UCLA Bruins softball

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UCLA Bruins softball
Softball current event.svg 2024 UCLA Bruins softball team
UCLA Bruins primary logo.svg
Founded1975
University University of California, Los Angeles
Head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez (17th season)
Conference Big Ten
Location Los Angeles, California
Home stadium Easton Stadium (Capacity: 1,328)
Nickname Bruins
ColorsBlue and gold [1]
   
NCAA Tournament champions
1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995*, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2019
AIAW Tournament champions
1978 [2]
NCAA WCWS runner-up
1987, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005
NCAA WCWS appearances
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995*, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024
AIAW WCWS appearances
1978, 1979 (runner-up), 1981 [2]
NCAA Super Regional appearances
2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024
NCAA Tournament appearances
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995*, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference Tournament championships
Pac-12: 2024
Regular Season Conference championships
SCWIAC: 1975, 1976
WCAA: 1983, 1984
Pac-10/12: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
*vacated by NCAA

The UCLA Bruins softball team represents the University of California, Los Angeles in NCAA Division I softball. The Bruins are among the most decorated programs in NCAA softball, leading all schools in NCAA championships with 12, 13 overall Women's College World Series championships, [2] championship game appearances with 22, [2] WCWS appearances with 36, [2] and NCAA Tournament wins with 187. [3]

Contents

History

Sharron Backus era

Judith Holland, UCLA senior associate athletic director, hired Sharon Backus as a part-time coach upon the program's founding in 1975. Holland recalled, "I had seen her play, and she was probably one of the best shortstops who ever played the game." [4] Backus was a physical education teacher at a high school in Anaheim, California when she was hired by UCLA and kept her teaching job for the first couple years after being hired at UCLA. Backus taught in Anaheim in the mornings and drove to UCLA for practice and games in the afternoon. [4] Holland recalled that UCLA paid Backus about $1,500 year as a part-time coach, "and I don't think the money even paid for her gas." [4]

In Backus's first three years at UCLA, the team struggled. Between 1975 and 1977, UCLA compiled a record of 44–20. In the formative years of the program, the Bruins played at city parks, where they were "often bumped from fields by recreational softball leagues." [5] Backus moved her team to the UCLA intramural field, but it was not until 1980 that her team got its own field. [5] Sunset Field and was constructed in 1979 and it was the home of the Bruins through 1993.

In 1978, the Bruins won their first AIAW national softball championship with a 31–3 record. After women's softball became an NCAA sport in 1982, Backus's teams won six of the first nine NCAA softball tournaments. [5] In all, Backus led UCLA to eight NCAA tournament championships (in addition to the 1978 pre-NCAA championship) in 1982 (33–7–2), 1984 (45–6–1), 1985 (41–9), 1988 (53–8), 1989 (48–4), 1990 (62–7), 1992 (54–2), and 1995 (50–6). [6]

From 1988 to 1990, the Bruins won three consecutive NCAA championships and compiled a record of 163–19. Backus's success led the Los Angeles Times in 1990 to compare Backus to UCLA's legendary basketball coach John Wooden:

"When you talk about UCLA dynasties, you start with John Wooden, who coached the men's basketball team to 10 NCAA titles. But Backus has built a dynasty of her own. ... In total, the Bruins have won seven national titles, finished second twice and third twice in Backus' 15 seasons." [5]

Commenting on the pressure and anxiety fostered by success, Backus noted, "John Wooden once said that he wished one national championship to his best friends, but four to his enemies." [7]

Infractions

In December 1995, the UCLA women's softball program was placed on probation after an investigation revealed that UCLA had awarded more scholarships than were permitted under NCAA rules. Amid an NCAA probe prompted by a Los Angeles Times investigation into UCLA pitcher Tanya Harding, Backus announced her retirement in January 1997 after 21 years as the team's head coach. [8] Backus compiled a record of 847 wins, 167 losses and 3 ties at UCLA. [8] [9] At the time of her retirement, she was "the winningest college softball coach" in the history of the sport. [8] [10] Backus told the press when she retired, "I've had a great career at UCLA, but it's time for a change. My primary reason for stepping down has to do with the illness and death of my mother in early October. That, plus the ongoing NCAA probe of the softball program have created a level of stress that I feel is best to put behind me at this time." [9]

Sue Enquist era

In 1989, Sue Enquist was appointed co-head coach with Backus, a position they shared through the 1996 season. Enquist played softball at UCLA under Sharron Backus from 1975 to 1978. She helped lead UCLA to its first national softball championship in 1978 and became UCLA's first All-American softball player. [11] Her career batting average of .401 was the UCLA team record for 24 years. Prior to becoming co-head coach, she was an assistant coach under Backus from 1980 to 1988.

