For the fifth time this season the Pac-12 places six teams in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll: No. 8 Stanford, No. 10 Washington, No. 12 UCLA, No. 20 California, No. 21 Arizona and No. 22 Oregon. 

The Pac-12 has two top-25 Conference series on deck this weekend in No. 22 Oregon at No. 21 Arizona, and No. 20 California at No. 12 UCLA. The Wildcats are 86-37-2 all-time against the Ducks, however Oregon swept Arizona a season ago, outscoring Arizona, 23-7, over the three-game series. Oregon has won four of its first five Pac-12 series for the first time since 2018.

The Golden Bears and Bruins have met 132 times, with UCLA holding a 101-30-1 all-time record. Cal run-ruled the then-No. 2 Bruins a season ago behind a 3-for-3 day from Tatum Anzaldo, which was Cal’s first win over UCLA since 2013 (22 games). This weekend will be the first time since 2019 these two teams will square off while both ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25.

No. 8 Stanford visits Oregon State for a three-game series beginning this Friday on Pac-12 Insider. The Cardinal has won five straight and 13 of its last 14, and has won every Pac-12 series so far this season.

This series is Oregon State’s third straight against a ranked league foe, who is coming off a 1-0 win over No. 12 UCLA behind Logan Hulon’s complete-game shutout.

Arizona State welcomes Utah to Tempe during this action-packed weekend. Utah took two of three against the Sun Devils a season ago, and Arizona State swept the Utes in Tempe back in 2022.

The eighth-ranked Cardinal welcome Fresno State to the Farm on Wednesday to begin the week, one of four non-conference games for the day. No. 10 Washington battles Boise State on the road, No. 22 Oregon visits Grand Canyon, and Utah tangles with in-state foe Weber State. Arizona State is set to take on Grand Canyon on Tuesday, April 16 to wrap up its non-conference slate.

Quick Hits  

• The Pac-12 ranks second nationally with 7.95 hits per game. 
  • Every Pac-12 program is averaging at least six hits per game, led by Washington who averages 8.88 hits per contest.
• The league is also fourth with 5.24 runs per game, 0.21 triples per game, 0.95 homers per game, and 12.52 total bases per game.
• At 154-55-1 (.737), the Pac-12 ranks third nationally in non-conference winning percentage, trailing just the SEC (.861) and the Big 12 (.775).
• Eight out of nine Pac-12 teams are .500 or better. 
• Utah’s Haley Denning is the NCAA DI active career leader in hits with 289, while teammate Abby Dayton ranks ninth among active players with a career .424 batting average.
  • Dayton’s .482 batting average this season is the fifth best nationally.
• Stanford’s NiJaree Canady is averaging 11.0 strikeouts per seven innings, which is the third highest in the country.
  • Canady has a nation-leading 0.48 ERA, and hasn’t allowed a run in 29.2 consecutive innings. Canady is the only player in the country to rank in the top five in both ERA and in strikeouts per seven. 
  • The Cardinal’s team ERA of 1.54 is the sixth best in NCAA DI.
• Ariel Carlson’s 38 home runs are the fifth most in Oregon history, and she needs two more to pass Koral Costa (39) for the fourth most.
• Arizona’s .981 fielding percentage not only paces the Pac-12 but ranks third nationally.
  • The Wildcats have six players with a perfect fielding percentage on the year: Carlie Scupin, Dakota Kennedy, Olivia DiNardo, Jasmine Perezchica, Kaiah Altmeyer and Aissa Silva.
  • Arizona finished last season with a steller .985 fielding percentage (second best in the country).
• Softball America has six Pac-12 teams slated to make the NCAA Division I Softball Championship in its first bracketology of the season.
  • Stanford (No. 3 seed) and UCLA (No. 15 seed) are tabbed as hosts, while Arizona (Baton Rouge Regional), California (Austin Regional), Oregon (Norman Regional) and Washington (Fayetteville Regional) earn No. 2 seeds. Utah is part of the Next Four Out.
  • The six teams are the third most among all conferences (SEC - 12 & Big 12 - 7). 

Rankings Rundown  

• USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll: No. 8 Stanford, No. 10 Washington, No. 12 UCLA, No. 20 California, No. 21 Arizona and No. 22 Oregon. 
• D1Softball: No. 3 Stanford, No. 10 Washington, No. 12 UCLA, No. 23 Arizona and No. 25 Oregon.
• Softball America: No. 6 Stanford, No. 12 Washington, No. 14 UCLA, RV California, Oregon and Arizona.
• ESPN.com/USA Softball: No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 Washington, No. 11 UCLA, No. 20 Oregon, No. 23 California and No. t-25 Arizona.
• NCAA RPI Rankings (through 4/9): No. 3 Stanford, No. 14 UCLA, No. 21 California, No. 24 Arizona, No. 25 Washington, No. 30 Oregon, No. 49 Utah, No. 76 Arizona State, and No. 90 Oregon State. 

