One of the greatest icons in women’s sports, Lisa Fernandez begins her 29th season on the UCLA softball coaching staff and fifth season as associate head coach in 2027. This marks Fernandez’s second stint as a full-time member on the UCLA staff, having served as an assistant coach from 1997-99 and 2007-22 and as associate head coach since 2023.
In Fernandez’s 28 seasons on staff, the Bruins have posted a 1,320-282-2 record (.824), claimed five NCAA Championships (1999, ‘03, ‘04, ’10 and ’19), made 14 Women’s College World Series appearances, won seven Pac-10/12 Conference regular season titles and one Pac-12 Tournament championship. Fernandez has been part of three NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year selections (2004, ‘10 and ’19) and NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year 10 times, most recently in 2026.
Fernandez’s responsibilities for the 2027 season include working alongside head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez with the pitching staff and overseeing the Bruins’ offensive philosophy.
After the college season, Fernandez continues to make an impact on the sport as general manager of the Utah Talons and an advisor in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). Fernandez guided the Talons to back-to-back AUSL titles in each of the first two years of the new professional league.
In 2026, Fernandez coached the most prolific offense in NCAA history. The Bruins set Division I single-season records for home runs (209), runs scored (672), RBIs (643), total bases (1,408), slugging percentage (.825) and on-base percentage (.490). Megan Grant broke the NCAA single-season home run record with 42, while Jordan Woolery hit 36 home runs with an NCAA-leading 117 RBIs en route to Softball America National Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year honors. A program-record eight Bruins hit at least 10 home runs, led by Grant and Woolery, who produced two of the top three single-season home run totals in NCAA history. Three UCLA hitters earned NFCA All-America honors for the second consecutive season, with Grant and Woolery receiving first-team recognition and Rylee Slimp earning third-team honors.
In addition to her offensive responsibilities, Fernandez worked closely with UCLA ace Taylor Tinsley, who logged 235.0 of the team’s 381.1 innings. Tinsley finished her senior season with 33 victories, tied for the national lead. She pitched all 20.0 of UCLA’s innings at the Women’s College World Series, earning her All-WCWS Tournament Team honors.
In 2025, UCLA boasted one of the nation's most productive offenses, ranking in the top 10 nationally in runs scored (485), home runs (101) and slugging percentage (.591). The Bruins surpassed 100 home runs for just the second time in program history, established a school record with 28 mercy-rule victories and ranked second nationally with a +312 run differential. Grant and Woolery earned NFCA First-Team All-America honors for the first time in their collegiate careers, while Savannah Pola received her first All-America recognition with a third-team selection after leading UCLA with a .428 batting average.
Prior to 2024, Fernandez worked closely with the Bruins’ pitching staff, coaching 10 UCLA hurlers to 21 NFCA All-America awards. UCLA ranked in the top 10 nationally and top two in the Pac-12 Conference in earned run average in each of her final five seasons as pitching coach from 2019-23. Under Fernandez's guidance, Rachel Garcia became one of the most decorated players in college softball history, winning two Honda Cups, three Honda Sport Awards, two USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards, one NFCA National Player of the Year award and one NFCA National Pitcher of the Year award. Garcia was also a four-time NFCA All-American, three-time first-team selection, two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year and two-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year. In addition, Megan Faraimo won three NFCA All-America awards (two First Team) and was honored as the program's first back-to-back Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year in 2022 and 2023 under Fernandez’s guidance.
In 2019, Garcia put on a performance for the ages in the circle to bring home the Bruins' 12th NCAA title. Garcia started and was the winning pitcher in all five games at the WCWS. She tossed a complete game in four of those contests, including a 10-inning shutout with 16 strikeouts versus Washington which she ended with a walk-off three-run homer to give herself the win. In total, Garcia threw 36.0 of UCLA’s 38.0 innings in Oklahoma City.
In November 2013, Fernandez was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame, joining Sharron Backus, Gina Vecchione, Sheila Cornell-Douty, Dot Richardson and Sue Enquist. A decade prior, she was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
Fernandez is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, having helped Team USA to victories in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. The only pitcher to appear in all three Olympic finals, Fernandez excelled both in the circle and at the plate. Overall, she achieved a 7-2 record throughout her Olympic career, allowing only 20 hits, seven walks and six runs (four earned) while striking out 93 over 74.2 innings. In addition to her pitching accolades, Fernandez maintained a .333 batting average overall in Atlanta, Sydney and Athens with three home runs, 15 RBIs and 13 runs scored. A rare pitcher/hitter, Fernandez has the distinction of holding four individual Olympic records: most strikeouts in a game (25), fewest runs allowed, highest batting average in Olympic play (.545) and most doubles (3). These accolades helped land her in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame as both an individual and with the 2004 U.S. Olympic Softball Team.
