Thursday, March 6
Los Angeles, CA
6:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
vs
LMU
Senior UTIL Savannah Pola leads UCLA with 11 multi-hit games.
Photo by: Elijah Carr
No. 6 Softball Plays Five in Southern California
March 05, 2025 | Softball
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 6-ranked UCLA softball team plays five games over four days in Southern California from March 6-9 to prepare for the start of Big Ten Conference play next week. The Bruins (18-4) return home to play their first games at Easton Stadium since opening weekend against LMU on Thursday, March 6 at 6 p.m. (PT) and Sacramento State on Friday, March 7 at 4 p.m. Both contests are available for live streaming on BigTenPlus.com (B1G+).
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Saturday features a road trip to San Diego to play two more games versus Sacramento State and host San Diego State at SDSU Softball Stadium, starting at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. UCLA closes the week with a road affair at LMU on Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m. at Smith Field in Westchester, Calif.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venues: Easton Stadium, SDSU Softball Stadium and Smith Field
Games (all times Pacific)
Thursday, March 6 vs. LMU โ 6 p.m. โ Easton Stadium โ B1G+
Friday, March 7 vs. Sacramento State โ 4 p.m. โ Easton Stadium โ B1G+
Saturday, March 8 vs. Sacramento State โ 2:30 p.m. โ SDSU Softball Stadium
Saturday, March 8 at San Diego State โ 5 p.m. โ SDSU Softball Stadium โ MWN
Sunday, March 9 at LMU โ 1 p.m. โ Smith Field โ ESPN+
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com
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UCLA'S TICKET INFORMATION (HOME GAMES)
Single-game tickets for all 21 of UCLA's home games are on sale. Fans can secure tickets to each of the Bruins' home conference games in UCLA's inaugural year in the Big Ten. UCLA's next home game at Easton Stadium is on March 6 versus LMU.
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Complete ticket information about UCLA softball is available here. Direct links to single-game ticket purchases can be viewed here. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or emailย tickets@athletics.ucla.eduย for more information.
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KEY NOTES ABOUT UCLA
โข The Bruins closed their tournament season schedule by going 4-2 at the Judi Garman Classic last week in Fullerton, Calif.
โข UCLA is 7-3 against ranked competition this season. P Kaitlyn Terry has been the winning pitcher in six of those contests.
โข Entering week five, UCLA is tied for ninth in the nation with 33 home runs.
โข UCLA is averaging 1.50 homers per game, which is on pace for the program's best mark since its 2010 NCAA title season (1.77).
โข Entering week five, UCLA ranks seventh in the nation with a .983 fielding percentage (10 errors, 596 total chances).
โข Four UCLA players are hitting above .400 this season: INF Jordan Woolery (.446), OF Rylee Slimp (.429), OF Jessica Clements (.421) and UTIL Savannah Pola (.405).
โข Woolery ranks top 10 among NCAA DI players in total bases (66, 3rd), runs batted in (33, t-5th) and home runs (9, t-7th).
โข Woolery leads UCLA in batting average (.446), home runs (9), RBI (33), slugging percentage (1.015) and OPS (1.506).
โข Clements is tied for 10th in the country with 32 base hits and tied for 13th with 26 runs scored.
โข UCLA's pitching staff ranks top 10 nationally in strikeouts (173, 3rd) and K/BB ratio (5.41, 4th).
โข Terry leads UCLA's pitching staff with eight wins, a 1.60 earned run average and 67 strikeouts.
โข UTIL Savannah Pola leads UCLA with 11 multi-hit games and ranks fourth on the team with a .405 batting average (30-for-74).
โข OF Jessica Clements ranks ninth among active NCAA DI players with 217 career hits and 13th with a .413 average.
โข Clements and INF Kaniya Bragg have both reached base safely in 13 straight games entering week five.
โข Head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez penciled four freshmen into the Opening Day starting lineup for the program's most since 2004.
โข UCLA's freshman class has combined for a .354 batting average (76-for-215), with three players batting over .333.
โข All four of UCLA's losses have been by one run and decided in the sixth inning or later.
โข UCLA opens its 51st softball season this spring, the 19th year with head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez at the helm.
โข UCLA's two All-Pac-12 First Team pitchers from last season, sophomore Kaitlyn Terry and junior Taylor Tinsley, return in 2025.
โข The Bruins' batting lineup is anchored by two 2023 NFCA All-Americans, juniors Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery.
