Seniors Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery from the No. 5 UCLA softball team were named as Top 25 Finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, according to an announcement on April 30.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is considered one of the highest honors in Division I women’s collegiate softball, recognizing exceptional athletic achievement by female players across the country. The selection of Grant and Woolery highlights their strong performances this season and their impact on UCLA’s success.
This is the second consecutive year that both Grant and Woolery have been selected as Top 25 Finalists. Last season, Woolery advanced further to become a Top 10 Finalist. Together, they have formed a powerful hitting duo with a combined total of 65 home runs, 175 RBIs, and a .493 batting average. Grant currently leads all players nationally in slugging percentage (1.350) and on-base percentage (.646), while ranking second in home runs with 34. Woolery is close to making NCAA history by potentially becoming the first player to record a .500 batting average along with at least 30 home runs and over 100 RBIs in one season.
Both athletes have also broken longstanding single-season records at UCLA during this campaign. Grant surpassed Stacey Nuveman’s previous home run record set in 1999 by hitting her thirty-fourth homerun, while Woolery tied that mark and broke Nuveman’s single-season RBI record from that same year.
The list of finalists will be reduced to ten on May 13, followed by three finalists announced on May 18. The winner will be revealed before the start of the Women’s College World Series. The award trophy was redesigned in honor of Lisa Fernandez—a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist—whose achievements represent what this recognition stands for.
Two Bruins have previously won this award: Rachel Garcia earned it twice consecutively in recent years, while Stacey Nuveman claimed UCLA’s first title for this honor back in 2002.
