UCLA Receives National Championship Rings

Sunday marked a special day for UCLA's softball program, as the members of the 2019 team received their national championship rings.

It also marked the 30th anniversary celebration of the 1989 UCLA softball team, which also won a national title.

In June, the second-seeded Bruins took down then-No. 1 Oklahoma to capture the program's 12th NCAA championship and first since 2010. UCLA went 5-0 at the 2019 Women's College World Series (WCWS) and finished the season with a 56-6 record, after a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning from then-sophomore Kinsley Washington delivered the Bruins their NCAA title.

Leading the Bruins both in the circle and at the plate during the 2019 campaign was Rachel Garcia, who is now the two-time defending USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year. Garcia—the 2019 WCWS Most Outstanding Player, who collected all five of UCLA's WCWS wins in the circle as a redshirt junior and drove in four runs for her team in the championship series alone—was recently named to the 2020 United States Olympic softball team, along with her Bruin-teammate Bubba Nickles.

Nickles also starred for UCLA during her junior season in 2019, as she hit .390 with 18 home runs and 72 RBIs, while also going 7-for-20 in the 2019 WCWS to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team.

The Bruins will play without Garcia and Nickles in 2020, as both players will be with Team USA to train for the Tokyo Olympics.

Kamekona Is First Woman On-Field Coach For MLB's Guardians

Former UCLA softball star Amanda Kamekona is the first on-field coach for the Cleveland Guardians.