The start of the school year brings buzz and excitement around UCLA’s campus.
The same is true up the hill at Easton Stadium where the Bruins are in the middle of their fall ball season, known as the “B Phase.”
“This time of year, the fall, Coach I calls it the ‘B Phase,’” said junior shortstop Aleena Garcia. “That’s short for ‘Building Foundation.’”
UCLA softball head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez spells out the stages of the softball season with an acronym, “B.R.U.1.N.S.”
B. Building foundation. R. Respect the program. U. Unity. 1. One shot. N. Never let up. S. Show out.
Inouye-Perez considers the Building Foundation Phase essential to the team's success, especially for this year’s squad which features seven freshmen and two incoming transfers.
“You’ve got to have a strong foundation that helps you get through the season,” Inouye-Perez said. “Right now, we’re working hard on the field and off, in the weight room (and) at practice. We’re playing fall scrimmages, but the most important part is we’re building culture and leadership and teaching the standards of what we call the ‘Bruin Way’ – how we walk, how we talk and how we act.”
Garcia said her and her teammates have inseparable even off the softball diamond. The activities include coffee dates, baking and cooking at each other’s apartments and attending church together on Sundays.
“It’s very important for us this year with a lot of new faces and new personalities,” Garcia said. “Us upperclassmen done a really good job with hanging out with the freshmen and transfers outside of the softball field to get to know them as people and learn how we can communicate and get to know each other as more than softball players, which translates to better results on the field and be able to enjoy the game more.”
Stepping Up As Leaders
Now entering her third year in Westwood, Garcia is drawing on the lessons she learned through adversity to help guide UCLA's next generation of players.
The UCLA softball program does not assign captains, but Inouye-Perez looks to the junior class to serve as de facto leaders of the team. Joining Garcia in that group are Kaniya Bragg, Sofia Mujica and Rylee Slimp, who all arrived in Westwood as members of the same signing class.
Garcia struggled early on in her first full season back after sustaining an injury her true freshman year. At the highly-anticipated Clearwater Invitational in Week 2 of the 2026 season, Garcia hit a combined 2-for-13 against UCLA’s first ranked competition. That experience taught her how to step up for her team in other ways.
“After starting off not the greatest, I learned a lot about myself mentally on how to handle adversity and how I can go through the hard,” Garcia said. “It taught me a lot about how to be a better teammate. Because when I’m not getting the best results, I can still make an impact as a teammate as well. Even defensively, I can go out there and help my pitchers even though I’m not having the greatest success offensively.”
Garcia went on to finish the season with a .358 batting average, 1.280 OPS, 22 home runs, 69 runs batted in and 63 runs scored. The Pico Rivera, Calif., native earned All-Big Ten First Team and Big Ten Defensive Team acclaim and was chosen as the Bruins’ Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
“As the year went on and I started getting greater offensive numbers,” Garcia said. “I felt like I was more of a whole player, whether it was defensively, helping my pitchers and the rest of the defense, or in the dugout, being the best teammate I can be and helping other people be better.”
This past offseason, Garcia suited up for Team USA the first time at the USA Softball International Cup from July 30-Aug. 5 in Oklahoma City, helping the United States to a gold medal.
Touch First Base
UCLA is tasked with replacing the most productive offense in college softball history. All of the NCAA records set by last year’s Bruins – runs scored (672), home runs (209), slugging percentage (.825), on-base percentage (.490) and walks (325) – were fueled by one mantra: “Touch first base.”
That message, created by UCLA associate head coach Lisa Fernandez, has stayed the same.
“We know Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery are one of a kind, irreplaceable players,” Garcia said. “We all know that. Same with everyone else. Kaniya Bragg, she’s her own player. Sofia Mujica, she’s her own player. Everyone is irreplaceable. So, we all just know that we need to be our best.
“This year, we’ve honestly carried on the same hitting approach and mindset as last year of keeping it simple and touching first base. Last year, even though we broke all our records, our goals weren’t to break all our records. They all just came along with us keeping it simple. Touching first base and honing in on our pitch selection. We know, if we walk and the next person waits for the pitch they’re looking for, we’ll do damage on it. We all play a big role in this year.”
Strength In Numbers
UCLA lost three players to graduation and added seven true freshmen and two transfers in the offseason for a total roster size of 27 student-athletes. Inouye-Perez said that added depth will be a calling card for UCLA in 2027.
“One of our mantras we’ve come to is that we’re going to have ‘strength in numbers,’” Inouye-Perez said. “We have depth. We have different looks. We have different ways to win. We’re going to rely on different people.”
The Bruins boast seven pitchers on its roster alone, headlined by transfers Cambria Salmon from Texas and Meika Lauppe from Arizona State.
“Having depth in the bullpen creates a culture of true camaraderie,” Inouye-Perez said. “We’re really holding metrics and standards to show what’s expected, but in the same breath we’re also working together as a unit to show we need everybody. We’re doing a lot of challenges and stuff that’s inclusive.”
The group complements each other well. Under the guidance of Inouye-Perez and Fernandez, who has re-added pitching staff responsibilities, Salmon is returning to the “best version of herself” with a high-60s rise ball and screw ball. Lauppe has improved her velocity mightily in her brief time with Fernandez, touching 71 on the gun.
Lauppe joined the Bruins after three seasons at Arizona State where she helped the Sun Devils make two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Super Regional berth in 2026. She owns a career 3.64 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 25-14 record with 160 strikeouts in 273.0 innings over three seasons.
Salmon arrived at UCLA after helping Texas capture back-to-back NCAA Championships during her first two collegiate seasons in 2025 and 2026. She put together a 2.34 ERA and a 12-2 record with 97 strikeouts in 101.2 innings pitched for the Longhorns.
“I think the biggest story of the fall is (Salmon) and (Lauppe),” Inouye-Perez said. “They both have some experience, but both really wanted to come here and be at UCLA. They are definitely impactful. Their work ethic is legit. Their IQ and knowledge of the game is pretty awesome. They’re jumping right in and upholding the standard. As a result, they’re making everyone around them better.”