2019 Softball Roster
Roster
Rachel Garcia
- Position:
- Pitcher/First Base
- Height:
- 5-6
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- B/T:
- R/R
- High School:
- Highland HS
- Hometown:
- Palmdale, Calif.
2021
Garcia was named the back-to-back winner of the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Award and the prestigious Honda Cup, as well as the Honda Sports Award winner for Softball for the third time ... is one of just three student-athletes ever to be named a two-time winner of the Honda Cup and the first to win the award outright twice ... was also named NFCA First Team All-American and All-Region, Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year and All-Pac-12 First Team ... was the Senior CLASS Award winner and a Top 3 finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year ... was a three-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week and two-time Pac-12 Player of the Week ... went 18-3 in the circle with a 1.39 earned run average and 183 strikeouts in 136 1/3 innings ... appeared in 29 games in the circle, making 18 starts ... posted 12 complete games, seven solo shutouts and two saves, limiting opponents to a .183 batting average ... allowed zero or one earned run in 25 of her 29 appearances, reaching double figures in strikeouts seven times ... pitched the second no-hitter of her career on April 16 at Oregon State ...ย hit .342 at the plate with 13 home runs and 35 runs batted in, adding a team-best .708 slugging percentage and a .473 on base percentage ... was second with 30 walks, third in batting average and tied for third in homers ... had hits in 34 of her 45 games.
USA SOFTBALL - 2020
Garcia, who was named to the United States Softball Olympic Team in October 2019, spent 2020 with Team USA on the Stand Beside Her Tour and redshirted with UCLA ...ย was also named the 2019 LA Sports Awards Sportswoman of the Year in January and a finalist for the 2019 Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year Award.
2019
Earned numerous awards in her redshirt junior season, including Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year (Honda Cup), USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, NFCA National Pitcher of the Year and Pac-12 Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year ... was also named a First Team All-American by the NFCA and Softball America, SA and ESPNW Player of the Year, NFCA All-West Region First Team and All-Pac-12 First Team, while also getting nominated for the ESPY for Best College Athlete and the James E. Sullivan Award ... was a four-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 12, Feb. 19, Feb. 26, March 19), and was named NFCA National Player, USA Softball National Player and Pac-12 Player of the Week on March 19ย ย ... went 29-1 in the circle with a 1.14 earned run average and 286 strikeouts in 202 innings ... in 36 appearances and 25 starts, she went the distance 19 times with seven solo shutouts, adding four saves and a .162 opponents' batting average ... ranked seventh in the nation in ERA and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.65), eighth in strikeouts, tied for ninth in wins, 12th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.05), tied for 29th in saves and tied for 31st in shutouts ... was first among Pac-12 pitchers in ERA and wins, second in strikeouts and opponents' batting average, tied for second in saves and fourth in innings ...ย hit .343 with 11 home runs and 57 runs batted in (third on the team, tied for seventh in the Pac-12) ... led the team with 35 walks (third in the Pac-12) and five sacrifice flies (first in the Pac-12, tied for 14th nationally), adding 34 runs scored, nine doubles, a .599 slugging and a .449 on base percentage ...ย was the Most Outstanding Player of the Women's College World Series, going 5-0 in the circle with a 1.75 earned run average and 33 strikeouts in 36 innings ... went the distance four times in Oklahoma City, including a 10-inning, 16-strikeout shutout against No. 3 Washington (June 2), capping the game off on the offensive end with a walk-off, three-run homer to propel the Bruins into the WCWS Championship Series ... hit another homer versus No. 1 Oklahoma in Game 1ย of the WCWS Championship Series (June 3), batting .333 (5-for-15) with two homers, eight RBI and five walks in OKC ... led all WCWS pitchers in wins and was second in strikeouts, and was also first in RBI ... during the entire NCAA Tournament, Garcia was 9-0 in the circle with a 1.49 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings, while also batting .300 (9-for-30) with three homers, 16 RBI and eight walks ... led all postseason players in wins and RBI ... recorded 13 double-figure strikeout games ...