Schedule // Standings // Pac-12 Statistics // NCAA Statistics // Record Book

SAN FRANCISCO - The crown jewel of the Pac-12 slate this week is a showdown in Westwood between No. 3 UCLA and No. 6 Stanford, which concludes with a Sunday contest on ESPNU at 2 p.m. PT. Last season, Stanford took two of three from then-No. 2 UCLA on The Farm by way of 1-0 victories in games two and three, the Cardinal's first series victory over the Bruins since 2013.

One of only two series in the country this weekend pitting a pair of top-10 teams along with No. 1 Oklahoma hosting No. 9 Texas, the three-game set could shake up the top of the Conference standings. The 5-1 Cardinal are tied with No. 24 Utah for the early league lead, with the 6-3 Bruins just behind in a tie for third with No. 8 Washington. The Pac-12 (No. 3 UCLA, No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 Washington) and Big 12 (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Texas) are the only conferences with three programs in the NFCA top 10.

Other Pac-12 series this weekend feature No. 24 Utah at California, No. 8 Washington at Arizona State and a rivalry matchup with No. 18 Oregon at Oregon State. No. 20 Arizona takes a break from Conference action and will host its Bear Down Fiesta on Friday and Saturday, with games against Georgetown and San Diego on both days.

Staying out of Conference, the Cardinal will begin its Southern California swing at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+, while California will play at Pacific on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT on WCC Network.

The Pac-12 is coming off of a season in which each of its nine programs finished with a record of .500 or better, seven earned NCAA Tournament berths, and three advanced to the Women's College World Series.

RANKINGS ROUNDUP: Eight of the league's nine teams are receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, including six the in the top 25.

• UCLA, which spent a week at No. 1 earlier this season, is No. 3 and followed by No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 18 Oregon, No. 20 Arizona and No. 24 Utah. With 20 points, California is second among a group of five teams receiving votes, while Arizona State is third among that group with six points.
• With six of its nine in the NFCA Top 25, the Pac-12 has 66.7 percent of its teams ranked, one of only two leagues over 60 percent (SEC - 69.2).
• Seven Conference teams were in the USA TODAY/NFCA preseason poll, the first time since 2013 and 12th time overall that the Pac-12 has had seven ranked teams to open the season, which tied the league's second-most all-time. All eight Pac-10 softball programs were in the preseason Top 25 in 2001.
• ESPN.com/USA Softball: #4 UCLA, #6 Stanford, #9 Washington, #18 Oregon, #19 Utah, #24 Arizona, RV California, RV Arizona State.
• D1Softball: #4 UCLA, #6 Stanford, #9 Washington, #17 Oregon, #20 Utah, #22 Arizona.
• Softball America: #5 UCLA, #6 Stanford, #9 Washington, #18 Oregon, #19 Utah, #22 Arizona.

RPI CHECK-IN: In the most recent update through games as of March 27, the Pac-12 is the nation's No. 1 conference according to the NCAA's RPI rankings and also boasts the country's top strength of schedule.

• Led by No. 3 UCLA, the Pac-12 has three of the nation's top 10 in the RPI, a total tied with the Big 12 for the most among all leagues. The Bruins are followed by No. 4 Stanford and No. 8 Washington.
• Also in the top 35 are No. 13 Oregon, No. 28 California, No. 31 Utah and No. 33 Arizona. Arizona State is No. 55.
• UCLA leads the country with 12 wins against the RPI top 25. Oklahoma is second with 11, while Stanford is third with nine. Washington and Oregon both have five such victories to give the Pac-12 four of only 12 teams in the country with five or more RPI top-25 wins, which is tied with the SEC for the most among all leagues.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: Through the season's first seven weeks, Pac-12 programs have combined to go 157-41 (.793) against non-league foes, the second-best non-conference winning percentage in the country narrowly behind the SEC (.794; 256-66-1).

• Last season, Pac-12 teams went 228-68-1 (.769) in non-league games, the second-best mark in the country behind the SEC (342-97; .779).
• The Pac-12 is 16-15 against NFCA-ranked opponents in non-conference games this season. After winning just one of its first seven, the league has gone 15-9 (.625) against ranked foes since.

UTAH MAKING NOISE: At 21-5 and winners of 12 of its last 13, the Utes are off to their best 26-game start to a season since 2017 (21-5), also the year of their last NCAA Tournament appearance.

