UCLA Softball Schedule 2024: What To Know

UCLA softball will appear at both the Mark Campbell Invitational and the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Here's what to know.

Jan 26, 2024 by Briar Napier

UCLA Softball Schedule 2024: What To Know

UCLA softball will open the 2024 college softball season with multiple early-season tournaments, and FloSoftball will be broadcasting two of them: the Mark Campbell Collegiate Invitational and the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

Were last season’s failures a blessing in disguise for UCLA softball?

Right now, most in the program probably would tell you no, as the Bruins haven’t won anything yet in 2024. But following a 2023 campaign that was fantastic for most of the year, before crashing down brutally hard at the end, the fire has been lit inside college softball’s most successful team of all time.

That factor alone may make UCLA the most dangerous team in college softball this season.

UCLA, as it has shown many, many times throughout the sport’s history, doesn’t stay down for long.

Here’s everything you need to know about UCLA softball ahead of the 2024 season.

How Did UCLA Softball Do In 2023?

The Bruins were considered among the elite in college softball for much of last season and played like it, reaching the 50-win mark for the second straight season.

They then earned a No. 2 national seed for the NCAA Tournament off the back of a 17-0 start and yet another Pac-12 Conference regular-season title, among many other accolades.

Though UCLA and eventual national champion Oklahoma, had only one matchup during the season, which ended up being a mercy-rule victory for the powerful Sooners in February, many thought that if anyone was going to stop the OU juggernaut from barreling its way to another national championship, it would be UCLA.

That was the thought, until the Bruins fell flat once they arrived at the NCAA Tournament.

In a stunning collapse, UCLA—which hadn’t missed the super-regional round since 2013—didn’t even win a game in its home regional, as it was upset by Grand Canyon and Liberty on back-to-back days, finishing the year at 52-7 overall in what would’ve been a historic season for most programs. Instead, it was bitterly disappointing for the Bruins.

Who Coaches UCLA Softball?

Kelly Inouye-Perez’s entire college softball life has revolved around UCLA, and she’s been a major part of its long tradition of success in the sport.

The only person in college softball history to have won a national championship as both a player and coach, Inouye-Perez was a standout catcher as a player in Westwood, helping lead the Bruins to three national titles in her playing career from 1989-1993.

Immediately joining UCLA’s staff as an assistant coach in 1994 (with the program then under the co-coaching tenure of Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist), Inouye-Perez became the head coach in 2007 following Enquist’s retirement.

The Bruins’ tradition of excellence on the diamond hasn’t slowed with Inouye-Perez at the helm, with the program having made the WCWS nine times and the national championship series twice in her tenure (2010 and 2019).

Has UCLA Ever Won The Women’s College World Series?

Not only has UCLA won the Women’s College World Series, it has won it more titles than any other program in the history of the sport.

A powerhouse with 34 WCWS appearances, the Bruins have finished the tournament on top a record 13 times (12 officially by the NCAA, as the 1995 title was vacated) and, until Oklahoma did it over the past three seasons, used to be the only school to have won three consecutive national championships, achieving the feat from 1988-1990.

Notable Returning Players

Maya Brady, SS

If the last name reminds you of greatness, it’s no coincidence; you might have heard of her uncle, Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback widely considered to be the greatest football player of all time.

But Maya is upholding the Brady name of success in her own right, too.

The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year and finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year was a machine at the plate, starting her 2023 season by getting a hit in her first 11 at-bats and finishing as the league’s batting champion (.456), as well as being UCLA’s leader in a boatload of offensive statistical categories.

Her .866 slugging percentage was the highest from a Bruin in 13 years, and she was one of three players nationally to hit at least .450 with 15 home runs and 50 RBIs.

The Brady family loves a challenge, so here’s one for Maya this year: lead UCLA to another national title.

Megan Grant, UTL

What a freshman season for Grant last year, who ranked in the top 20 nationally, and second among freshmen in RBIs (58), as she gave an immediate jolt to the Bruins’ lineup.

Grant got better as the season went along, too, batting .404 in Pac-12 play and tying with Brady for the most homers (nine) from a Bruin against league opposition, all while also having the longest hitting streak of anyone on the team (14 games) in a sizzling stretch across March and April.

An easy selection to both the All-Pac-12 first team and its All-Freshman team, Grant and fellow star freshman Jordan Woolery combined for 104 RBIs–the most between two freshmen in a single season in UCLA history. The duo will be a combination to be feared for years to come.

Notable Newcomers

Jada Cecil, P

Maybe it was fate that Cecil was going to be a Bruin, even after starting her college career and playing her first two seasons with UC San Diego.

While there, Cecil’s pitching coach (during the 2023 season) was Rachel Garcia, a two-time NFCA National Player of the Year with the Bruins widely considered to be one of greatest pitchers in college softball history.

That guidance and coaching was immense for the right-handed Cecil’s development, as she was stellar with the Tritons.

Twice named to the All-Big West Conference first team (including being named the Big West Pitcher of the Year during her freshman season in 2022), Cecil went 31-15 overall at UCSD with 405 strikeouts across 335 innings pitched and holds a career ERA under 2.00.

She’s got massive shoes to fill, as Megan Faraimo and Brooke Yanez, the winning pitchers with 45 of UCLA’s 52 victories last year, are gone, but maybe she learned some tips and tricks about how to be the Bruins’ new ace from Garcia, too.

Kaitlyn Terry, P/OF

A .626 batting average. A 1.567 slugging percentage. Twenty-six no-hitters. A total of 1,227 strikeouts over 511 1/3 innings.

If those seem like video game numbers, they're not; they're just some of the ridiculous stats put up by Terry in high school. The Arizona native twice was the state’s Gatorade Softball Player of the Year, and she’s now preparing for her freshman campaign with the Bruins in 2024.

Her stats in her senior season at Greenway High School in Phoenix were particularly incredible, with the left-hander tossing six perfect games, while batting a beyond-belief .706 as the No. 5 recruit in the country for her class at the time of UCLA’s announcement of her signing.

There is serious two-way star potential for Terry on a similar level to Clemson’s Valerie Cagle, which is a hefty comparison, considering the latter is the reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.