ย had 12 multiple-hit games and 12 multi-RBI contests ... recorded a seven-game hitting streak from May 19-June 3, batting .409 (9-for-22) with three homers and 15 RBI ... struck out four in WCWS Championship Series Game 2 versus Oklahoma (June 4), adding four RBI in Game 1 ... fanned seven against No. 8 Minnesota (May 30) and six versus No. 6 Arizona (May 31) ... struck out 15 in 8 2/3 innings in the Super Regional sweep against No. 14 James Madison (May 24-25), fanning 12 in Game 1 to go with a pair of hits and four RBI, including a three-run homer ... struck out 31 in 21 innings at the L.A. Regional (May 17-19) ... fanned 13 in the Regional opener versus Weber State (May 17), retiring all 18 batters she faced in a combined no-hitter ... fanned 15 against No. 6 Arizona on May 9, hitting .400 (4-for-10) with a homer and three RBI in the series (May 9-11) ... was 5-for-10 (.500) in the series at Oregon State (April 18-20) ... struck out 12 in a three-hit shutout at Arizona State on April 6 ... fanned 11 at CSUN on March 24 ... did not allow a run in the three-game sweep at No. 5 Washington (March 15-17), striking out 16 in 12 innings ... was 6-for-10 (.600) at the plate in the series with two homers and eight RBI, going 4-for-4 with six RBI, including a three-run homer, in game three ... struck out 23 in 11 2/3 innings on March 9 in wins over BYU (12) and Liberty (11) ... was 4-for-4 with five RBI, including a three-run homer, on Feb. 27 against No. 3 Florida, striking out 10 versus the Gators in a win two days later ... struck out 15 in a win over No. 4 Oklahoma on Feb. 22 ... fanned 13 against Ole Miss on Feb. 16, adding 14 strikeouts a day later versus Loyola Marymount ... struck out 15 in a one-hit shutout at Hawai'i on Feb. 8.
USA SOFTBALL - 2019
Garcia won gold medals with the USA Softball Women's National Team at the USA Softball International Cup, the Pan American Games and the Japan Cup ... pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings in four games at the International Cup, hitting .353 (6-for-17) with three RBI ...ย did not allow a run in 8 1/3 innings at the Pan Am Games, striking out 10, while also going 4-for-12 (.333) with three RBI at the plate ... posted a 0.00 ERA and eight strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings at the Japan Cup.
2018
Recognized as the Honda Sport Award winner for softball, while being named the USA Softball, NFCA and ESPNW National Player of the Year ... also named Pac-12 Player of the Year, NFCA First Team All-American, NFCA First Team All-Region and All-Pac-12 First Team ... produced a 29-4 record in the circle with a 1.31 ERAย and 315 strikeouts in 208 innings ... was a four-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week (April 16 and 23, May 7 and 14), two-time NFCA National Pitcher of the Week (April 17 and 24), two-time USA Softball National Player of the Week (Feb. 27 and April 17), NFCA National Player of the Week (Feb. 27) and Pac-12 Player of the Week (April 16) ...ย had two saves, held opponents to a .143 batting average, tossed 21 complete games and was a part of 11 shutouts, including nine solo blankingsย ... ranked fourth nationally in strikeouts, tied for fourth in wins, eighth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.50), 12thย in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.56),ย 16th in ERA and tied for 17th in solo shutouts ... led all Pac-12 hurlers in wins, strikeouts and opposing batting average, was third in innings pitched and fifth in ERA ...ย at the plate, was second on the team with 11 homers and 54 RBI (tied for fourth in Pac-12), first with six sacrifice flies (tied for fifth nationally, tied for first in Pac-12)ย and third with 23 walks and a .563 slugging percentage, boasting a .339 batting average ... led the team with 17 multiple-RBI games, adding 19 multi-hit contests ... had a six-game hitting streak (March 9-17), batting .438 (7-for-16) with three homers and 10 RBI ...ย struck out 42 in 23 innings in four games at the Women's College World Series, and was named to the All-WCWS Teamย ... fanned 15 in both victories against No. 6 Florida State (May 31) and No. 2 Florida (June 1), adding 12 strikeouts in nine innings in a June 3 doubleheader versus FSU ... was 8-2 in the postseason with a 1.82 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings, adding a pair of homers and 10 RBI ... struck out 18 in 12 innings in the L.A. Super Regional against No. 14 Arizona (May 24-25), posting a pair of wins and a 1.17 ERA ... fanned eight in five shutout innings, allowing only one hit in Game 1, while adding two hits, including a two-run homerย ... struck out 10 in a complete-game win in Game 2 ... pitched in all five games of the L.A. Regional, going 4-1 with a 0.69 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings, adding a .375 average (6-for-16) with a homer and seven RBI ... struck out 12 in 14 innings in a May 20 doubleheader sweep over Cal State Fullerton, hitting a three-run homer in game two ... fanned 11 in 9 1/3 innings over two games on May 19, adding two hits in the day's first contest against