• Utah has won its first two Pac-12 series as a Conference member for the first time and is currently tied for first in the league standings with five wins in six games.
• The Utes last played March 17-19 at Arizona, scoring 31 total runs to take two of three from the Wildcats, the program's first series victory over Arizona since 2017. Last week, Utah's non-conference contests were canceled or postponed due to weather.
• No. 23 last week and No. 24 this week in the NFCA Top 25, Utah is in that poll for the first time in five years. Prior to this season, Utah hadn't been in the NFCA rankings since Feb. 20, 2018, when it checked in tied for 24th.

STANFORD'S STRONG START: The Cardinal had a 21-game winning streak snapped at Oregon on March 18, but has reeled off four consecutive victories since.

• Stanford entered that series against the Ducks with eight consecutive shutouts and an Allee Bunker RBI double in the third inning of game one on March 17 snapped a 56-inning scoreless streak.
• The Cardinal is fourth in the nation in ERA (1.29), third in shutouts (15), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.45) and second in fielding percentage (.986).
• Stanford's 27-3 record is the program's best through 30 games since 2009 (29-1).
• The Cardinal's 21-game winning streak was its longest since winning 28 in a row from Feb. 7 - March 23, 2009.
• Stanford is No. 6 in the NFCA rankings, its best position in the polls since coming in at No. 5 on May 12, 2009.

WEEKLY AWARDS: Following a sweep of Arizona, Washington picked up two of the Conference's three weekly awards, with Madison Huskey voted Pac-12 Player of the Week and Alana Johnson Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. 

• Huskey hit a walk-off solo home run in game two, smashed a solo home run in game three and is tied for third in the Pac-12 and 18th nationally with 10 home runs this season.
• Johnson hit a team-best .552 in the series sweep, smacking a two-run home run in the second inning of game two and another two-run home run in the fifth inning of game three.
• UCLA's Megan Faraimo was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season after picking up both of the Bruins' wins in relief at Oregon. In game two, she struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings of a 7-4 Bruin victory and in game three, she answered the call with two runners on base and picked up two quick outs in the fourth to get out of a jam as part of a scoreless outing and 6-2 UCLA win.
  • Faraimo leads the Conference with 15 wins and 136 strikeouts and is fifth and 10th in those categories nationally.
• Nationally, Pac-12 players have collected four of the NFCA's 14 weekly awards thus far (player, pitcher). Faraimo was named Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week for the second time in her career on March 21 and Utah's Mariah Lopez was selected for the honor on Feb. 14 following the season's opening weekend. Offensively, UCLA's Maya Brady and Arizona's Olivia DiNardo were named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Players of the Week on Feb. 14 and March 7, respectively.
• Pac-12 players have also won six of the 21 national awards (player, pitcher, freshman) handed out by D1 Softball in the season's first seven weeks, tied for the most among all leagues (SEC).

