League play and top non-conference action continues this week during another full week of Pac-12 softball.

Oregon State visits Portland State for a two-game series on Tuesday, March 12. The Beavers have won nine of their last 11 against their in-state foe.

No. 15 UCLA returns to non-conference play against Rutgers on Tuesday and Loyola Marymount on Saturday. The Bruins have won eight of their last ten, including six straight. UCLA is 5-0 at home against unranked opponents this season.

The ninth-ranked Cardinal welcomes Sacramento State to The Farm before visiting No. 17 California this weekend in a Battle of the Bay. The home team has won the series the last three meetings between Cal and Stanford.

The league’s top-ranked team, No. 7 Washington, travels to No. 22 Arizona in a key Conference series beginning this Friday on Pac-12 Networks. The Wildcats are 70-42 all-time against the Huskies, however Washington has won 13 of the last 15 contests including the last three straight.

Arizona State hosts Oregon State beginning this Friday. The Sun Devils swept the Beavers in Tempe back in 2022, outsourcing Oregon State 23-10 over that three-game series.

Oregon hits the road for Utah this weekend, and is coming off a series win over then-No. 15 Cal for its first ranked wins of the season. The Utes swept Oregon a series ago, and Mariah Lopez sealed the sweep with the 17th seven-inning no-hitter in program history.

Monday features a pair of non-conference games. Utah hosts BYU having won three of its last four against the Cougars, while Oregon State visits Grand Canyon looking to extend its four-game win streak against the Antelopes.

Quick Hits

• Eight of nine Pac-12 teams boast winning records this season, with one team sitting at .500 on the year. Three teams have four or less losses.
• The Pac-12 ranks second nationally with 8.1 hits per game, and third with 0.91 home runs per game.
• Stanford’s NiJaree Canady ranks second nationally with 12.1 strikeouts per seven innings. Canady has recorded double-digit strikeouts eight times over 13 appearances this season, and her 18 strikeout performance against Georgia on March 3 are the most strikeouts in NCAA DI this year.
  • Canady was named the Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after fanning 24 batters over 11.1 scoreless innings this past weekend.
  • Her 14.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the t-4th-best in the country.
• Oregon (.985) and Arizona (.983) rank third and fifth, respectively, in the country in fielding percentage. The Ducks have put together five straight error-free games, while the Wildcats have gone three straight.
• Arizona’s Alissa Silva’s 11 victories in the circle are tied for the second-most in NCAA DI.
• Washington’s league-leading .343 batting average is the 13th best in the country. Six Pac-12 teams (Washington, Arizona - .335, Arizona State - .327, Utah - .323, California - .316 and Oregon - .313) rank in the top 50 nationally in team batting average.
  • The Huskies have recorded a season batting average of over .300 10 times the last 11 seasons.
• Oregon’s Kai Luschar, Utah’s Haley Denning and Washington’s Brooklyn Carter are all tied for eighth in NCAA DI with 16 stolen bases on the year.
  • Luschar had four in the contest against Mount Saint Mary’s on Feb. 29, which is tied for the second-most in a game nationally.
  • Denning and Luschar are two of three players nationally who rank in the top 20 in both batting average and stolen bases per game. Denning is batting .488 and has .700 stolen bases per game, while Luschar is hitting .474 and also has .700 SBPG.

Rankings Rundown

• Five Pac-12 teams are ranked in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll: No. 7 Washington, No. 9 Stanford, No. 15 UCLA, No. 17 California and No. 22 Arizona. Oregon is receiving votes.
• 66.7% of the league (6/9) is either ranked or receiving votes in the top 25.
• D1Softball: No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Washington, No. 16 UCLA, No. 20 Arizona, No. 21 California.
• Softball America: No. 5 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 15 UCLA, No. 19 California, No. 21 Arizona.
• ESPN.com/USA Softball: No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 16 UCLA, No. 19 California, No. 24 Oregon, No. 25 Arizona.
• NCAA RPI Rankings (through 3/11): No. 2 Stanford, No. 13 California, No. 15 UCLA, No. 20 Arizona, No. 28 Washigton, No. 45 Oregon, No. 48 Arizona State, No. 70 Utah and No. 90 Oregon State. 

