No. 10 UCLA Softball Opens 2024 Season at Easton Stadium

LOS ANGELES – The No. 10 UCLA softball team opens the 2024 season at Easton Stadium by hosting the 20th-annual Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament this week. The Bruins begin the season with two games on Friday, Feb. 9 versus Maryland at 3 p.m. (PT) and No. 8 Texas at 6 p.m. (PT) and one game on Sunday, Feb. 11 versus No. 9 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. (PT).
 
ESPN starts its coverage of the 2024 softball season with UCLA's two showdowns against the Longhorns and Cowgirls. All of UCLA's home games are available for listening on ucla.leanplayer.com.
 
In between UCLA's games on Friday and Sunday, the Bruins travel to Irvine, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 10 to compete at the Mark Campbell Invitational at Bill Barber Park. UCLA will face San Diego at 12:30 p.m. (PT) and rematch with Texas at 6 p.m. (PT). Both games are available for viewing on FloSoftball ($).
 
Key Notes About the Bruins
∙ The Bruins have returned seven key pieces from last season's batting lineup: redshirt seniors Maya Brady, Sharlize Palacios, Janelle Meoño and Seneca Curo, junior Savannah Pola and sophomores Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery. They return one arm from last season's pitching staff: sophomore Taylor Tinsley. UCLA has added seven incoming student-athletes with three transfers and four freshmen.
∙ Last season, UCLA went 52-7 and made a NCAA Tournament appearance for the 24th consecutive year which is the longest active streak among all programs. The No. 2 seed Bruins lost in the NCAA Regional round (0-2), marking the first time in seven years they did not reach the Women's College World Series.
∙ Kelly Inouye-Perez enters her 18th season as the Bruins' head coach (The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach). Including her five years as a catcher on UCLA's roster, 13 years as an assistant coach and 17 years as head coach, the 2024 season marks Inouye-Perez's 36th consecutive season in Westwood. Known as "Coach I," Inouye-Perez is the only person to have won an NCAA Division I Softball Championship as both a player and coach. She led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships as head coach in 2010 and 2019. Inouye-Perez owns a 775-197-1 (.797) career record. Her .797 winning percentage ranks second among active head coaches and seventh all-time. UCLA's first two Hall-of-Fame head coaches, Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist, rank top two all-time in winning percentage.
 
Preseason Notes
∙ The 2023-24 school year marks the 49th season in which UCLA has fielded a softball team (first season was 1975). UCLA will enter the 2024 season ranked 10th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Poll for its highest preseason ranking since 2014 (ranked 16th). This marks the 10th straight season the Bruins have been ranked in the top 10 of the NFCA Preseason Poll dating back to 2015. UCLA has been ranked in the top 25 of the NFCA Preseason Poll for 26 straight seasons (unranked heading into the 1998 season).
∙ In addition, the Bruins have been slotted in the No. 2 spot in the final Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office on Feb. 1. Stanford was selected as the league's preseason favorite, garnering seven of nine first-place votes. Washington and Utah each received one first-place vote.
 
Encore! Encore!
Redshirt senior shortstop Maya Brady was named as one of the Pac-12 Conference's 20 selections to the preseason all-league team, as announced in February. Last season, Brady was honored as a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist and became the ninth student-athlete in UCLA history to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year (18th time a UCLA player won the award, which ranks first among conference schools). She was honored as an NFCA First Team All-American for the second time in her career. Brady won the Pac-12 Batting Crown with a .456 average in the regular season.
 
Preseason Recognition
Redshirt seniors Maya Brady and Sharlize Palacios and sophomores Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery were named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, as announced in January. UCLA ranked second in terms of representation on the list, trailing only Oklahoma who had six players listed. Recognized as the most distinguished individual honor in NCAA Division I Softball, two Bruins have received the honor a total of three times. Rachel Garcia was a back-to-back winner of the award following the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and Stacey Nuveman won the award in 2002. Additionally, Brady, Palacios, Grant and Woolery were selected to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team.
 
Sophomore Stars
Grant and Woolery, two NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 Finalists in 2023, look to repeat their successes in their sophomore campaigns. The duo each received NFCA All-American status last season (Grant to the Second Team and Woolery to the Third Team). In 2023, Grant and Woolery combined for 104 runs batted in which was the most by a freshman duo in UCLA history, surpassing the mark of 90 RBI set by Stacey Nuveman (71) and Courtney Dale (19) in 1997. The 104 RBI ranked second in the NCAA last season, trailing Indiana's Taryn Kern and Avery Parker (105 RBI).
 
Notes on Easton Stadium
∙ This will mark the 30th softball season in which UCLA has played at Easton Stadium. The Bruins' home venue opened on Feb. 19, 1994. The stadium sits on the same plot of land as Sunset Field, the original on-campus facility used by the softball program since 1979.
∙ UCLA went 21-3 at home in 2023 and went 26-1 in 2022. UCLA has not lost more than five games at home since the 2017 season. The Bruins' last regular-season, non-conference home loss was to then-No. 3 Texas on Feb. 27, 2020 in an extra-inning thriller (L, 6-4). UCLA was ranked as the top team in the nation in that game.
∙ Inouye-Perez owns a 352-75 (.824) career home record at Easton Stadium.
 