โข UCLA has won five of the last seven Pac-12 Freshman of the Year awards, two of which are on the 2025 roster: Terry and Woolery.
โข The Bruins added seven incoming players this season โ six freshmen and one graduate transfer student.
โข UCLA made its 32nd WCWS appearance and won its 18th conference regular season title in 2024.
โข UCLA has moved into the Big Ten Conference, along with former Pac-12 softball programs Oregon and Washington.
โข UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Kelly Inouye-Perez has guided the Bruins to a 836-213-1 record (.796) over 19 seasons as head coach.
โข Inouye-Perez has reached the WCWS 10 times and won two NCAA titles in 2010 and 2019 as head coach.
โข Entering 2025, Inouye-Perez ranks seventh all-time and second among active head coaches with a 79.6 winning percentage.
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LAST WEEK AT THE JUDI GARMAN CLASSIC
UCLA finished 4-2 at the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif. last week with both of its losses coming to top-15 opponents: No. 5 LSU (L, 2-1) and No. 12 Arizona (L, 9-8 in 10 inn.). Infielders Jordan Woolery and Kaniya Bragg led the Bruins' offense each hitting .474 (9-for-19) while recording three and two home runs, respectively. Woolery notched the second two-homer performance of her career with a pair of bombs versus Utah on Feb. 28. Woolery finished the weekend with a team-high 11 runs batted in and six extra-base his. Outfielders Rylee Slimp (.471 AVG) and Jessica Clements (.455 AVG) rounded out UCLA's plus-.400 hitters from last week. As a team, UCLA recorded a .362 batting average (63-for-174) for its best weekly total since week one of the season. The Bruins' 64 runs scored, 13 homers, 30 walks and 26 extra-base hits were their highest marks in a single week yet this season.
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WOOLERY AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Junior INF Jordan Woolery leads UCLA with a .446 batting average, nine home runs, 33 runs batted in, 1.015 slugging percentage and 1.506 OPS. Woolery's 33 RBIs and nine homers are good for fifth and seventh in the nation, respectively. Her 33 RBIs are also first in the Big Ten. Through 22 games, Woolery is already one blast shy of tying her previous season-high home run total of 10 set in both her freshman and sophomore years.
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Woolery recorded the second two-homer game of her career last week against Utah on Feb. 28 and homered again later in the evening versus Cal State Fullerton to finish the day with three total. Woolery opened 2025 on a 13-game hitting streak and has recorded a base hit in 20 of 22 games this season. In total, Woolery has reached base safely in 21 of 22 games this year.
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WHO'S BACK?
UCLA returns 16 players from last season's squad. Top returning contributors include 2024 All-Pac-12 First Team honorees Megan Grant, Kaitlyn Terry, Taylor Tinsley and Jordan Woolery. Grant led all 2025 returners with a .335 batting average (56-for-167), 20 extra-base hits (11 doubles, eight homers) and 41 runs batted in last season while Woolery concluded the year with 10 home runs. Terry and Tinsley pitched 329.1 of UCLA's total 355.0 total innings in 2024. The two underclassmen steered UCLA back to the WCWS after a one-year absence with a dominant postseason performance in the circle. In eight NCAA Tournament games, Terry and Tinsley pitched two shutouts, allowed just one run in four different contests and totaled a 1.71 earned run average over 49.0 innings.
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WELCOME TO WESTWOOD
The Bruins boast the top-ranked freshman class in 2025, according to Softball America. The group of six freshmen is highlighted by 2024 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year Addisen Fisher from Bend, Ore. Fisher, the top-ranked player in her signing class by multiple outlets, finished her career with a 66-3 record, 861 strikeouts, 24 no-hitters, 11 perfect games and .092 opponent batting average. Infielder Kaniya Bragg led Pacifica High School to back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division 1 titles as a junior and senior and was honored as the 2024 CIF Player of the Year. Infielder Aleena Garcia was a two-time San Gabriel Valley Softball Player of the Year her last two seasons at Whittier Christian High School. Catcher Sofia Mujica completed her prep career at Granite Hills High School tied for the CIF home run record (60).
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Also joining UCLA is graduate transfer Jessica Clements from Cal Poly. Clements was named the Big West Player of the Year in 2024 after a third-place finish for NCAA batting average title with a .464 clip (71-for-153). She graduated from Cal Poly as the leading hitter in program history with a career .411 batting average and started all 135 games played, including 95 in center field.
