The UCLA Bruins softball team, currently ranked ninth in the nation, is set to compete in six games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California. The tournament will take place from February 19 to 22 at Big League Dreams Sports Park.
UCLA opens the event against Auburn on Thursday and will play two games on Friday against Nevada and No. 20 Duke. Saturday’s schedule includes matchups with Fresno State and a rematch of last year’s Super Regional opponent, No. 13 South Carolina. The Bruins conclude their weekend with a game against No. 11 Texas A&M on Sunday morning. All games are available for streaming via FloCollege.com for a fee.
Last week, UCLA recorded a 2-3 performance at the Clearwater Invitational, earning victories over Missouri and No. 12 LSU. Senior Megan Grant had a strong showing, reaching base in 12 out of her 17 plate appearances.
UCLA enters its third week leading national statistics in several offensive categories: second in home runs (30), third in slugging percentage (.810), and tenth in total runs scored (92). In Week 1 of the season, they set program records for both runs scored (68) and home runs (23).
Megan Grant has emerged as an early standout this season, leading NCAA Division I players with nine home runs, an OPS of 2.450, a slugging percentage of 1.739, and twelve walks through ten games. Ten of her twelve hits have been home runs so far this year.
Grant’s power numbers put her on pace to break national single-season records for both home runs—currently held by Arizona’s Laura Espinoza with thirty-seven—and slugging percentage—set by Georgia Tech’s Jen Yee at 1.270.
Head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez is approaching two major career milestones: she needs eight more wins to surpass Sue Enquist as UCLA’s all-time winningest softball head coach and twenty more victories to reach nine hundred career wins.
Three seniors—Megan Grant, Taylor Tinsley, and Jordan Woolery—were named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List for the upcoming season. This marks consecutive appearances on the list for Grant and Woolery; Tinsley returns after being included last year as well.
UCLA’s roster features ten returning players alongside eleven newcomers—including six freshmen—for its second season competing in the Big Ten Conference after finishing second last year with a conference record of seventeen wins and five losses.
Single-game tickets remain available for all seventeen remaining home games this season through official channels or by contacting UCLA Athletics directly via phone or email.
Fans can also watch non-televised home games and road conference contests through Big Ten Plus (B1G+), which offers annual or monthly subscription options for streaming approximately thirty UCLA softball games during the season.
