Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Softball Awarded NFCA West Regional Coaching Staff of the Year
June 10, 2024 | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The UCLA softball team was honored as the 2024 NFCA Division I West Regional Coaching Staff of the Year, it was announced Monday afternoon.
The Bruins are led by the Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, the Mark Kalmansohn UCLA Associate Head Softball Coach Lisa Fernandez, associate head coach Kirk Walker, assistant coach Rob Schweyer, volunteer director of player development Will Oldham and graduate assistant coach Bubba Nickles-Camarena.
One of 10 coaching staffs to be honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, UCLA is now eligible for the National Coaching Staff of the Year award, which will be announced June 20.
"I've never been so proud of a team," Inouye-Perez said in her postgame press conference at the Women's College World Series. "I've coached a long time. It was hard. This season was hard. Nobody expected us, I was telling the team, not even us, that we were going to get here. Our coaches, our players, our staff, the support, the belief, the trust, the work to get us back here is something that I am proud of. I am proud. ... When I put it all together, this is the greatest year of coaching I've experienced. Man, building belief, building trust, building a team that could fight."
This marks the seventh time an Inouye-Perez-led team has been awarded NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year (2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024). Inouye-Perez also won the award as an assistant in the 2000 season. Inouye-Perez is a two-time winner of the National Coaching Staff of the Year award as a head coach (2010 and 2019) and once as an assistant (2004).
UCLA posted a 43-12 overall record in 2024 and claimed both the Pac-12 regular season title and Pac-12 Tournament title in the Bruins' final year as a member of the flagship softball conference. Inouye-Perez guided UCLA back to the Women's College World Series for her 10th time as head coach and the program's 32nd time overall after starting the season with a 3-4 record through the first two weeks.
Inouye-Perez, who was named a UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer in 2023, had oversight of the Bruins' talented young pitching tandem of sophomore Taylor Tinsley (18-8, 1.90 ERA) and Kaitlyn Terry (21-3, 2.38 ERA). The two arms both earned All-Pac-12 status while Terry was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. In eight postseason games, Tinsley and Terry combined for a 1.71 ERA and 45 strikeouts over 49.0 innings pitched.
Redshirt senior shortstop Maya Brady earned the prestigious Pac-12 Player of the Year Award for a second straight season and was honored as an NFCA First Team All-American. She is the third Bruin to repeat as Pac-12 Player of the Year under Inouye-Perez and is the 11th three-time First Team All-American in program history (second under Inouye-Perez). Brady was also tabbed as a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 10 Finalist a year after making the cut for the Top 3.
Bruins' backstop Sharlize Palacios hauled in All-America status for the first time in her five-year collegiate career, being named to the NFCA Second Team.
Inouye-Perez has now produced 22 First Team All-American citations and 46 total All-American citations in her 18-year head coaching career.
The Bruins are led by the Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, the Mark Kalmansohn UCLA Associate Head Softball Coach Lisa Fernandez, associate head coach Kirk Walker, assistant coach Rob Schweyer, volunteer director of player development Will Oldham and graduate assistant coach Bubba Nickles-Camarena.
One of 10 coaching staffs to be honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, UCLA is now eligible for the National Coaching Staff of the Year award, which will be announced June 20.
"I've never been so proud of a team," Inouye-Perez said in her postgame press conference at the Women's College World Series. "I've coached a long time. It was hard. This season was hard. Nobody expected us, I was telling the team, not even us, that we were going to get here. Our coaches, our players, our staff, the support, the belief, the trust, the work to get us back here is something that I am proud of. I am proud. ... When I put it all together, this is the greatest year of coaching I've experienced. Man, building belief, building trust, building a team that could fight."
This marks the seventh time an Inouye-Perez-led team has been awarded NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year (2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024). Inouye-Perez also won the award as an assistant in the 2000 season. Inouye-Perez is a two-time winner of the National Coaching Staff of the Year award as a head coach (2010 and 2019) and once as an assistant (2004).
UCLA posted a 43-12 overall record in 2024 and claimed both the Pac-12 regular season title and Pac-12 Tournament title in the Bruins' final year as a member of the flagship softball conference. Inouye-Perez guided UCLA back to the Women's College World Series for her 10th time as head coach and the program's 32nd time overall after starting the season with a 3-4 record through the first two weeks.
"I've never been so proud of a team." ????#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/pIgykFzQbn
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) June 3, 2024
Inouye-Perez, who was named a UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer in 2023, had oversight of the Bruins' talented young pitching tandem of sophomore Taylor Tinsley (18-8, 1.90 ERA) and Kaitlyn Terry (21-3, 2.38 ERA). The two arms both earned All-Pac-12 status while Terry was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. In eight postseason games, Tinsley and Terry combined for a 1.71 ERA and 45 strikeouts over 49.0 innings pitched.
Redshirt senior shortstop Maya Brady earned the prestigious Pac-12 Player of the Year Award for a second straight season and was honored as an NFCA First Team All-American. She is the third Bruin to repeat as Pac-12 Player of the Year under Inouye-Perez and is the 11th three-time First Team All-American in program history (second under Inouye-Perez). Brady was also tabbed as a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 10 Finalist a year after making the cut for the Top 3.
Bruins' backstop Sharlize Palacios hauled in All-America status for the first time in her five-year collegiate career, being named to the NFCA Second Team.
Inouye-Perez has now produced 22 First Team All-American citations and 46 total All-American citations in her 18-year head coaching career.
Players Mentioned
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