Following Backus's retirement, Enquist became the sole head coach at UCLA in 1997, a position she held for ten years from 1997 to 2006. [12] Enquist retired from UCLA in 2006. [13] [14] In 18 years as the co-head coach and sole head coach at UCLA, Enquist compiled a record of 887–175–1. [15] Her career winning percentage of .835 is the highest recorded by any of the college softball coaches with 800 career wins. [16] During her years as a player and coach at UCLA, the Bruins softball team won 11 national championships in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003 and 2004. [12]

Kelly Inouye-Perez era

The UCLA Bruins are currently under the coaching of Kelly Inouye-Perez, who started in 2007. A former UCLA catcher, she played under Coach Sue Enquist. She was named First-Team All PAC-10 her freshmen year and Second Team All-PAC-10 her sophomore season. She helped lead the Bruins to the 1989 and 1990 National championship before getting shoulder surgery in 1991. She came back the following year and got 2nd team All-PAC-10 honor and won the national championship with a 54-2 record on the season.

Perez was the assistant coach for the Bruins from 1994 to 2006. As her time as assistant coach, she helped accumulate a 617-150-1 overall record, 3 PAC-10 championships, 7 championship game appearances, 3 national championships, and named the National Coaching Staff of the Year award. She guided recognizable pitchers and catchers in the game like Stacey Nuveman who became a 3 time PAC-10 Player of the Year, 4 time 1st team All-American, and NCAA's all time single season and career home run leader.

She became only the third coach in UCLA softball history on January 1, 2007. So far in her time as UCLA head coach, she accumulated 32 NFCA All-American awards, 67 All-Region honors, and 89 All Pacific-10/Pac-12 awards from her players. She brought two national championship back to the university in 2010 and 2019. She accomplished her 600th win of her career when she beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the national championship game in 2019. [17]

NamePosition coachedConsecutive season at
UCLA in current position
Kelly Inouye-Perez Head coach 17th
Lisa Fernandez Associate head coach1st
Kirk Walker Associate head coach1st
Will OldhamVolunteer assistant coach1st
Claire DonyanavardDirector of Softball Operations5th
Kaitlyn GustafsonAssistant athletic trainer
Adam GarnerDirector of Athletic Performance
Reference: [18]

Head coaches

NameYearsWonLostTiedPct.
Sharron Backus 1975–19884511173.794
Sharron Backus & Sue Enquist 1989–1996403560.878
Sue Enquist1997–20074841191.803
Kelly Inouye-Perez 2007–present5441661.766