Conference Notebook

• Arizona: The Wildcats have relied on top hitting (.335 BA) and fielding (.983 FD%) all season long, which has guided them to a 19-5-1 record and a No. 22 ranking in the NFCA Top 25. Arizona is led by Regan Shockey (.437 BA) and Dakota Kennedy (.427), who rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Pac-12 in batting Average. Shockey, who has the eighth-highest batting average among freshmen nationally, has 13 multi-hit games this season. 
• Arizona State: The Sun Devils’ 1.83 doubles per game leads the Pac-12 and is the 20th best in the country. Their 44 doubles are tied for the 12th-most in NCAA DI. Arizona State has recorded double-digit doubles in 11 contests this season, and are 3-1 on the year when they hit four or more doubles in a game.
• California: Elon Butler’s .910 slugging percentage paces the Pac-12 and is t-14th-best nationally. Her 10 home runs also lead the league and is t-4th in NCAA DI, which guides Cal to 1.60 home runs per game which is the ninth-best in the country. The Golden Bears’ 20-2 start was its best 22-game start to the season since 2015 when they went 21-1.
• Oregon: Stevie Hansen (1.04) and Morgan Scott (1.06) rank second and third, respectively, in the Pac-12 in fewest walks per seven innings. The Ducks lead the Conference with just 31 walks allowed, and have conceded two or fewer walks in all but two contests this season.
• Oregon State: Ellie Garcia’s 1.88 ERA ranks seventh in the league. Garcia has tossed three complete games with no earned runs this season. The Beavers have had three different pitchers toe the rubber this year, with Sarah Haendiges leading the team with 65.0 innings pitched which is the sixth-most innings in the Pac-12.
• Stanford: The Cardinal is on a 13-game win streak heading into Wednesday’s series against Sacramento State. Stanford is 3-1 in extra-inning games this season, with its lone loss coming against then-No. 25 Kentucky by a final score of 3-2. Stanford is 5-2 against RPI Top-25 teams this season. Its five wins are tied for the third-most in NCAA DI.
• UCLA: Maya Brady paces the team with a .393 batting average, 27 RBI, a .787 slugging percentage and 19 runs scored. Brady was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time this year and sixth in her career, tying her with former UCLA great Lisa Fernandez for second in UCLA history. Brady needs three more Pac-12 weekly awards to tie Stacey Nuveman Deniz for the most in Bruin history. 
• Utah: Denning’s .487 batting average leads the Conference, and teammate Abby Dayton ranks third with a .447 batting average. The duo have combined for 73 hits and 92 total bases, and Denning has 13 multi-hit games while Dayton has nine. The Utes are 11-2 this season when Denning has two-or-more hits in a game.
• Washington: Washington enters its second Pac-12 series of the 2024 campaign having won 10 of its last 11 games.Two of its three losses this season have come against Top-10 teams. Brooke Nelson boasts a minuscule 0.67 ERA, which is the second best in the Pac-12 and 13th best in NCAA DI, while Ruby Meylan has a 1.25 ERA. Nelson has allowed just one earned run in two appearances this season.

Watch List

• 11 Pac-12 players are on USA Softball’s Top 50 “Watch List” for Player of the Year: Maya Brady, UCLA; NiJaree Canady, STAN; Megan Grant, UCLA; Stevie Hansen, ORE; Taryn Kern, STAN; Mariah Lopez, UTAH; Ruby Meylan, WASH; Sharlize Palacios, UCLA; Carlie Scupin, ARIZ; Allie Skaggs, ARIZ; Jordan Woolery, UCLA. 

Additions & Returners

• Every Pac-12 program was ranked in the top-45 of Extra Inning Softball’s 2023 team recruiting rankings: No. 7 Washington, No. 8 UCLA, No. 9 Arizona, No. 13 Oregon, No. 31 Stanford, No. 33 Arizona State, No. 34 California, No. 44 Oregon State, No. 45 Utah.
• The Pac-12 returns 12 First-Team All-Conference members from a season ago: Tatum Anzaldo (CAL); Aliya Belarde (UTAH), Brady (UCLA), NiJaree Canady, (STAN), Abby Dayton (UTAH), Megan Grant (UCLA), Dakota Kennedy (ARIZ), Mariah Lopez (UTAH), River Mahler (STAN), Ruby Meylan (WASH), Allie Skaggs (ARIZ) and Jordan Woolery (UCLA).
• Six 2023 NFCA All-Americans will suit up for Pac-12 teams this year: Brady, Grant, Taryn Kern, Lopez, Woolery & Meylan.
  • Stanford added 2023 NFCA Second Team All-American Kern this offseason, who transferred in from Indiana.

PowHER of the PAC

• All nine Pac-12 softball programs are led by female head coaches.
• Six of nine are leading their alma maters: Jessica Allister, STAN; Amy Hogue, UTAH; Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA; Caitlin Lowe, ARIZ; Chelsea Spencer, CAL; Heather Tarr, WASH.

Preseason Coaches Poll

• Stanford received seven first-place votes and 63 total points to finish atop the 2024 preseason coaches poll for the first time in Pac-12 history. Reigning regular-season champion UCLA was second with 54 points, while Utah came in third with 49 points and one first-place vote. Washington grabbed the remaining first-place vote and 45 points to finish fourth. 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year and Batting Champion Brady of UCLA headlined the 20-member Preseason All-Pac-12 Team. 

2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament

• Stanford’s Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium will host the 2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament, which takes place from May 8-11. 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 41 NCAA softball championships all-time, 17 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). The Pac-12 sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, with three teams advancing to the Women’s College World Series, the most of any other conference. 

Upcoming Schedule (Full Schedule) 

Pac-12 Standings (Full Standings)

Pac-12 Softball Weekly Awards