What to know about South Carolina softball's regional opponents in the NCAA Tournament

South Carolina softball returns to the NCAA Tournament as a two-seed in the Los Angeles Regional. The Gamecocks’ opponents will be No. 8 national seed UCLA, along with Cal State Fullerton and Cal Baptist.

Things get rolling on Friday night when South Carolina will take on Cal State Fullerton at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+. The winner of that game will take on the winner of UCLA vs. Cal Baptist in the winner’s bracket, while the losing teams from those games will face off in an elimination game.

Before then, here’s a look at all three of the California-based teams in this regional and what to expect.

Cal State Fullerton

The Titans (40-13, 24-3 Big West) are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2024 season, where they fell short to nationally eighth-seeded Stanford in a winner-take-all regional final.

2026 Big West Head Coach of the Year, Gina Oaks Garcia, shares the same first-year success as South Carolina’s Ashley Chastain Woodard. In 2024, Garcia’s first year coaching the club, the program reached 36 regular-season wins and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Now in 2026, at 40 total wins and fresh off a Big West conference championship, the Titans are searching for more. Cal State Fullerton is led by Big West Player of the Year Sarah Perez. The Junior shortstop batted .465 on the year, adding 79 hits and 46 runs to her stellar 2026 campaign.

The club has experience to go along with their talent. 2025 Big West Player of the Year Ava Arce returned for her senior season, and the standout first baseman logged 40 hits and eight homers on the year.

Defensively, sophomore Sarah Coccillos earned Big West Defensive Player of the Year honors. She started all 50 games at third base, posting a .982 fielding percentage. As a unit, Cal State Fullerton has a .975 fielding percentage.

In the circle, the Titans relied on three arms throughout the season. Redshirt juniors Trisha McCleskey and Leanna Garcia and sophomore Eva Hurtado make up the trio. McCleskey led the team with a 2.62 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 171 innings this season.

Cal Baptist

Also on Friday, Cal Baptist (43-17, 15-3 WAC) takes on the UCLA Bruins at 10 p.m. In their final year in the Western Athletic Conference, the Lancers left the conference as champions. Their move to join Cal State Fullerton in the Big West will take place July 1.

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In just his first season atop the softball program, head coach Brandon Telesco made history for the program, marking its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Telesco also earned the title of WAC Coach of the Year.

The Lancers racked up accolades this season. Miranda De Nava was awarded WAC Pitcher of the Year. The sophomore owned the circle over the course of her 2026 campaign. In 194 innings, she posted a 2.24 ERA and struck out 172. De Nava was 19-7 as a starter during the regular season.

At the plate, Kenzie Farrier-Pilon is the leading hitter of the Lancers. She leads her club with a .413 average and has 78 hits. Mikayala Medellin also plays a pivotal part in the lineup. Medellin is batting .366 and has logged 68 hits, 15 home runs, and 62 RBI with a .699 slugging percentage.

The team posted a .303 batting average in the regular season and hit 44 home runs over the course of the year. They were also good defensively with a .976 fielding percentage and only 38 total errors.

UCLA

A season ago, the Bruins beat out the Gamecocks for a spot in the Women’s College World Series. Almost an entire calendar year later, the two programs were placed in the same regional. No. 8 nationally seeded UCLA (47-8, 20-4 Big Ten) rode that momentum through the entire 2026 regular season.

Kelly Inouye-Perez is in her 20th season as the head coach of UCLA. She became the all-time winningest coach in program history in February. She led the Bruins to a runner-up finish in the Big Ten Tournament after a loss to Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are the No. 4 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins’ key player is Jordan Woolery, who hit a walk-off home run to beat South Carolina in Game 2 of last year’s Super Regional in Columbia. A versatile corner baseman who earned the 2026 Big Ten Player of the Year honors, she dominated both offensively and defensively. While being outstanding on defense at first base or third base, she’s hit .515 with 86 hits, 72 runs, 33 home runs and 107 RBI.

Megan Grant has also been a monster at the plate this season. The first-team all-Big Ten utility player is the definition of a winner. She already has a national championship in 2026, as she was a dual-sport athlete playing on the UCLA Women’s Basketball team. Off the court and onto the diamond, Grant batted .475 and added 66 hits, 79 runs, 38 home runs, and 78 RBI to her career year.

The Bruins have high-end talent throughout their roster. Bri Alejandre, Aleena Garcia, and Rylee Slimp round out the all-conference first-teamers. Kaniya Brag, Alexis Ramirez, and Taylor Tinsley were also all-conference players for the program this season. Shortstop Garcia and Catcher Ramirez earned all-defensive honors as well.

Tinsley Taylor is the leader for the Bruins when it comes to the circle. After making an all-conference team for the second straight season, Taylor tossed 185.2 innings in 2026 and posted a 2.87 ERA and notched 155 strikeouts over the course of the year. The senior is also 28-6 as a starter over the campaign.

As a unit, UCLA bats .386 and has 182 homers on the year with a .835 slugging percentage and has a .971 fielding percentage on the defensive end.

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