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UCLA CELEBRATES 50th ANNIVERSARY
The Bruins are celebrating their 50th anniversary as an organized collegiate softball program in 2025. UCLA's first season was in 1975 under the umbrella of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). The sport was adopted by the NCAA seven years later in 1982. No program has won more national championships (13) or made more Women's College World Series (WCWS) appearances (32) than UCLA.
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In fact, UCLA is the only program in softball history to have won a national championship in all five full decades of the sport's existence. The Bruins won the first NCAA Softball Championship in 1982 and were the first program to repeat titles (1984-85) and three-peat (1988-90). The Bruins boast 132 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America honors, four Honda Cup awards and 12 Honda Sport Awards โ all three good for the most in NCAA softball.
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FRESHMEN FILLING IN
At least three freshmen have started in UCLA's batting lineup for all 22 games this season. INF Kaniya Bragg and OF Rylee Slimp have started in every game; Bragg has started 21 games at third base and one at shortstop while Slimp has started all 22 in left field. Together, the five freshmen have contributed to 36.7 percent of UCLA's total hit production (76 of the team's 207 total hits). As a unit, they are hitting for a .354 batting average (76-for-215).
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Slimp leads all UCLA freshmen and ranks second on the team with a .429 batting average (24-for-56). The Georgetown, Texas native is coming off a pair of three-hit performances at the Judi Garman Classic last week and leads UCLA with three total three-hit games this season. A keen eye at the plate, Slimp is also tops on the squad with a .529 on-base percentage (10 BB, 2 HBP).
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CLEMENTS KEEPS CLIMBING
Graduate transfer outfielder Jessica Clements ranks among the nation's active career leaders in base hits (9th, 217) and batting average (13th, .413). Clements leads UCLA and is tied for 10th in NCAA DI this season with 32 base hits. Additionally, Clements ranks second on the team with 10 multi-hit games in 2025 and leads UCLA career-wise with 62 such performances over her four years. Clements' 26 runs scored are also tops on the team and tied for the Big Ten Conference lead.
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Clements recorded the 200th hit of her career with a bunt single versus Virginia at the Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 16. She leads UCLA with two three-hit performances and ranks second with six total multi-hit games. Clements was a two-time Big West Batting Champion in 2022 and 2024 while at Cal Poly for three seasons. She finished her Mustang career as the leading hitter in program history with a .411 batting average (185-for-450).
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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Senior UTIL Savannah Pola and junior INF Jordan Woolery have shown drastic improvement comparing the first 22 games of this season to last's. Pola leads UCLA with 11 multi-hit games and ranks fourth on the team with a .405 batting average (30-for-74) this season after starting last year with a .163 clip (8-for-49). Woolery has more than doubled her RBI and slugging percentage output through 22 games from a year ago with a team-best 33 RBI and 1.015 slugging percentage entering week five of the 2025 season. Woolery opened 2024 hitting a respectable .322 batting average, but this year leads the team with a .446 mark.
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BRUINS DIG THE LONGBALL
UCLA has totaled 33 home runs through 22 games from 10 different players this season. The Bruins are averaging 1.50 home runs per game, which is their best mark since UCLA's 2010 NCAA title season (1.77 HR/G). That year, the Bruins set the program record for most home runs in a season with 108 over 61 games.
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Junior INF Jordan Woolery leads UCLA with nine home runs this season and is already one blast shy of tying her previous season-best mark of 10 set in both her freshman and sophomore years. Junior utility Megan Grant is second on the team in homers with seven of her 16 hits this year leaving the yard. Graduate outfielder Jessica Clements, who homered just six times over her previous three seasons at Cal Poly, hit her two home runs this season on back-to-back days at the Judi Garman Classic on Feb. 27-28. All four hitting freshmen -- Kaniya Bragg, Maggie Daniel, Aleena Garcia and Sofia Mujica -- have logged their first career homers.
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DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
UCLA enters the week ranked 7th in NCAA DI with a .983 fielding percentage, committing 10 errors in 596 total chances. Only four UCLA players have committed an error, and only one of those Bruins has been responsible for multiple errors (Seneca Curo, 6). UCLA last finished the year ranked top 10 nationally in fielding percentage and with above a .980 rate in the 2013 season (.980, 2nd).
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The Bruins' left side freshman infield combo of third baseman Kaniya Bragg and shortstop Aleena Garcia has yet to commit and error in 15 starts together. Garcia ranked ninth in the country with 41 assists while sporting a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage through the first three weeks of the season prior to missing time with an undisclosed injury.