Year-by-year results

SeasonCoachRecordNotes
OverallConference
Southern California Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
1975Sharron Backus14–69–0SCWIAC Champions
197613–49–1SCWIAC Champions
Independent
1977Sharron Backus17–10—
197831–13— AIAW National Champions
197924–9— AIAW College World Series (Runner-up)
Western Collegiate Athletic Association
1980Sharron Backus24–1311–5
198138–1010–5 AIAW College World Series (3rd place)
198233–7–215–4–1 NCAA Champions
198340–717–3 Women's College World Series (3rd Place)
198445–6–17–3 NCAA Champions
198541–99–3 NCAA Champions
198628–1510–2
1987Sharron Backus50–107–3 Women's College World Series (Runner-up)
198853–815–3 NCAA Champions
1989Backus/Enquist48–418–2 NCAA Champions
199062–716–2 NCAA Champions
199156–716–4 Women's College World Series (Runner-up)
199254–214–2 NCAA Champions
199350–525–1 Women's College World Series (Runner-up)
199443–1416–6 Women's College World Series (Runner-up)
199543–623–4 NCAA Champions (vacated by NCAA)
199647–1120–7 Women's College World Series (3rd Place)
1997Sue Enquist49–1421–7 Women's College World Series (Runner-up)
199818–278–18
199963–622–6 NCAA Champions
200046–12–114–7 Women's College World Series (Runner-up)
200162–616–5 Women's College World Series (Runner-up)
200255–918–3 Women's College World Series (5th Place)
200354–717–4 NCAA Champions
200447–912–8 NCAA Champions
200540–2011–10 Women's College World Series (Runner-up)
200650–915–5 Women's College World Series (4th Place)
2007Kelly Inouye-Perez37–1812–9 NCAA Regional
200851–917–4 Women's College World Series (5th Place)
200945–1116–5 NCAA Super Regional
201050–1114–7 NCAA Champions
201136–199–12NCAA Regional
2012Kelly Inouye-Perez36–2012–12 NCAA Regional
201340–2010–4 NCAA Regional
201452–819–5 NCAA Super Regional
201551–1219–5 Women's College World Series (5th Place)
201640–16–116–5–1 Women's College World Series (8th Place)
201748–1516–8 Women's College World Series (6th Place)
201855–520–4 Women's College World Series (3rd Place)
201956–620–4 NCAA Champions
202025–10–0Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
202147–719–2 Women's College World Series (5th Place)
202251–1019–5 Women's College World Series (4th Place)
202352–721–3 NCAA Regional
202443–1217–4 Women's College World Series (5th Place)

NCAA Tournament seeding history

National seeding began in 2005. The UCLA Bruins have been a national seed 16 of the 18 tournaments.

Years → '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '12 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '21 '22 '23 '24
Seeds →71122251237125322526

Notable players

National awards

NFCA National Freshman of the Year
NFCA National Player of the Year
NFCA National Pitcher of the Year
Softball America Player of the Year
Softball America Pitcher of the Year
Softball America Freshman of the Year
USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
NFCA Catcher of the Year

Conference awards

Pac-12 Player of the Year
Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year
Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
Pac-12 Coach of the Year

Related Research Articles

Stacey "Nuvey" Nuveman-Deniz is an American, former professional softball player and current head coach at San Diego State. She played for the UCLA Bruins at the catcher position on-and-off from 1997 to 2002, winning a National Championship in 1999. She also won two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal for Team USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anjelica Selden</span>

Anjelica Maria Selden is a former collegiate All-American, softball pitcher and coach. She played for UCLA and is the career leader in strikeouts. She also pitched internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natasha Watley</span> American softball player

Natasha Renee Watley is an American, former collegiate four-time first-team All-American, two-time medal winning Olympian, retired seven-time pro-All-Star softball player. Watley played college softball at UCLA, and helped the Bruins win a national championship. She represented the United States women's national softball team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She won a gold medal, and again at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and won a silver medal.

Sharron Backus is a former softball player and coach. She played as a shortstop and third baseman on seven Amateur Softball Association national championship teams from 1961 to 1975. She served as the head softball coach at UCLA from 1975 to 1997 and led her teams to nine national collegiate softball championships. At the time of her retirement in 1997, she was the winningest college softball coach in the history of the sport. Backus has been inducted into both the National Softball Hall of Fame and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Susan Enquist is a former softball player and coach. She played softball at UCLA under Sharron Backus from 1975 to 1978. She helped lead UCLA to its first national softball championship in the 1978 Women's College World Series and became UCLA's first All-American softball player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 1988 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1988 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Sharron Backus, who led her fourteenth season. The Bruins played their home games at Sunset Field and finished with a record of 53–8. They competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished first with a 15–3 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 1989 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1989 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Sharron Backus, who led her fifteenth season and Sue Enquist, in her first season, in an uncommonly used co-head coach system. The Bruins played their home games at Sunset Field and finished with a record of 48–4. They competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished first with a 18–2 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 1990 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1990 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Sharron Backus, who led her sixteenth season and Sue Enquist, in her second season, in an uncommonly used co-head coach system. The Bruins played their home games at Sunset Field and finished with a record of 62–7. They competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished first with a 16–2 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 1992 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1992 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Sharron Backus, who led her eighteenth season and Sue Enquist, in her fourth season, in an uncommonly used co-head coach system. The Bruins played their home games at Sunset Field and finished with a record of 54–2. They competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished second with a 14–2 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 1995 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1995 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Sharron Backus, who led her twenty-first season, and Sue Enquist, in her seventh season, in an uncommon co-head coach system. The Bruins played their home games at Easton Stadium and finished with a record of 50–6. They competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished second with a 23–4 record.