In 1996, Fernandez shined in the United States' 3-1 gold medal victory over China, recording the final three outs to earn a save. She went 1-1 with a 0.33 ERA in softball's inaugural appearance in the Olympics in Atlanta. In the 2000 Sydney Games, Fernandez pitched the U.S. to victory in both the semifinal win over Australia and the gold medal game against Japan. She established an Olympic single-game strikeout record with 25 in a round-robin game against Australia and posted a 0.47 ERA and 52 strikeouts. In 2004, Fernandez was Team USA's top hitter and pitcher, posting a .545 batting average (12-for-22), which set a new record for an Olympic tournament. For the third consecutive Games, she was in the circle for the final out of the gold medal contest, a 5-1 victory over Australia. Fernandez was selected as an alternate to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
In 1999, Fernandez was named the ASA/USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year. As a pitcher and third baseman, she helped the USA Softball Women's National Team to gold medals at both the Pan American Games and Canada Cup. She also helped the California Commotion win the ASA Women's Major Fast Pitch championship for the fourth consecutive time.
As a player on the professional circuit, Fernandez collected nine ASA All-American titles and seven ASA Women’s Major Fast Pitch National titles, three times with the Raybestos Brakettes and four times with the California Commotion. She also won the MVP award five times and the Bertha Tickey Award five times.
One of the sport’s greatest college players, Fernandez was a two-time NCAA Champion and the first four-time NFCA First Team All-American in school history while starring for UCLA from 1990-93. A three-time winner of the Honda Sport Award, Fernandez became the first softball player to win the prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup in 1993, given to the most outstanding collegiate female athlete in all sports. She led UCLA to national championships in 1990 and 1992 and runner-up finishes in 1991 and 1993. She earned first-team NFCA All-Region and All-Pac-10 honors each season and was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year her final three seasons. Her jersey was retired by UCLA in 1995. Fernandez was also honored as the Pac-12 Softball Player of the Century and Pitcher of the Century by the league in 2016.
Fernandez compiled a career record of 93-7 with 784 strikeouts and a 0.22 ERA. Her ERA ranks second in NCAA history, while her 74 shutouts are the most in UCLA history and tied for ninth in NCAA annals. Fernandez’s strikeout and win totals rank seventh and eighth in school history, respectively. In her junior and senior seasons, Fernandez had the lowest ERA in the nation (0.14 in 1992, 0.25 in 1993) and sported a perfect 29-0 record in the circle in 1992. She tossed 11 career no-hitters, including a pair in the 1993 WCWS, along with two perfect games.
Fernandez was just as powerful at the plate, batting .382 (287-for-752) with 15 home runs and 128 RBIs. She hit .401 in her junior season, but eclipsed that mark by more than 100 points in her senior campaign, batting an NCAA-best .510 with 11 homers and 45 RBIs. Fernandez remains ranked in UCLA’s top 10 in numerous offensive categories, including seventh in hits.
Fernandez earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA in 1995. She returned to the program in 2007 to join her longtime best friend and Bruin batterymate Kelly Inouye-Perez embarking on her first year as head coach.
Fernandez and Mike Lujan, who married in August 2002, have two sons, Antonio and Cruz, and reside in Long Beach. Antonio enters his junior season as an outfielder on the Azusa Pacific baseball team in 2027. He owns a career .284 batting average with 48 hits, including 10 home runs. Mike was a two-year letterwinner at Azusa Pacific from 1988-89, appearing in 96 games and batting .324 with 12 home runs.
Fernandez’s Coaching Experience
1997-99 – Assistant Coach, UCLA
2000-04 – Volunteer Assistant Coach, UCLA
2007-22 – Assistant Coach, UCLA
2023-Pres. – Associate Head Coach, UCLA
Career Highlights
Career
• 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2004, 2000, 1996)
• UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer (Class of 2003)
• National Softball Hall of Famer (Class of 2013)
• U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Famer
• Pac-12 Softball Player of the Century (2016)
• Pac-12 Softball Pitcher of the Century (2016)
• UCLA Retired Jersey No. 16 (1995)
As UCLA Assistant & Associate Head Coach (1997-99; 2007-22)
• 5-time NCAA Champion (2019, 2010, 2004, 2003, 1999)
• 3-time NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year (2019, 2010, 2004)
• 10-time NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year
As UCLA Student-Athlete (1990-93)
• 2-time NCAA Champion (1992, 1990)
• 2-time NCAA Runner-Up (1992, 1990)
• Honda-Broderick Cup winner (1993)
• 3-time Honda Sport Award winner (1993, 1992, 1991)
• 4-time NFCA First Team All-American (1993, 1992, 1991, 1990)
• 3-time Pac-10 Player of the Year (1993, 1992, 1991)
• 4-time All-Pac-10 First Team honoree (1993, 1992, 1991, 1990)