8th, 1.69) in 2023. The only other Power 5 program to accomplish that feat was Oklahoma.
ยท UCLA ranked top two in the Pac-12 in essentially every hitting and statistical category. UCLA was top two in the Pac-12 in earned run average for the sixth consecutive year, finishing second with a 1.69 mark behind Stanford. UCLA's pitching staff ranked first in opposing batting average (.189) and shutouts (21), and was second in strikeouts (416) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.89). Both marks trailed Stanford. The Bruins' bats led the Pac-12 in average (.336) and slugging percentage (.523).
ยท Brady (.448 avg., 59 RBI, 18 HR) was named a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist and was honored as the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year. She became the ninth UCLA player to win the prestigious Player of the Year award and the first Bruin recipient since Rachel Garcia who won the award three years in a row from 2018-21.
ยท Faraimo (29-3, 1.42 ERA, 232 SO) was recognized as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season, accomplishing that feat for the first time in program history. She was also named a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 10 Finalist.
ยท Woolery (.390 avg., 46 RBI, 10 HR) and Grant (.333 avg., 58 RBI, 15 HR) were named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 List. UCLA was one of two programs with a duo on the list (Duke). Woolery was also honored as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, becoming the ninth Bruin to win that award and first since Faraimo in 2018.
ยท Kelly Inouye-Perez rounded out the 2023 conference trophy case, being selected for her third Pac-12 Coach of the Year award (2010, 2012). Inouye-Perez is now tied with her predecessor and fellow UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Sue Enquist with three conference coach of the year honors.
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Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballUCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Tennessee (June 1, 2025)
Sunday, June 01
UCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Texas Tech (May 31, 2025)
Saturday, May 31
Highlights - UCLA Softball vs. Oregon (May 29, 2025)
Thursday, May 29
UCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Oregon (May 29, 2025)
Thursday, May 29