In Reply to: Softball: my favorite posted by lafong on January 31, 2025 at 00:50:50
Such a contrast to last year.
We lost so much pitching coming in to 24 that it was thought our bats and defense would have to carry the load. Taylor Tinsley with 57.1 innings (out of our total 381.1 innings pitched) was our ONLY returning pitcher. There was hope in the incoming 2-time Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year (2021, 2023) frosh lefty Kaitlyn Terry and the tranfer in of former Big West Pitcher of the Year (2022) junior righthander Jada Cecil but pitching was a question mark.
Fast foward 1 year and All-Pac-12 First Team Tinsley, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and All-Pac-12 First Team Terry, and Cecil (who was apparently injured...UCLA Softball does not seem to release injury infomation, but Cecil only had 20 innings over 8 games all before March 13) are all returning. Add to that the #1 ranked incoming frosh and Gatorade 2024 National POY righthander Addisen Fisher (only freshman on Softball America's 2025 Preseason Top 100 at #95) and our pitching now looks like a strength.
Bats and defense are now the question.
Coming in to 2024 the core of our power bats were returning in SS Maya Brady (.448 AVG, 1.381 OPS, 18 HR, 58 games), RF/3B Megan Grant (.333 AVG, 1.110 OPS, 15 HR, 58 games), 1B Jordan Woolery (.390 AVG, 1.101 OPS, 10 HR, 57 games), and C Sharlize Palacios (.311 AVG, 1.001 OPS, 10 HR, 45 games). Also returning were UTIL Savannah Pola (.328 AVG in 180 AB, 59 games) and CF Janelle Meoņo (.330 AVG in 103 AB, 57 games). Through graduation we lost DP Aaliyah Jordan (.358, 1.068 OPS, 5 HR...but only 67 AB, 25 games), 2B Anna Vines (.327 in 98 AB, 46 games), LF Kelli Godin (.345 in only 55 AB, 57 games) and 3B Rachel Cid (.250 in 92 AB, 48 games). Unfortunately LF Kennedy Powell (.374 in 115 AB, all 59 games) also tranferred out. To fill those holes 3B Thessa Malau'ulu came back after a year off (rehabbing from a right arm injury), 2B Seneca Curo came back after most of 2023 off (shoulder injury), and socal native OF Jadelyn Allchin transferred in from Washington (and had a surprising career offensive year...her defense was never in question). Only DP was open and was filled by committee.
For 2025 we've lost the starting left side of our infield (SS Brady, 3B Malau'ulu) and outfield (CF Meoņo, LF Allchin) and catcher (Palacios). They were a major chunk of our offense. 42 (Palacios 20, Brady 17, Allchin 5) of our total 65 home runs are gone and we have to fill 5 defensive positions. 2B Curo is apparently coming back for a 6th season otherwise we'd have to find a 2B also (although she had a really bad 2024 on offense). So with CF, LF, SS, 3B, and C open and our #1 (Brady .418), #2 (Palacios .366), #4 (Allchin .317), #6 (Meoņo .313) and #8 (Malau'ulu .294) hitters gone our offense and defense are the question marks. We did get a grad transfer from Cal Poly in 2024 Big West Player of the Year Jessica Clements (.414 career, .464 in 2024, 95 starts in CF, 40 LF) to fill one outfield spot, but the other 4 will be a hopefully fully recovered Alexis Ramirez, Taylor Stephens, Savannah Pola and/or freshmen.
Not as much info on fall ball on the BRO Other Sports page as there was last year (there were play by play descriptions by some posters for some games in fall 2023 ...admittedly maybe incorrect but at least they tried). This fall there were only snippets.
Sun. Oct. 20 won 1st game vs UCSD handily. Sun. Oct. 20 game 2 vs SDSU went the full 7 with a walk-off hit by Rylee Slimp.
Fri. Nov. 1 game 3 vs OCC...oddly, no report.
Sat. Nov. 2 game 4 vs USD, Sat. Nov. 2 game 5 vs CSUF...one of these games Fisher threw a perfect game. Also, there was a post stating "A couple of the new lefties have power and are VERY fast" The only "new lefties" are Clements and Rylee Slimp (Fr). Both are "VERY fast". Not sure they have much power.
Fri. Nov. 8 game 6 vs LBSU again...oddly, no report.
However, on 12/19/24 on the BRO Other Sports page BPG96 posted some highlights from the 2025 Softball America UCLA Preview that is an excellent read. 2025 Softball America UCLA Preview highlights
Softball America's UCLA Projected Starters
RF Megan Grant
CF Jessica Clements
LF Rylee Slimp (Fr.)
SS Aleena Garcia (Fr.)
3B Kaniya Bragg (Fr.)
2B Seneca Curo
1B Jordan Woolery
C Alexis Ramirez
DP Savannah Pola
Finally, not sure a summer ball all-american/all-star selection is a surefire predictor of future success, but from what can be found online almost all of our more recent standouts/starters (since the HS class after Rachel Garcia in 2015) made one of the teams. Online you can find PGF (Premier Girls Fastpitch) All-Americans back to 2016 and Alliance All-Stars back to 2021. Only Kinsley Washington (HS class of 2017), Delanie Wisz (HS class of 2017, 2020 transfer in from Loyola Marymount), Janelle Meoņo (HS class of 2019, 2023 transfer in from Arizona), and Sharlize Palacios (HS class of 2019, 2023 transfer in from Arizona) of our more recent standouts/starters were not a summer ball all-american/all-star.
2016 PGF All-Americans - Aaliyah Jordan (future Pac-12 Freshman of the Year 2018 (RS 2017)), Madilyn (Bubba) Nickles
2017 PGF All-Americans - Holly Azavedo, Brianna Perez, Julie Rodriguez
2018 PGF All-Americans - Rachel Cid, Megan Faraimo (Pac-12 Freshman of the Year 2019), Kelli Godin, Colleen Sullivan, Anna Vines
2019 PGF All-Americans - Jadelyn Allchin, Maya Brady, Seneca Curo, Alyssa Garcia, Lexi Sosa
2020 PGF All-Americans - Lauryn Carter, Thessa Malauulu
2021 PGF All-Americans - Taylor Stephens
2021 Alliance All-Stars - Savannah Pola
2022 PGF All-Americans - Kennedy Powell, Taylor Tinsley
2022 Alliance All-Stars - Megan Grant, Alexis Ramirez, Jordan Woolery (Pac-12 Freshman of the Year 2023)
2023 PGF All-Americans - Kaitlyn Terry (Pac-12 Freshman of the Year 2024)
2023 Alliance All-Stars - Addison Mettler
Good news is ALL 6 of our 2025 frosh made a team.
2024 PGF All-Americans - Kaniya Bragg, Addisen Fisher, Sofia Mujica, Rylee Slimp, Maggie Daniel (late injury replacement?)
2024 Alliance All-Stars - Aleena Garcia