No. 1 UCLA Set to Host Los Angeles Regional

Friday, May 29

Los Angeles, CA

12:00 PM (PT)

UCLA

Saint Mary's

Roch Cholowsky

Photo by: Ross Turteltaub

No. 1 UCLA Set to Host Los Angeles Regional

May 28, 2026 | Baseball

UCLA's Game Notes (PDF)Information Guide Media Center Tournament Central Watch (ESPN)Listen Live Stats

LOS ANGELES - The No. 1-ranked UCLA baseball team will welcome Virginia Tech, Cal Poly, and Saint Mary's to Jackie Robinson Stadium to host an NCAA Regional for the second consecutive season. The Bruins will open the weekend with a 12 p.m. PT contest against four-seed Saint Mary's on Friday, May 29. The games will be broadcast on the ESPN Family of Networks, with Roxy Bernstein and Wes Clements on the call. Fans can also follow along with live stats (StatBroadcast) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball).

REGIONAL INFORMATION
Venue: Jackie Robinson Stadium
Stream: ESPN Family of Networks
Talent: Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Wes Clements (analyst)
Radio: UCLA Bruins Audio Network
Talent: Nick Koop (play-by-play), Sid Iyer (analyst)
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com

THE RUNDOWN

UCLA is the first team in college baseball history to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country for the entire regular season
UCLA is the consensus No. 1 team in the country as it is ranked No. 1 by all prominent outlets (D1B, BA, USAT, PG, NCBWA)
In its first two years in the Big Ten, UCLA is 48-12, winning 18 of 20 conference series, including 12 sweeps
UCLA became the first Division I team to reach 50 wins this season
This is first time the Bruins have reached the 50-win total since 2019, and the third time under HC John Savage
HC John Savage has produced eight 40-win seasons during his tenure at UCLA (2010, '12, '13, '15, '19, '22, '25, '26)
The Bruins clinched the outright regular season Big Ten Conference title after sweeping Michigan State on May 3
UCLA has now won the regular season Big Ten Regular Season Championship in back-to-back seasons
UCLA became the first B1G team to sweep the regular-season and tournament titles in the same year since 2023 Maryland
UCLA is the only program in Division I baseball to win at least two out of three games in every weekend this season
UCLA and Oregon State are the only programs to win every traditional three-game series this season
The Bruins set a program record for the most regular season wins with 48
HC John Savage was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, marking his third Conference COTY honor (2015 and 2019)
Roch Cholowsky was named Big Ten Player of the Year for the second straight season
Cholowsky is the third player in Big Ten history to win back-to-back conference Player of the Year awards
UCLA won all of its regular season series
UCLA led all Big Ten teams with nine All-Conference honorees (7 First Team, 1 Second Team, 1 Third Team)
The Bruins are 13-1 against ranked opponents this season
Cholowsky is the Big Ten leader in home runs (21) and runs scored (71)
The Bruins' 28 conference wins marks the most league victories in UCLA program history
Easton Hawk is second in the in the nation with 14 saves
Hawk closed out 11 of UCLA's last 18 conference victories
UCLA owns the nation's best team ERA (3.27) and ranks third nationally in WHIP (1.18)
UCLA's 27-game winning streak from Feb. 27 to Apr. 12 was the longest in program history
UCLA out-scored its opponents 255-85 during the 27-game winning streak
Mulivai Levu leads the Bruins with 24 multi-hit games each this season
Easton Hawk has not allowed an earned run over his last 24 appearances, allowing just seven hits over that span
UCLA swept Ohio St., Michigan, Maryland, Iowa, USC, Rutgers, Minnesota, and Michigan St. for eight straight B1G sweeps
The Bruins are ranked eighth in the nation for hit-by-pitches with 124 on the season
Cholowsky set the program for the most hit-by-pitches in a single-season with 24
Levu leads the team in hitting, posting a .342 average with 17 home runs and 62 RBIs
UCLA made its sixth appearance at the CWS and fourth under Head Coach John Savage in 2025
The program has earned 17 winning records in 22 seasons under HC John Savage
Cholowsky also won the Brooks Wallace Award, honoring him as the nation's top shortstop
Cholowsky's 23 home runs was the most by a Bruin since 2000 (Forrest Johnson)
In 2023, the Bruins welcomed the top signing class in the country

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT RECAP
No. 1 UCLA advanced through the Big Ten Baseball Tournament with three straight walk-off wins, rallying late in every game to claim the program's first conference tournament title. The Bruins opened with a 4-3 quarterfinal victory over Purdue on Mulivai Levu's walk-off sacrifice fly after Roman Martin and Payton Brennan sparked a late comeback. Levu struck again in the semifinal, crushing a three-run walk-off homer with UCLA down to its final out to beat No. 25 USC, 7-5, and secure the Bruins' 50th win of the season. In the championship game, UCLA rallied once more, tying Oregon in the ninth on Aidan Espinoza's two-out RBI single before Phoenix Call was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 11th to seal a 3-2 victory. Behind clutch hitting, dominant relief work from Easton Hawk and others, and key contributions from Brennan, Roch Cholowsky, and Will Gasparino, UCLA swept the tournament and earned hosting rights for the Los Angeles Regional in the NCAA Tournament.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
Friday, May 29 - 12 p.m. PT
UCLA – So. RHP Wylan Moss (5-1, 2.40 ERA)
SMC – Sr. RHP John Damozonio (7-2, 2.71 ERA)

