No. 6 Softball Prepares for Top-25 Showdown in Seattle

Friday, April 24

Seattle, WA

7:00 PM (PT)

UCLA

Washington

Freshman Jolyna Lamar

Photo by: Crash Kamon

No. 6 Softball Prepares for Top-25 Showdown in Seattle

April 23, 2026 | Softball

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LOS ANGELES – No. 6 UCLA softball travels to No. 25 Washington for a three-game Big Ten Conference series at Husky Softball Stadium in Seattle this weekend. The top-25 matchup begins Friday, April 24, at 7:02 p.m. (PT) on the Big Ten Network. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 3:02 p.m., also on the Big Ten Network, while the series finale on Sunday at 1:02 p.m. will be streamed on BigTenPlus.com.

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Husky Softball Stadium (Seattle, Wash.)
Schedule (all times Pacific)
Friday, April 24 – UCLA at Washington – 7 p.m. – Big Ten Network
Saturday, April 25 – UCLA at Washington – 3 p.m. – Big Ten Network
Sunday, April 26 – UCLA at Washington – 12 p.m. – BigTenPlus.com
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com

UCLA'S TICKET INFORMATION (HOME GAMES)
Single-game tickets UCLA's three remaining home games are on sale. Direct links to single-game ticket purchases can be viewed here. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information. Additionally, fans with a 2025-26 Olympic Sports Card, available to purchase for $110, will gain admission to every home game.

KEY NOTES ON THE BRUINS
• UCLA has hit a program-record and Big Ten Conference-record 154 home runs so far this season.
• The Bruins' 154 home runs rank second in the country this season and fifth in NCAA single-season history.
• For the first time in program history, seven different UCLA players have reached double-digit home runs in the same season.
• Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery rank top-3 in the nation in home runs, slugging and on-base percentage.
• Grant (31) and Woolery (30) are the first teammates in NCAA history to each hit 30+ home runs in the same season.
• Woolery is the fifth player in NCAA Division I history to record 100+ RBIs in a season with a program-record 100 so far this year.
• With 100 RBIs, Woolery is 28 RBIs shy of tying the NCAA single-season record of 128 set by Arizona's Laura Espinoza in 1995.
• Woolery's 100 RBIs also stand as the new Big Ten single-season record, breaking Sierra Romero's previous mark of 83 in 2015.
• Woolery is on pace to become the first player in NCAA history with a .500+ average, 30+ homers and 100+ RBIs in the same year.
• Woolery has homered in four straight contests with three separate two-homer games over that stretch (seven total homers).
• Woolery has climbed into the top-10 of UCLA's career hits list, ranking 10th with 274 career base knocks over 226 games played.
• Woolery was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the fourth time this season earlier this week on April 21.
• Grant has broken her Big Ten home run record of 26 set last season. She needed 29 fewer games this season to tie that mark.
• Grant is the NCAA leader in slugging percentage (1.339), on-base percentage (.651) and OPS (1.990).
• With 31 home runs, Grant is one away from breaking Stacey Nuveman's program record of 31 set in 1999.
• Rylee Slimp has broken Natasha Watley's program runs scored (75) set in 2001 with an NCAA-leading 78 runs so far this season.
• Taylor Tinsley has pitched 140.0 of UCLA's 273.1 total innings this year (51.2%). She ranks second in the nation with 23 wins.
• UCLA leads the NCAA in scoring (11.30), slugging (.846) and on-base percentage (.504) and is second in homers (154).
• UCLA has recorded 24 run-rule wins this season after setting the program record with 28 run-rule wins in 2025.
• Kelly Inouye-Perez became the 55th head coach in NCAA Division I history to win 900 games at Rutgers on March 22.
• Inouye-Perez became UCLA softball's all-time winningest head coach earlier this season with her 888th career victory.
• UCLA plays its 52nd season of softball this spring, the 20th with Inouye-Perez at the helm.
• UCLA made an NCAA-record 33rd Women's College World Series appearance in 2025, and the 11th under Inouye-Perez.
• UCLA's All-America trio from last season returns with seniors Megan Grant, Taylor Tinsley and Jordan Woolery.
• Grant, Tinsley and Woolery were all named to the prestigious 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List.
• Grant and Woolery led all duos in the country in 2025 with 49 combined home runs and was second with 167 combined RBIs.
• Tinsley is UCLA's lone returning pitcher after leading last year's staff with a 2.44 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 6.63 K/BB ratio in 2025.
• UCLA's roster consists of 10 returners and 11 newcomers, including six true freshmen and five incoming transfers.
• The Bruins enter their second year in the Big Ten after finishing second with a 17-5 conference record in their debut season.
• Entering 2026, Inouye-Perez ranks seventh all-time and second among active head coaches with a .796 winning percentage.

RECORD-BREAKING SATURDAY
UCLA broke or tied multiple team, individual and conference single-season records during its doubleheader sweep of California on Saturday, April 18. As a team, the Bruins set new single-season marks for runs scored (520) and total bases (1,052). UCLA also hit nine home runs across the two games, bringing its season total to 154 and surpassing the previous Big Ten record of 147 set by Ohio State last year.