QUICK HITTERS

• ARIZONA: Arizona is the Conference's offensive leader, pacing the league in nearly every offensive category - batting (.346), slugging (.555), on base percentage (.443), runs (247), hits (291), RBIs (224), doubles (50) and total bases (467). The Wildcats are fourth nationally in scoring, averaging 7.72 runs per game, are fifth nationally in batting, sixth in on base percentage and 13th in slugging (.586).
• ARIZONA STATE: After hitting a program-record 104 home runs in 2022, the Sun Devils have continued to deliver in that department in 2023. With 41 home runs in 28 games, ASU is tied for 13th in the NCAA in total homers, but seventh in home runs per game (1.46). ASU homered in 17 consecutive games – one shy of the program record – before being shutout on March 10.
  • Senior infielder Jordyn VanHook is second in the nation with 14 home runs after launching just five in her first three seasons. Nearly half of her 29 hits in 2023 have gone over the fence.
• CALIFORNIA: Cal's 96 extra base hits (42 HR, 50 2B, 4 3B) lead the Pac-12. The Golden Bears' are tied for 10th nationally, averaging 1.35 home runs per game. Led by Makena Smith's 10, eight different Cal players have at least three home runs this season. 
  • The Golden Bears took down then-No. 2 UCLA on March 11, 8-0, for its first win over a top-5 team since 2012.
  • Last weekend, Cal took two of three from Arizona State for its first series win over the Sun Devils since 2012.
• OREGON: The Ducks currently boast the nation's toughest strength of schedule. Oregon is 3-3 against 2022 Women's College World Series teams, and 11-9 against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season.
  • A year ago, the Ducks played the second-most difficult schedule in the country and in 2023, they will face six of the eight teams that reached the 2022 WCWS – Florida, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Oregon State and UCLA. In all, Oregon has 29 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
• OREGON STATE: For the second time in program history, the Beavers made an appearance at the Women’s College World Series in 2022. OSU reached the NCAA Tournament five times under head coach Laura Berg. As a program, the Beavers have made 15 total postseason appearances.
• STANFORD: Stanford is tied for third nationally with 15 total shutouts in its first 30 games, trailing only Oklahoma (19) and Tennessee (17). Last year, the Cardinal tied for fourth in the country with 21 shutouts in 61 games.
  • NiJaree Canady has only given up one earned run in 51 1/3 innings and leads the country with a 0.14 ERA this season.
  • Fellow first-year River Mahler is second in the Conference in batting average (.457) and first among all NCAA freshmen.
• UCLA: Maya Brady is the one of three players in the country to have at least a .450 batting average, 10 home runs and 35 RBIs this season (Kiki Milloy - Tennessee; Autumn Owen - Marshall). Brady leads the Pac-12 in hits (46), total bases (92), extra-base hits (22), batting average (.465) and slugging percentage (.929), and ranks second in RBIs (37) and home runs (11).
• UTAH: The Utes are seventh in the country in batting average, hitting .340 as a team, and seventh in scoring, averaging 7.15 runs per game. Utah's 2.81 steals per game average is fifth nationally and its 73 total stolen bases are just 19 shy of the school record of 92 set in 1994.
• WASHINGTON: Baylee Klingler is one grand slam away from setting the career program record. The fifth-year senior has five so far - four of which came last season and she had one this year against Hofstra. The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year is second in the Conference with 44 hits and ranks fifth with a .431 average.

STAT LINES

• NCAA Top-10 Team Rankings: Batting Avg. - Arizona (5th, .346), Utah (7th, .340); ERA - Stanford (4th, 1.29), UCLA (10th, 1.75); Fielding % - Stanford (2nd, .986), Arizona (6th, .981); Home runs/game - Arizona State (7th, 1.46), California (10th, 1.35), Washington (10th, 1.35); OBP - Arizona (6th, .443); Scoring - Arizona (4th, 7.72), Utah (7th, 7.15); Shutouts - Stanford (3rd, 15), UCLA (9th, 12), Washington (9th, 12); Stolen bases/game - Utah (5th, 2.81); Strikeout-to-walk ratio - Stanford (4th, 6.45), UCLA (5th, 5.84); Triples/game - Stanford (6th, 0.47); Winning % - Stanford (6th, .900), UCLA (7th; .879);Walks - Arizona (7th, 128).
• NCAA Top-10 Individual Rankings: ERA - NiJaree Canady, STAN (1st, 0.14); Hits allowed per seven innings - NiJaree Canady, STAN (1st, 1.91); Home runs - Jordyn VanHook, ASU (2nd, 14); Home runs per game - Jordyn VanHook, ASU (1st, 0.50); RBIs - Allie Skaggs, ARIZ (3rd, 45); RBIs per game - Allie Skaggs, ARIZ (3rd, 1.41), Ellessa Bonstrom, UTAH (8th, 1.27); Sacrifice flies - Megan Grant, UCLA (2nd, 5); Saves - Marissa Schuld, ASU (6th, 4); Shutouts - NiJaree Canady, STAN (3rd, 6), Ruby Meylan, WASH (3rd, 6), Megan Faraimo, UCLA (8th, 5); Slugging % - Maya Brady, UCLA (9th, .929), Jordyn VanHook, ASU (10th, .927); Stolen bases - Haley Denning, UTAH (8th, 23); Stolen bases per game - Haley Denning, UTAH (5th, 0.88); Strikeout-to-walk ratio - Alana Vawter, STAN (1st, 15.00); Strikeouts - Megan Faraimo, UCLA (10th, 136); Strikeouts per seven innings - NiJaree Canady, STAN (2nd, 12.5); Total bases - Maya Brady, UCLA (3rd, 92); Toughest to strike out - Ellesse Bonstrom (10th, 35.0); Triples - Taylor Gindlesperger, STAN (2nd, 6); Victories - Megan Faraimo, UCLA (5th, 15); Walks allowed per seven innings - Alana Vawter, STAN (1st, 0.40).

powHER OF THE PAC: All nine Pac-12 softball programs are led by female head coaches.