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CAREER FIRSTS
After spending their previous year(s) exclusively as pinch runners on the UCLA roster, senior Kate Blunt, junior Rylee Pinedo and sophomore Liesl Osteen have all recorded their first career hits, runs batted in and at-bats in the first month of the 2025 season. Additionally, Pinedo and Osteen have both made their first career start(s) in 2025. For Osteen, she recorded her first career hit and RBI in her first-ever at-bat versus Charlotte at the Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 14. Pinedo also singled and drove in a run in her first-ever plate appearance versus Utah at the Judi Garman Classic on Feb. 28. The performance earned Pinedo her first career start in the night cap at Cal State Fullerton. Blunt recorded a hit in her first-career at-bat versus Weber State and reached base in all three plate appearances. She recorded an RBI single later in the game as well.
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RETIRING JANICE PARKS' No. 14
UCLA softball will retire 1989 Honda Award winner and two-time NCAA Champion Janice Parks' No. 14 jersey on March 11 prior to first pitch versus San Diego. Parks' No. 14 will be just the seventh number retired in the program's rich history, joining Dot Richardson (No. 1), Gina Vecchione (No. 2), Sue Enquist (No. 6), Lisa Longaker (No. 9), Lisa Fernandez (No. 16) and Debbie Doom (No. 17). Parks, one of the most talented corner infielders in UCLA history, was a three-time NFCA First Team All-American and All-WCWS Team selection in her four years at UCLA from 1986-89. Parks, who led UCLA in runs batted in during both of its 1988 and 1989 NCAA title seasons, became the 13th member of the UCLA softball program to be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. She still owns the program record for career triples with 21. After graduating from UCLA, Parks represented Puerto Rico at the first-ever Olympic games sponsoring softball in Atlanta in 1996.
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WATCH THE BRUINS ON B1G+
Fans can catch all non-televised UCLA home games and road Big Ten Conference games on a new, high-quality streaming service, Big Ten Plus (B1G+). Annual passes ($89.99) and monthly passes ($12.99) are available for purchase here. Roughly 30 UCLA home and road games are viewable only on B1G+.
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Two-year UCLA letterwinner and All-American catcher Sharlize Palacios will serve as analyst for more than 10 of UCLA softball's home B1G+ live streams.
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Saturday features a road trip to San Diego to play two more games versus Sacramento State and host San Diego State at SDSU Softball Stadium, starting at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. UCLA closes the week with a road affair at LMU on Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m. at Smith Field in Westchester, Calif.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venues: Easton Stadium, SDSU Softball Stadium and Smith Field
Games (all times Pacific)
Thursday, March 6 vs. LMU โ 6 p.m. โ Easton Stadium โ B1G+
Friday, March 7 vs. Sacramento State โ 4 p.m. โ Easton Stadium โ B1G+
Saturday, March 8 vs. Sacramento State โ 2:30 p.m. โ SDSU Softball Stadium
Saturday, March 8 at San Diego State โ 5 p.m. โ SDSU Softball Stadium โ MWN
Sunday, March 9 at LMU โ 1 p.m. โ Smith Field โ ESPN+
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com
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UCLA'S TICKET INFORMATION (HOME GAMES)
Single-game tickets for all 21 of UCLA's home games are on sale. Fans can secure tickets to each of the Bruins' home conference games in UCLA's inaugural year in the Big Ten. UCLA's next home game at Easton Stadium is on March 6 versus LMU.
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Complete ticket information about UCLA softball is available here. Direct links to single-game ticket purchases can be viewed here. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or emailย tickets@athletics.ucla.eduย for more information.
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KEY NOTES ABOUT UCLA
โข The Bruins closed their tournament season schedule by going 4-2 at the Judi Garman Classic last week in Fullerton, Calif.
โข UCLA is 7-3 against ranked competition this season. P Kaitlyn Terry has been the winning pitcher in six of those contests.
โข Entering week five, UCLA is tied for ninth in the nation with 33 home runs.
โข UCLA is averaging 1.50 homers per game, which is on pace for the program's best mark since its 2010 NCAA title season (1.77).
โข Entering week five, UCLA ranks seventh in the nation with a .983 fielding percentage (10 errors, 596 total chances).
โข Four UCLA players are hitting above .400 this season: INF Jordan Woolery (.446), OF Rylee Slimp (.429), OF Jessica Clements (.421) and UTIL Savannah Pola (.405).