Individually, Jordan Woolery broke a 26-year-old UCLA record, surpassing Stacey Nuveman's 91 RBIs (1999) for the most in a single season by a Bruin. Sophomore Rylee Slimp scored on the first of Woolery's four home runs Saturday, breaking Natasha Watley's 24-year-old single-season runs record (75 in 2001). Megan Grant also tied Nuveman's long-standing single-season home run record of 31, set in 1999. Woolery is close behind Grant with 30 home runs after her standout performance Saturday.

AUSL GOLDEN TICKET TRIFECTA
Seniors Megan Grant, Taylor Tinsley and Jordan Woolery were awarded Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) Golden Tickets following UCLA's double-header sweep over Cal at Easton Stadium on Saturday, April 18. UCLA's three Golden Ticket recipients are the most the league has ever awarded at one time. Grant, Tinsley and Woolery are the first Bruins to receive a Golden Ticket.

The Golden Ticket program launched last season with the beginning of a new pro softball league and symbolizes a player being guaranteed a draft selection into the league. Last season, eight different student-athletes were given the prestigious honor with more to be given out this year with such a talented senior class.

Grant received her ticket from Netflix sports anchor Elle Duncan. After her moment, UCLA softball legend and AUSL advisor Natasha Watley emerged through the center-field gate next to her outfield wall signage and presented the second ticket to Woolery. Lastly, UCLA softball alumna and entrepreneur Jen Schroeder came through the left-field gate to award a ticket to Tinsley.

HOMER HAPPY BRUINS
• UCLA's 154 home runs this season have set a new program record (previously 108 HR in 2010) and Big Ten record (previously 147 HR by Ohio State in 2025). The 154 home runs currently rank fifth in NCAA single-season history, trailing the all-time record of 161 set by Oklahoma in 2021.
• With 154 home runs through 46 games, UCLA is currently averaging 3.35 home runs per contest. Additionally, UCLA has surpassed 100 home runs for a second consecutive season under hitting coach Lisa Fernandez.
• A program-record seven different UCLA players have hit double-digit home runs: Megan Grant (31), Jordan Woolery (30), Bri Alejandre (17), Kaniya Bragg (14), Aleena Garcia (14), Alexis Ramirez (12) and Jolyna Lamar (11). Rylee Slimp (9) is close to joining that group. Previously, UCLA had five players hit double-digit homers in a season twice during the 2010 and 2003 campaigns.
• UCLA has hit back-to-back jacks 13 times this season and back-to-back-to-back home runs four times. Before this season, the last time UCLA went back-to-back-to-back was in February 2022. In Game 1 at Illinois on April 10, UCLA hit the second-most home runs in a single inning in NCAA history with six in the top of the seventh. That inning featured to separate stretches of back-to-back-to-back homers, with Kaniya Bragg homering twice in the frame.
• UCLA has scored 56.2 percent of its runs this season via the longball (292 of 520 total runs scored). Twelve different Bruins have homered a total of 154 times this season, which ranks second in the country behind Oklahoma.
• Seniors Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery have each hit 31 and 30 home runs this season, respectively, which ranks second and third. Grant has tied UCLA's single-season home run record set by Stacey Nuveman (31) in 1999 while Woolery is close behind.
• Grant tied her Big Ten single-season home run record of 26 set last season in UCLA's win versus Cal State Fullerton on April 7, needing 29 fewer games to hit that mark.
• UCLA tied the NCAA single-game record with three grand slams at Long Beach State on April 15. That feat had been accomplished only five other times, last occurring on Feb. 14, 2024 when Duke hit three versus North Dakota State. Six different Bruins have hit a total of 13 grand slams this season. Jordan Woolery leads the team with four, which is tied for fifth-most in a season in NCAA history.

COACH I MILESTONES
• Kelly Inouye-Perez became UCLA softball's all-time winningest head coach after defeating No. 4 Florida on Feb. 27 at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton for her 888th career victory. She passed her predecessor, former coach and NFCA Hall of Famer Sue Enquist who had an overall mark of 887-175-1 (.835). Sharron Backus, the inaugural coach in UCLA softball history, was the first to reach 800 wins as she retired with a record of 854-173-3 (.831). The three UCLA Athletic Hall-of-Fame head coaches are responsible for all of the Bruins' 2,252 wins and 13 national championships, which are both the most in NCAA history.
• Later, Inouye-Perez secured her 900th career victory in UCLA's 13-3 win at Rutgers on March 22. She became the 55th head coach in NCAA Division I Softball history to reach that milestone. UCLA has topped 50 wins in nine of Inouye-Perez's 20 seasons as head coach and reached the Women's College World Series 11 times.

WATCH THE BRUINS ON B1G+
Fans can catch all non-televised UCLA home games and road Big Ten Conference games on a 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+.