Rachel Lauren Garcia is an American former softball pitcher. She most recently served as the pitching coach for UC San Diego. She played college softball for the UCLA Bruins and led the Bruins to the 2019 Women's College World Series championship, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player.

The 2018 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2018. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2018 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2018 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held annually in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on June 4, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 NCAA Division I softball season</span> College softball in the United States

The 2021 NCAA Division I Softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2021. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 2021 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisted of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament was held in Oklahoma City at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, and ended on June 10, 2021.

Maya Ann Brady-Timmons is an American college softball player for the UCLA Bruins. As a freshman in 2020, she was named Softball America Freshman of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Faraimo</span> American softball pitcher

Megan Ki'llani Faraimo is an American professional softball pitcher. She played college softball at UCLA from 2019 to 2023, where she was named a three-time All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). As a sophomore in 2020, she was named Softball America Pitcher of the Year. Faraimo played in Athletes Unlimited Softball, where she named the 2023 Athletes Unlimited Rookie of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 2022 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 2022 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Kelly Inouye-Perez, in her sixteenth season. The Bruins played their home games at Easton Stadium and competed in the Pac-12 Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 1987 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1987 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Sharron Backus, who led her thirteenth season. The Bruins played their home games at Sunset Field and finished with a record of 50–10. They competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished second with a 7–3 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 1991 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1991 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Sharron Backus, who led her seventeenth season and Sue Enquist, in her third season, in an uncommonly used co-head coach system. The Bruins played their home games at Sunset Field and finished with a record of 56–7. They competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished first with a 16–4 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 UCLA Bruins softball team</span> American college softball season

The 1993 UCLA Bruins softball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1993 NCAA Division I softball season. The Bruins were coached by Sharron Backus, who led her nineteenth season and Sue Enquist, in her fifth season, in an uncommonly used co-head coach system. The Bruins played their home games at Sunset Field and finished with a record of 50–5. They competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished first with a 25–1 record.

References

  1. ↑ "Style Guide // UCLA Athletics for Print and Digital Applications" (PDF). UCLA Nike Jordan Style Guide. July 7, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN   978-0-9893007-0-4.
  3. ↑ "2014 Women's College World Series Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Ray Ripton (1991-02-07). "Bruins Try to Continue Domination in Softball Colleges: Three-time defending NCAA champions have plenty of pitching and hitting talent". Los Angeles Times.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Chris Baker (1990-06-12). "Another UCLA Dynasty Takes Shape Softball: Bruins have won three NCAA titles in a row and six of nine overall under Coach Sharron Backus". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ↑ "Division I Softball Champions". NCAA. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  7. ↑ Ray Ripton (1989-06-04). "Keeping a Dynasty Going Isn't All Fun, UCLA Softball Coach Learns". Los Angeles Times.
  8. 1 2 3 "UCLA Softball Coach Backus Resigns During Investigation". Los Angeles Times. 1997-01-07.
  9. 1 2 "BACKUS STEPS DOWN AS BRUINS COACH". Daily News (Los Angeles). 1997-01-07.
  10. ↑ Judi Garman passed Backus as the sport's winningest coach in 1998.
  11. ↑ "UCLA Women Win Series". Schenectady Gazette. May 29, 1978.
  12. 1 2 "Sue Enquist Profile". UCLA. Archived from the original on 2012-12-09.
  13. ↑ "Acclaimed UCLA softball coach Enquist to retire". ESPN.com. September 26, 2006.
  14. ↑ Ben Bolch (September 27, 2006). "Veteran UCLA Softball Coach Enquist to Retire". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.
  15. ↑ "NCAA Career Statistics". NCAA. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  16. ↑ "NCAA Softball Coaching Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2011.
  17. ↑ "Kelly Inouye-Perez - Softball Coach". UCLA. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  18. ↑ "UCLA Bruins Softball Coaches". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
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