โข Woolery ranks top 10 among NCAA DI players in total bases (66, 3rd), runs batted in (33, t-5th) and home runs (9, t-7th).
โข Woolery leads UCLA in batting average (.446), home runs (9), RBI (33), slugging percentage (1.015) and OPS (1.506).
โข Clements is tied for 10th in the country with 32 base hits and tied for 13th with 26 runs scored.
โข UCLA's pitching staff ranks top 10 nationally in strikeouts (173, 3rd) and K/BB ratio (5.41, 4th).
โข Terry leads UCLA's pitching staff with eight wins, a 1.60 earned run average and 67 strikeouts.
โข UTIL Savannah Pola leads UCLA with 11 multi-hit games and ranks fourth on the team with a .405 batting average (30-for-74).
โข OF Jessica Clements ranks ninth among active NCAA DI players with 217 career hits and 13th with a .413 average.
โข Clements and INF Kaniya Bragg have both reached base safely in 13 straight games entering week five.
โข Head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez penciled four freshmen into the Opening Day starting lineup for the program's most since 2004.
โข UCLA's freshman class has combined for a .354 batting average (76-for-215), with three players batting over .333.
โข All four of UCLA's losses have been by one run and decided in the sixth inning or later.
โข UCLA opens its 51st softball season this spring, the 19th year with head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez at the helm.
โข UCLA's two All-Pac-12 First Team pitchers from last season, sophomore Kaitlyn Terry and junior Taylor Tinsley, return in 2025.
โข The Bruins' batting lineup is anchored by two 2023 NFCA All-Americans, juniors Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery.
โข UCLA has won five of the last seven Pac-12 Freshman of the Year awards, two of which are on the 2025 roster: Terry and Woolery.
โข The Bruins added seven incoming players this season โ six freshmen and one graduate transfer student.
โข UCLA made its 32nd WCWS appearance and won its 18th conference regular season title in 2024.
โข UCLA has moved into the Big Ten Conference, along with former Pac-12 softball programs Oregon and Washington.
โข UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Kelly Inouye-Perez has guided the Bruins to a 836-213-1 record (.796) over 19 seasons as head coach.
โข Inouye-Perez has reached the WCWS 10 times and won two NCAA titles in 2010 and 2019 as head coach.
โข Entering 2025, Inouye-Perez ranks seventh all-time and second among active head coaches with a 79.6 winning percentage.
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LAST WEEK AT THE JUDI GARMAN CLASSIC
UCLA finished 4-2 at the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif. last week with both of its losses coming to top-15 opponents: No. 5 LSU (L, 2-1) and No. 12 Arizona (L, 9-8 in 10 inn.). Infielders Jordan Woolery and Kaniya Bragg led the Bruins' offense each hitting .474 (9-for-19) while recording three and two home runs, respectively. Woolery notched the second two-homer performance of her career with a pair of bombs versus Utah on Feb. 28. Woolery finished the weekend with a team-high 11 runs batted in and six extra-base his. Outfielders Rylee Slimp (.471 AVG) and Jessica Clements (.455 AVG) rounded out UCLA's plus-.400 hitters from last week. As a team, UCLA recorded a .362 batting average (63-for-174) for its best weekly total since week one of the season. The Bruins' 64 runs scored, 13 homers, 30 walks and 26 extra-base hits were their highest marks in a single week yet this season.
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WOOLERY AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Junior INF Jordan Woolery leads UCLA with a .446 batting average, nine home runs, 33 runs batted in, 1.015 slugging percentage and 1.506 OPS. Woolery's 33 RBIs and nine homers are good for fifth and seventh in the nation, respectively. Her 33 RBIs are also first in the Big Ten. Through 22 games, Woolery is already one blast shy of tying her previous season-high home run total of 10 set in both her freshman and sophomore years.
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Woolery recorded the second two-homer game of her career last week against Utah on Feb. 28 and homered again later in the evening versus Cal State Fullerton to finish the day with three total. Woolery opened 2025 on a 13-game hitting streak and has recorded a base hit in 20 of 22 games this season. In total, Woolery has reached base safely in 21 of 22 games this year.
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WHO'S BACK?