History & Tradition
∙ The Bruins have won a nation-leading 12 NCAA Championships and 13 total national championships (1978 AIAW title).  UCLA has won a national title in every decade dating back to the 1970s, including the NCAA's first Division I Softball Championship in 1982. UCLA was the first program to repeat NCAA Championships in 1984 and 1985 and the first to three-peat in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
∙ UCLA has made a record 38 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including 24 straight since 1999. UCLA owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 233-66 (.785). The 233 postseason wins are the most in NCAA history. UCLA's 31 Women's College World Series appearances lead all programs.
∙ UCLA leads all collegiate softball programs with 11 Honda Sport Award accolades and leads all NCAA Division I women's athletic programs, regardless of sport, with four Honda Cup awards: Lisa Fernandez (1993), Natasha Watley (2003) and the only two-time winner in the Cup's history, Rachel Garcia (2019, 2021).
∙ The UCLA softball program has been represented in each of the five Olympic Games sponsoring softball. A total of 14 former UCLA players have competed for the U.S. Olympic Team. UCLA's 17 total Olympians and nine different gold medal winners rank as the most among all college programs. The 17 Olympians have totaled 32 medals, including 16 gold medals.
 
The Bruins' Schedule
∙ UCLA will play a 50-game regular-season schedule with 23 games against 12 opponents ranked in the NFCA Preseason Poll. The Bruins square off against six opponents who appeared at the 2023 Women's College World Series: Florida State, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Tennessee, Washington and Utah.
∙ After this week, the Bruins will return to three tournament staples. From Feb. 16-18, UCLA will compete at the fourth-annual Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. The following week, the Bruins head to Cathedral City, Calif. for the 18th rendition of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 23-25. Concluding the tournament schedule is the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif. (March 1-3).
∙ UCLA will embark in its final season in the Pac-12 Conference in 2024. The Pac-12 has produced 22 NCAA Division I Softball championships, the most by any conference. Next closest is the Big 12 with seven. The Bruins conclude the regular season with a three-game series versus longtime Pac-12 rival Arizona for senior weekend (April 26-28).
 
Returning Lineup Production
UCLA returns much of its production from last year's lineup. The Bruins' returners in 2024 accounted for 75.9 percent of last season's runs batted in (252 RBI), 67.6 percent of last season's hits (353 H), 71.3 percent of last season's runs scored (261 R) and 87.8 percent of last season's home runs (58 HR). UCLA's top five RBI leaders from last season all return in 2024: Brady (59), Grant (58), Woolery (46), Palacios (33) and Pola (26).
 
A Look at the Arms
∙ Sophomore Taylor Tinsley is the lone returning pitcher from last year's staff which was headlined by Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Megan Faraimo and All-Pac-12 Second Team selection Brooke Yanez. Tinsley totaled a 6-1 record with 57.1 innings pitched and a 1.47 earned run average in her debut season. Her top performances last season were a shutout victory over Texas A&M at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 25 (W, 3-0) and a no-hitter in her first career start against CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 11 (W, 8-0 in five innings). Tinsley's performance marked the first time a Bruin hurler tossed a no-hitter in their first career pitching appearance since Amanda Freed in 1999.
∙ Joining Tinsley in the circle are freshman Kaitlyn Terry (Glendale, Ariz.) and junior transfer Jada Cecil from UC San Diego.  The left-handed Terry prepped at Greenway High School where she earned Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year twice as a senior in 2023 and sophomore in 2021. She finished her four-year career with a 62-9 record, 0.53 earned run average, 1,227 strikeouts over 511.1 innings pitched, 26 no-hitters and six perfect games. Terry, a two-way player, recorded a lifetime .626 batting average, 1.567 slugging percentage, 152 hits an 53 home runs for Greenway.
∙ Cecil earned Big West Pitcher of the Year honors in her freshman season with the Tritons in 2022 after posting a 20-5 record, 1.88 earned run average and a program-record 234 strikeouts. Cecil was coached by 2019 NCAA Champion and two-time Honda Cup winner Rachel Garcia while at UC San Diego.
 