HC JOHN SAVAGE NAMED BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR
Head Coach John Savage was unanimously selected Big Ten Coach of the Year, the third conference coach-of-the-year award of his career (also 2013 & 2019 Pac-12). Savage guided UCLA to one of the most dominant regular seasons in modern college baseball history, including the first wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking ever recorded for a full regular season, a program-record 48 regular season wins, the longest conference winning streak in Big Ten history, and the distinction of being the only team since 2017 Oregon State to win every regular-season weekend. He claimed his sixth conference title in 2026 and the program's first-ever conference tournament title. He is set to make his 15th postseason appearance in 22 seasons at UCLA.

UNPRECEDENTED TEAM STRENGTH
The 2026 UCLA Bruins delivered the greatest regular season in program history, shattering records on their way to a 48-6 overall mark and a Big Ten-record 28 conference wins. UCLA became the first team in college baseball history to finish a full regular season wire-to-wire at No. 1 in the national rankings across both D1Baseball and Baseball America. The Bruins also established a school-record 27-game winning streak, matched the all-time Big Ten record with 27 consecutive league victories, and swept 12 conference series on the year. Across their first two seasons in the Big Ten, UCLA has gone 48-12 in conference play, winning 18 of 20 league series and cementing themselves as one of the most dominant programs of the modern era.

B1G TIME DOMINANCE
UCLA clinched the outright regular season championship with two weekends still left to play after sweeping its first eight series, rattling off 24 consecutive wins. The Bruins lost just one game of the road while winning all nine of its games in the eastern time zone (Ohio State, Rutgers, Michigan State) and adding a dominant series sweep in the central time zone at Iowa. UCLA has taken care of business at home, sweeping fifth-place Michigan, No. 18 USC, Maryland, and Minnesota, before earning a series victory over No. 13 Oregon. Mulivai Levu led the Bruins in hitting during league play, posting a .339 average with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs. The pitching staff shined as well, keeping a league-best 3.21 team ERA during the title-winning run.

CARDIAC BRUINS
UCLA has won in just about every imaginable way in 2026, piling up 10 comeback victories after the sixth inning and nine wins when trailing in the seventh or later. The Bruins have shown a remarkable flair for the dramatic, winning five games this season while trailing and down to their final out. Two of those came in the Big Ten Tournament alone: Mulivai Levu launched a three-run walk-off homer with two outs in the ninth to beat No. 25 USC, and the next day Aidan Espinoza delivered a two-out, game-tying RBI single in the ninth against No. 13 Oregon to force extras in the title game. The drama traces back to March 1 in Arlington, when Roch Cholowsky blasted a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth against No. 4 Mississippi State, a game UCLA went on to win 8-7 in 10 innings.

POSTSEASON PAYTON
Payton Brennan was scorching hot at the plate for the Bruins in the 2025 postseason, hitting .455 (15-for-33) in UCLA's eight postseason contests. In the Los Angeles Regional, Brennan racked up a tournament-high eight hits with 15 total bases. He notched four extra base hits to post a slugging percentage of 1.154 for the weekend. In the super regional, Brennan came up with a clutch 3-for-4 performance in the series-clinching game, driving in three runs in the last two innings to give the Bruins a sizable cushion late in the contest.

THE ROAD TO ROMAHA
Roman Martin was another important component in UCLA's 2025 postseason offensive surge, blasting six homers over the last month. The sophomore delivered a standout performance at the plate in the Los Angeles Regional, receiving Most Outstanding Player honors. The third baseman homered in each of the first two contests, including a pivotal grand slam that ignited the Bruins' explosive seven-run second inning against Arizona State. Across the weekend, Martin hit .400 (6-for-15), driving in eight runs and scoring five. Martin continued to swing a hot bat in the super regional, going 4-for-8 (.500) with a crucial two-run triple the eighth inning of UCLA's 5-2 win in the opening game.

ROCH'IN AND ROLLIN'
Junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky was named Big Ten Player of the Year, becoming the third player in Big Ten history to earn the player of the year award in consecutive seasons, joining Minnesota's Luke Appert (2002-03) and Michigan's Barry Larkin (1984-85). He also becomes the first UCLA player to win multiple Player of the Year awards in his collegiate career. Cholowsky led the conference with 21 home runs, anchored UCLA's infield defense, and powered one of the nation's most complete lineups. The junior also earned All-Big Ten First Team honors at shortstop. Cholowsky delivered one of the most dominant two-way seasons in the country, hitting .330 with 21 home runs, 59 RBI, and a conference-high 70 runs scored while starting all 54 games at shortstop. He finished sixth in the conference for slugging (.684), fifth in OPS (1.149), and led the league in hit-by-pitches (23), powering a .465 on-base percentage.