UCLA returns 16 players from last season's squad. Top returning contributors include 2024 All-Pac-12 First Team honorees Megan Grant, Kaitlyn Terry, Taylor Tinsley and Jordan Woolery. Grant led all 2025 returners with a .335 batting average (56-for-167), 20 extra-base hits (11 doubles, eight homers) and 41 runs batted in last season while Woolery concluded the year with 10 home runs. Terry and Tinsley pitched 329.1 of UCLA's total 355.0 total innings in 2024. The two underclassmen steered UCLA back to the WCWS after a one-year absence with a dominant postseason performance in the circle. In eight NCAA Tournament games, Terry and Tinsley pitched two shutouts, allowed just one run in four different contests and totaled a 1.71 earned run average over 49.0 innings.
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WELCOME TO WESTWOOD
The Bruins boast the top-ranked freshman class in 2025, according to Softball America. The group of six freshmen is highlighted by 2024 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year Addisen Fisher from Bend, Ore. Fisher, the top-ranked player in her signing class by multiple outlets, finished her career with a 66-3 record, 861 strikeouts, 24 no-hitters, 11 perfect games and .092 opponent batting average. Infielder Kaniya Bragg led Pacifica High School to back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division 1 titles as a junior and senior and was honored as the 2024 CIF Player of the Year. Infielder Aleena Garcia was a two-time San Gabriel Valley Softball Player of the Year her last two seasons at Whittier Christian High School. Catcher Sofia Mujica completed her prep career at Granite Hills High School tied for the CIF home run record (60).
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Also joining UCLA is graduate transfer Jessica Clements from Cal Poly. Clements was named the Big West Player of the Year in 2024 after a third-place finish for NCAA batting average title with a .464 clip (71-for-153). She graduated from Cal Poly as the leading hitter in program history with a career .411 batting average and started all 135 games played, including 95 in center field.
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UCLA CELEBRATES 50th ANNIVERSARY
The Bruins are celebrating their 50th anniversary as an organized collegiate softball program in 2025. UCLA's first season was in 1975 under the umbrella of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). The sport was adopted by the NCAA seven years later in 1982. No program has won more national championships (13) or made more Women's College World Series (WCWS) appearances (32) than UCLA.
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In fact, UCLA is the only program in softball history to have won a national championship in all five full decades of the sport's existence. The Bruins won the first NCAA Softball Championship in 1982 and were the first program to repeat titles (1984-85) and three-peat (1988-90). The Bruins boast 132 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America honors, four Honda Cup awards and 12 Honda Sport Awards โ all three good for the most in NCAA softball.
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FRESHMEN FILLING IN
At least three freshmen have started in UCLA's batting lineup for all 22 games this season. INF Kaniya Bragg and OF Rylee Slimp have started in every game; Bragg has started 21 games at third base and one at shortstop while Slimp has started all 22 in left field. Together, the five freshmen have contributed to 36.7 percent of UCLA's total hit production (76 of the team's 207 total hits). As a unit, they are hitting for a .354 batting average (76-for-215).
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Slimp leads all UCLA freshmen and ranks second on the team with a .429 batting average (24-for-56). The Georgetown, Texas native is coming off a pair of three-hit performances at the Judi Garman Classic last week and leads UCLA with three total three-hit games this season. A keen eye at the plate, Slimp is also tops on the squad with a .529 on-base percentage (10 BB, 2 HBP).
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CLEMENTS KEEPS CLIMBING
Graduate transfer outfielder Jessica Clements ranks among the nation's active career leaders in base hits (9th, 217) and batting average (13th, .413). Clements leads UCLA and is tied for 10th in NCAA DI this season with 32 base hits. Additionally, Clements ranks second on the team with 10 multi-hit games in 2025 and leads UCLA career-wise with 62 such performances over her four years. Clements' 26 runs scored are also tops on the team and tied for the Big Ten Conference lead.
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Clements recorded the 200th hit of her career with a bunt single versus Virginia at the Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 16. She leads UCLA with two three-hit performances and ranks second with six total multi-hit games. Clements was a two-time Big West Batting Champion in 2022 and 2024 while at Cal Poly for three seasons. She finished her Mustang career as the leading hitter in program history with a .411 batting average (185-for-450).
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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Senior UTIL Savannah Pola and junior INF Jordan Woolery have shown drastic improvement comparing the first 22 games of this season to last's. Pola leads UCLA with 11 multi-hit games and ranks fourth on the team with a .405 batting average (30-for-74) this season after starting last year with a .163 clip (8-for-49). Woolery has more than doubled her RBI and slugging percentage output through 22 games from a year ago with a team-best 33 RBI and 1.015 slugging percentage entering week five of the 2025 season. Woolery opened 2024 hitting a respectable .322 batting average, but this year leads the team with a .446 mark.