• The Pac-12 is one of just two leagues in the country that features exclusively female head coaches (Ivy League).
• Six of the nine are leading their alma maters - Jessica Allister (STAN), Amy Hogue (UTAH), Kelly Inouye-Perez (UCLA), Caitlin Lowe (ARIZ), Chelsea Spencer (CAL) and Heather Tarr (WASH).

PRESEASON PAC-12 COACHES POLL: For the third consecutive season, UCLA was voted by the Conference’s softball head coaches as the league’s preseason favorite for the upcoming campaign.

• The Bruins, which have made seven straight trips to the Women's College World Series, collected all eight available first-place votes and totaled 64 points to top the annual poll. It's the first time since 2016 (Oregon) that a Pac-12 team has garnered every available first-place vote. Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
• Stanford was second with 54 points, and followed closely by Washington (53 points), which picked up the remaining first-place vote. Coming off its first Super Regional appearance since 2011, the Cardinal boasts its highest-ever position in the preseason poll. Stanford had been picked third twice previously, in 2002 and 2006. 
• Oregon collected 39 points and Arizona 30 to round out the top portion of the rankings. Oregon State was sixth (25 points), California seventh (21 points), Utah eighth (20 points) and Arizona State ninth (18 points).

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: The Pac-12 returns six NFCA All-Americans from a season ago, including the league's reigning Player (Baylee Klingler, WASH) and Pitcher (Megan Faraimo, UCLA) of the Year. In addition to Klingler (first-team All-American) and Faraimo (second-team AA), also back are Arizona State's Yannira Acuña (second-team AA), Arizona's Allie Skaggs (second-team AA), California's Makena Smith (third-team AA) and Utah's Ellessa Bonstrom (third-team AA).

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: The Conference's six returning All-Americans are also featured on the first-ever Preseason All-Pac-12 Team, which was voted on by the league's head coaches. UCLA has a league-high five players on the team in Maya Brady, Faraimo, Aaliyah Jordan, Sharlize Palacios and Brooke Yanez. Washington is second with four (Madison Huskey, Klingler, Lindsay Lopez, Sami Reynolds). 

TOP 100: Eighteen Pac-12 stars from all nine league programs were included in D1Softball.com's Preseason Top 100 Player Rankings, led by Washington's Baylee Klingler, who last season became the Conference's first triple crown winner since 1999 and just third all-time. UCLA landed six players on the list, which tied for the second-most in the country. Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State and Washington placed two apiece, while California, Oregon, Stanford and Utah each have one.

WATCH LISTS: Seven Pac-12 student-athletes appear on the USA Softball Top 50 Collegiate Player of the Year watch list, the third-most in the country (SEC - 18, Big 12 - 11) - Maya Brady (UCLA), Megan Faraimo (UCLA), Frankie Hammoude (OSU), Baylee Klingler (WASH), Sharlize Palacios (UCLA), Carlie Scupin (ARIZ), Alana Vawter (STAN).

PAC-12 SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT: Arizona's Hillenbrand Stadium will serve as the host site for the inaugural Pac-12 Softball Tournament, which is set to make its debut from May 10-13, 2023. The four-day event will begin with a play-in game between the eighth and ninth-place teams in the regular-season standings on Wednesday. That winner will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship being contested on the following three days. The winner of the Pac-12 Softball Tournament will receive the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: The nation’s most successful softball conference, Pac-12 programs have combined to win 24 of the 40 NCAA softball championships all-time, 18 more than the next closest league, and all nine Pac-12 teams have made appearances in the Women’s College World Series. Of the 13 different programs to have won an NCAA softball championship, five are from the Pac-12: UCLA (12), Arizona (8), Arizona State (2), California (1) and Washington (1).

MORE PAC-12 SOFTBALL:

• In Season
  • Off to best Pac-12 start, Utah softball has Women's College World Series aspirations in 2023 (March 21)
  • Pitching, defense and freshmen fueling Stanford softball's nation-best winning streak (March 16)
  • These Pac-12 freshmen have shined bright to begin the 2023 softball season (Feb. 20)
• Preseason
  • 1 thing to know about all 9 Pac-12 softball teams entering the 2023 season
  • 1 must-watch non-conference matchup for every Pac-12 softball team
  • 1 freshman to know from each Pac-12 softball team in 2023
  • These Pac-12 softball transfers could be difference-makers in 2023

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Full Schedule) 

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

PAC-12 SOFTBALL WEEKLY AWARDS

NATIONAL WEEKLY HONORS