Notes on the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament
This marks the 20th year UCLA has honored the life of program alumna Stacy Winsberg. Winsberg was a member of UCLA's first three NCAA Championship teams (1982, 1984 and 1985) and was a two-time ASA All-American in 1984 and 1985. In December 2001, she passed away after a battle with lung cancer. UCLA began hosting the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament in 2002 (did not host during the 2021 season). UCLA owns a 96-7 record (.932) when competing in the Tournament. The Bruins' last loss in the Stacy Winsberg Tournament was to Florida State on March 4, 2016 (L, 3-0).
∙ At last year's Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, then-redshirt junior Maya Brady broke a 24-year-old program record with 11 consecutive hits. UCLA Athletic Hall of Famers Lisa Fernandez (March 1993) and Stacey Nuveman (Feb. 1999) held the previous record of 10 consecutive hits. In total, Brady opened the first week of 2023 going 13-for-16 with 13 RBI and four home runs to earn her NFCA Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
 
Series History Versus Texas and Oklahoma State
∙ UCLA leads the all-time series versus Texas, 12-7. UCLA's last non-conference, regular-season home loss was to then-No. 3 Texas in a 6-4 extra-inning decision on Feb. 27, 2020 when the Bruins were the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. In that game, Texas catcher Mary Iakopo and right fielder Lauren Burke hit back-to-back solo home runs in the eighth inning off pitcher Megan Faraimo. Maya Brady and Seneca Curo both played in that game.
∙ The Bruins and Longhorns have met six times in the NCAA Tournament with UCLA having a 5-1 advantage. UCLA was tasked with defeating Texas pitching legend Cat Osterman twice on the same day in its 2003 NCAA title run after falling into the loser's bracket following a game one loss to California in the WCWS. In game one against Texas, UCLA's Toria Auelua hit a home run over the right-center field fence to give the Bruins the lead in the fourth inning. That was all the run support UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame pitcher Keira Goerl needed as she recorded her 38th victory of the season. In game two later that night, UCLA freshman right fielder Caitlin Benyi stepped to the plate in a 1-1 ballgame after striking out in her previous three plate appearances. Benyi put the first pitch she saw into right field, scoring Natasha Watley from second base. Watley's head-first slide past Texas catcher Marlo Hanks' tag gave the Bruins a 2-1 victory, advancing into the NCAA Championship game against California. Goerl was credited with the 98th win of her career, passing Amanda Freed for most in program history. Goerl no-hit the Golden Bears in the championship game.
∙ UCLA leads the all-time series versus Oklahoma State, 12-5. The Bruins last played the Cowgirls in two games at Easton Stadium in April of the 2018 season, both resulting in UCLA victories. The two programs have met in the Women's College World Series on five occasions, most notably in UCLA's 1989 NCAA title run. Current UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez was the starting catcher on the Bruins' 1989 squad and recorded a crucial base hit to push UCLA past Oklahoma State and toward its fourth NCAA Championship and second repeat. On May 27, 1989, the former Kelly Inouye stepped to the plate with two runners on base and UCLA trailing 1-0 in the top of the seventh inning. The freshman catcher recorded one of the biggest hits of her collegiate career with a two-RBI double to give the Bruins the lead, 2-1. UCLA pitcher Tiffany Boyd retired Oklahoma State in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
 
Overview of Last Season
∙ UCLA's 52 regular-season wins were its most since 2001 and fourth-most in the history of the program. The 52 regular-season wins were also the most in the NCAA last season. The season was highlighted by a 25-game winning streak which ended in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game on May 13 (lost to Utah, 7-4). The winning streak was tied for the longest of Inouye-Perez's career.
∙ UCLA captured its 17th regular-season conference title and its 12th as a member of the Pac-10/12 Conference in 2023.The Bruins went 21-3 in league play and closed the regular-season slate on a 17-conference game winning streak which was their longest in a single season since 2002. The 21 conference wins were UCLA's most in a season since 1999.
∙ UCLA was one of just three teams to not drop a conference series in 2023 (Oklahoma and Florida State are the others). For the second time in the last 20 years, UCLA took the season series against every Pac-12 opponent (2021).
∙ UCLA ranked top 10 nationally in both batting average (2nd, .336) and earned run average (8th, 1.69) in 2023. The only other Power 5 program to accomplish that feat was Oklahoma.
∙ UCLA ranked top two in the Pac-12 in essentially every hitting and statistical category. UCLA was top two in the Pac-12 in earned run average for the sixth consecutive year, finishing second with a 1.69 mark behind Stanford. UCLA's pitching staff ranked first in opposing batting average (.189) and shutouts (21), and was second in strikeouts (416) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.89). Both marks trailed Stanford. The Bruins' bats led the Pac-12 in average (.336) and slugging percentage (.523).
∙ Brady (.448 avg., 59 RBI, 18 HR) was named a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist and was honored as the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year. She became the ninth UCLA player to win the prestigious Player of the Year award and the first Bruin recipient since Rachel Garcia who won the award three years in a row from 2018-21.
∙ Faraimo (29-3, 1.42 ERA, 232 SO) was recognized as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season, accomplishing that feat for the first time in program history. She was also named a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 10 Finalist.
∙ Woolery (.390 avg., 46 RBI, 10 HR) and Grant (.333 avg., 58 RBI, 15 HR) were named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 10 List. UCLA was one of two programs with a duo on the list (Duke). Woolery was also honored as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, becoming the ninth Bruin to win that award and first since Faraimo in 2018.
∙ Kelly Inouye-Perez rounded out the 2023 conference trophy case, being selected for her third Pac-12 Coach of the Year award (2010, 2012). Inouye-Perez is now tied with her predecessor and fellow UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Sue Enquist with the three conference coach of the year honors.