Fullerton and a pair of hits and four RBI in game two versus Texas State ... struck out 14 in a complete-game, one-hit victory against Sacramento State (May 18) ... struck out 21 in 17 1/3 innings in the series with No. 6 Arizona State (May 10-12), winning twice, fanning 10 in game one ... picked up two wins against No. 24 California (May 4-6), striking out 14 and allowing no earned runs in 10 1/3 innings ... a dozen of her strikeouts came in the middle game ... of her 11 outs at Cal State Fullerton on May 1, eight were strikeouts, as she also had three hits ... set a career high with 18 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout of No. 21 Oklahoma State on April 28 ... threw 18 strikeoutsย over 13 innings in a pair of victories and a save against No. 1 Washington, fanning 10 in game one ... dominated in the series at No. 11 Arizona (April 13-15), going 6-for-7 (.857) at the plate with three homers, seven RBI and five walks, while striking out 20 in 11 1/3 innings with two wins in the circle ... had a pair of homers, a two-run shot and a solo bomb, in game one (April 13), striking out five in the circle ... had three hits and six strikeouts in three innings in game two (April 14) ... hit a three-run homer with three walks in the series finale (April 15), fanning nine in 4 1/3 innings ... went 4-for-4 with two singles and two doubles at Utah on March 30 ... struck out 23 in 13 1/3 innings in the series at No. 6 Oregon (March 16-18) ... fanned 16 in a victory on March 16, adding a home run, while posting a two-run bomb on March 17 ... drove in three runs against No. 16 Ohio State on March 11 ... had two hits, including a grand slam, to go with a one-hit shutout on March 4 against Santa Clara ... had three hits and picked up the win in relief against Missouri (Feb. 25) ... struck out 12 in five innings in a win over No. 7 LSU on Feb. 24 ... fanned 11 in a complete-game, two-hit shutout against No. 23 Nebraska (Feb. 23) ... struck out 10 in a complete-game, one-hit shutout of Syracuse on Feb. 18 ... struck out 17 in a complete-game, one-hit shutout of Fordham on Feb. 15.
USA SOFTBALL - 2018
Was named to the 2018 USA Softball National Team World Championship roster ... had a 1.05 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings at the 2018 WBSC Women's World Championship, helping the U.S. win gold and qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while also hitting .400 (2-for-5) at the plate with three RBI ... against host Japan, earned the win in the circle and produced a walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to send the U.S. into the gold medal game ... also won gold at the International Cup, posting a 1-0 record, a 1.31 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
2017
Was named the NFCA National Freshman of the Year, NFCA Second Team All-American, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, NFCA All-West Region Second Team, All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Pac-12 Freshman Team ... went 23-9 with three saves, a 1.87 ERA and 212 strikeouts in 202 2/3 innings ... tied for 26th nationally in strikeouts, tied for 28thย in wins and tied for 48th in saves ... led all Pac-12 pitchers in strikeouts and was tied for first in saves,ย third in wins, fourth in innings, fifth in opposing batting average (.203) and sixth in ERA ...ย had 14 complete games and was a part of 13 shutouts, including five solo blankingsย ... third on the team with 21 walks and tied for third with 12 doubles, adding a .325 batting average, eight homers and 29 RBI ... had 15 multiple-hit games and eight multi-RBI contests ... recorded an eight-game hitting streak from April 14-28, batting .520 (13-for-25) with six RBI and three doubles ...ย posted a 1.40 ERA, a win and 16 strikeouts in 20 innings at the WCWS, starting all three games in the circle and pitching all but one inning for the Bruins ... struck out seven in a complete game against No. 6 Washington (June 3) ... picked up a victory over No. 9 Texas A&M (June 3), pitching six innings of three-hit ball and recording a two-run homer and two walks at the plate ... fanned seven in a complete game versus No. 13 LSU on June 1 ...