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BRUINS DIG THE LONGBALL
UCLA has totaled 33 home runs through 22 games from 10 different players this season. The Bruins are averaging 1.50 home runs per game, which is their best mark since UCLA's 2010 NCAA title season (1.77 HR/G). That year, the Bruins set the program record for most home runs in a season with 108 over 61 games.
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Junior INF Jordan Woolery leads UCLA with nine home runs this season and is already one blast shy of tying her previous season-best mark of 10 set in both her freshman and sophomore years. Junior utility Megan Grant is second on the team in homers with seven of her 16 hits this year leaving the yard. Graduate outfielder Jessica Clements, who homered just six times over her previous three seasons at Cal Poly, hit her two home runs this season on back-to-back days at the Judi Garman Classic on Feb. 27-28. All four hitting freshmen -- Kaniya Bragg, Maggie Daniel, Aleena Garcia and Sofia Mujica -- have logged their first career homers.
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DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
UCLA enters the week ranked 7th in NCAA DI with a .983 fielding percentage, committing 10 errors in 596 total chances. Only four UCLA players have committed an error, and only one of those Bruins has been responsible for multiple errors (Seneca Curo, 6). UCLA last finished the year ranked top 10 nationally in fielding percentage and with above a .980 rate in the 2013 season (.980, 2nd).
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The Bruins' left side freshman infield combo of third baseman Kaniya Bragg and shortstop Aleena Garcia has yet to commit and error in 15 starts together. Garcia ranked ninth in the country with 41 assists while sporting a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage through the first three weeks of the season prior to missing time with an undisclosed injury.
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CAREER FIRSTS
After spending their previous year(s) exclusively as pinch runners on the UCLA roster, senior Kate Blunt, junior Rylee Pinedo and sophomore Liesl Osteen have all recorded their first career hits, runs batted in and at-bats in the first month of the 2025 season. Additionally, Pinedo and Osteen have both made their first career start(s) in 2025. For Osteen, she recorded her first career hit and RBI in her first-ever at-bat versus Charlotte at the Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 14. Pinedo also singled and drove in a run in her first-ever plate appearance versus Utah at the Judi Garman Classic on Feb. 28. The performance earned Pinedo her first career start in the night cap at Cal State Fullerton. Blunt recorded a hit in her first-career at-bat versus Weber State and reached base in all three plate appearances. She recorded an RBI single later in the game as well.
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RETIRING JANICE PARKS' No. 14
UCLA softball will retire 1989 Honda Award winner and two-time NCAA Champion Janice Parks' No. 14 jersey on March 11 prior to first pitch versus San Diego. Parks' No. 14 will be just the seventh number retired in the program's rich history, joining Dot Richardson (No. 1), Gina Vecchione (No. 2), Sue Enquist (No. 6), Lisa Longaker (No. 9), Lisa Fernandez (No. 16) and Debbie Doom (No. 17). Parks, one of the most talented corner infielders in UCLA history, was a three-time NFCA First Team All-American and All-WCWS Team selection in her four years at UCLA from 1986-89. Parks, who led UCLA in runs batted in during both of its 1988 and 1989 NCAA title seasons, became the 13th member of the UCLA softball program to be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. She still owns the program record for career triples with 21. After graduating from UCLA, Parks represented Puerto Rico at the first-ever Olympic games sponsoring softball in Atlanta in 1996.
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WATCH THE BRUINS ON B1G+
Fans can catch all non-televised UCLA home games and road Big Ten Conference games on a new, high-quality streaming service, Big Ten Plus (B1G+). Annual passes ($89.99) and monthly passes ($12.99) are available for purchase here. Roughly 30 UCLA home and road games are viewable only on B1G+.
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Two-year UCLA letterwinner and All-American catcher Sharlize Palacios will serve as analyst for more than 10 of UCLA softball's home B1G+ live streams.
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Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ Softball
INF/UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ Softball
P/UTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
C/DP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballUCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Tennessee (June 1, 2025)
Sunday, June 01
UCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Texas Tech (May 31, 2025)
Saturday, May 31
Highlights - UCLA Softball vs. Oregon (May 29, 2025)
Thursday, May 29
UCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Oregon (May 29, 2025)
Thursday, May 29