ย earned both wins at the L.A. Super Regional against No. 12-seed Ole Miss ... struck out 12 and had career highs in innings (11) and pitches thrown (232) in game one (May 25), while tossing four hitless frames of relief in game two (May 26), striking out fiveย ... also had two hits in game one, including a solo homer ... started all three games at the L.A. Regional, winning twice and allowing just one run, one walk and seven hits in 13 innings with 18 strikeouts ... tossed the first no-hitter of her career against Lehigh on May 19, facing just one over the minimum in five innings and striking out eight ... fanned nine in a complete-game victory in the Regional Championship against Cal State Fullerton (May 21) ... went 2-for-2 with a solo homer versus San Jose State on May 20 ... was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the fourth time on May 16 ... had hits in all three games at No. 22 Arizona State (May 11-13), going 5-for-11 (.455) with three RBI ... went the distance in both of her wins in the circle at ASU, striking out eight in seven innings in game one ... tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings against No. 3 Arizona, recording a win on May 5 and a save (five of eight outs via strikeout) on May 6 ... was 5-for-11 (.455) in the series at Stanford (April 28-30), notching four hits, three RBI and two doubles inย game one ... recorded three hits at CSUN on April 26 ... was named both Pac-12 Pitcher and Freshman of the Week on April 25 after producing two wins, a save, a 0.00 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings against No. 22 Cal (April 21-23) ... struck out nine in game one,ย retired all seven batters she faced, including three by strikeout, in game two, andย fanned four in 5 1/3 frames of shutout relief in game three ... was named USA Softball National Player of the Week, Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week and Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on April 11 after earning two wins and going 4-for-8 in the series against No. 1 Oregon (April 7-9) ... had two doubles versus the Ducks on April 9, pitched three shutout innings of relief to earn the win on April 8 andย pitched a complete-game, five-hit shutout on April 7ย ... was Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on March 28 ... tossed 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball in a doubleheader sweep of BYU on March 25, striking out nine in game one and earning a save in game two ...ย recorded the win in relief versus No. 14 Michigan on March 2, striking out six in 5 1/3 shutout innings ... struck out eight in a complete game against No. 1 Florida State (Feb. 26) ... earned a win in relief versus No. 7 LSU on Feb. 25, striking out all four batters she faced, while going 2-for-3 at the plate ... picked up a victory against No. 11 Georgia (Feb. 23), striking out seven in 4 2/3 innings of relief ... was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 21 ... pitched 13 2/3 innings of relief in a doubleheader against No. 22 Kentucky (Feb. 15), striking out 16 ... in game one, fanned 10 in 6 2/3 shutout innings to pick up the win ... in game two, struck out six in seven innings of relief ... recorded a two-hit, complete-game shutout against No. 22 Notre Dame (Feb. 12), striking out six ... struck out seven in five shutout innings in her first start at San Diego State (Feb. 10) ... hit a two-run homer in her collegiate debut against South Dakota (Feb. 10), adding a single for a two-hit contest.
2016
Utilized her redshirt season (left knee).
HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL
Garcia was a four-year pitcher at Highland High School in Palmdale, Calif. ... was named the 2015 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year ... posted a 26-2 record as a senior with a 0.20 earned run average and 418 strikeouts in 175 innings, adding 20 shutouts, including 10 no-hitters and six perfect games ... she also hit .667 with 20 home runs and 57 runs batted in ... helped the Bulldogs reach the Southern Section Division IV Championship Game ... additional awards as a senior included Los Angeles Daily News Player of the Year, Golden League Most Valuable Player, CIF Southern Section Division IV POY, Cal-Hi Sports Medium High Schools POY and USA Today First Team All-American ... was a two-time Gatorade State POY (2013 and 2015) ... named to the 2015 USA Softball Junior Womenโs National Team, but was unable to play after suffering a left knee injury in the CIF Championship Game ... coached by Daniel Morrow ... was named a MaxPreps First Team All-American and Second Team Student Sports and Full Count Softball All-American as a junior, also earning Daily News All-Area, Cal-Hi Sports First Team All-State, All-Golden League and Antelope Valley Press POY honors ... was 21-3 in 2014 with a 0.36 ERA and 325 strikeouts in 156 innings, while batting .492 with eight homers and 33 RBI ... during her sophomore campaign, she was 22-2 with a 0.50 ERA and 302 strikeouts in 139 innings, hitting .709 with 13 homers and 44 RBI ... played travel ball with Corona Angels under coach Marty Tyson.
PERSONAL
Born Rachel Lauren Garcia in Lancaster, Calif. ... parents are Christine and Joseph "Tony" Garcia ... is an only child ... chose to attend UCLA because it is close to home, academics and tradition ... favorites include the television show โVampire Diariesโ, actor Johnny Depp, the movie โSheโs The Manโ and singer J. Cole ... lists the number one reason for competing in softball as her cousins, Shaunna, Rachelle and Kristen, who inspired her to play ... says jet skiing and running are her favorite hobbies ... history major.