Conference Notebook

• Arizona: The Wildcats are coming off a doubleheader sweep of New Mexico State in which they hit nine home runs over the two games, which tied a program record for most home runs in a doubleheader (also against New Mexico State in 2014). Arizona ranks second in the Pac-12 with 47 home runs on the year.
• Arizona State: The Sun Devils’ 54 doubles this season are tied for the second most in the Pac-12, and their 14 triples pace the league. Eight players have recorded a triple this season, led by Kayla Lissy’s four.
• California: Anzaldo is two hits away from 200 in her career. The senior has recorded a hit in 17 of her last 18 contests, and her 49 this season are tied for the fifth most in the Pac-12.
• Oregon: Morgan Scott’s 13 career saves are tied for the fourth-most among active NCAA DI players. Scott has three saves so far this season, which is tied for the second most in the Pac-12, and is coming off a league-leading seven-save slate in 2023.
• Oregon State: Grace Messmer is hitting a team-high .385 in Pac-12 play, and has four multi-hit league games this season. The Beavers have three players hitting .300 or better in league action: Messmer, Kaiea Higa (.333) and Eliana Gottlieb (.310). Abby Doerr is on the cusp of eclipsing that .300-mark as she is hitting .297.
• Stanford: The Cardinal has won five straight, outscoring its opponents 29-1 over that stretch. Stanford has 16 shutouts (six of which have come in league action) this season, which is tied for the second most nationally. 
• UCLA: Freshman Kaitlyn Terry is 11-0 on the year, and has the most wins in the circle without a loss among all Pac-12 pitchers. Terry has five shutouts on the year, and paces the Bruins with a 1.97 ERA which is also the third best in the Conference. Her 6.6 strikeouts per seven top-10 in the Pac-12, and second among league freshmen.
• Utah: Aliya Belarde is hitting .722 over her last five games, and has recorded multiple hits in each of those five. The Utes are 11-4 this season when Belarde has a multi-hit game. Belarde leads the Pac-12 with 37 hits, while teammate Denning ranks third with 33.
• Washington: The Huskies have five players in the top-10 in home runs during Pac-12 play, led by Alana Johnson who has eight long balls which paces the Conference. Rylee Holtorf and Brooke Nelson each have four, while Kinsey Fiedler and Sydney Stewart both have three. Washington has 26 home runs in Pac-12 action, which is eight more than the next most.

Watch List

• 11 Pac-12 players are on USA Softball’s Top 50 “Watch List” for Player of the Year: Maya Brady, UCLA; NiJaree Canady, STAN; Megan Grant, UCLA; Stevie Hansen, ORE; Taryn Kern, STAN; Mariah Lopez, UTAH; Ruby Meylan, WASH; Sharlize Palacios, UCLA; Carlie Scupin, ARIZ; Allie Skaggs, ARIZ; Jordan Woolery, UCLA. 

Additions & Returners

• Every Pac-12 program was ranked in the top-45 of Extra Inning Softball’s 2023 team recruiting rankings: No. 7 Washington, No. 8 UCLA, No. 9 Arizona, No. 13 Oregon, No. 31 Stanford, No. 33 Arizona State, No. 34 California, No. 44 Oregon State, No. 45 Utah.
• The Pac-12 returns 12 First-Team All-Conference members from a season ago: Tatum Anzaldo (CAL); Aliya Belarde (UTAH), Brady (UCLA), NiJaree Canady, (STAN), Abby Dayton (UTAH), Megan Grant (UCLA), Dakota Kennedy (ARIZ), Mariah Lopez (UTAH), River Mahler (STAN), Ruby Meylan (WASH), Allie Skaggs (ARIZ) and Jordan Woolery (UCLA).
• Six 2023 NFCA All-Americans will suit up for Pac-12 teams this year: Brady, Grant, Taryn Kern, Lopez, Woolery & Meylan.
  • Stanford added 2023 NFCA Second Team All-American Kern this offseason, who transferred in from Indiana.

PowHER of the PAC

• All nine Pac-12 softball programs are led by female head coaches.
• Six of nine are leading their alma maters: Jessica Allister, STAN; Amy Hogue, UTAH; Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA; Caitlin Lowe, ARIZ; Chelsea Spencer, CAL; Heather Tarr, WASH.

Preseason Coaches Poll

• Stanford received seven first-place votes and 63 total points to finish atop the 2024 preseason coaches poll for the first time in Pac-12 history. Reigning regular-season champion UCLA was second with 54 points, while Utah came in third with 49 points and one first-place vote. Washington grabbed the remaining first-place vote and 45 points to finish fourth. 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year and Batting Champion Brady of UCLA headlined the 20-member Preseason All-Pac-12 Team. 

2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament

• Stanford’s Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium will host the 2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament, which takes place from May 8-11. The four-day event will begin with a play-in game between the eighth and ninth-place teams in the regular-season standings on Wednesday. That winner will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship being contested on the following three days. The winner of the Pac-12 Softball Tournament will receive the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Historically Speaking

• The nation’s most successful softball conference, Pac-12 programs have combined to win 24 of the 41 NCAA softball championships all-time, 17 more than the next closest league, and all nine Pac-12 teams have made appearances in the Women’s College World Series. Of the 13 different programs to have won an NCAA softball championship, five are from the Pac-12: UCLA (12), Arizona (8), Arizona State (2), California (1) and Washington (1). The Pac-12 sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, with three teams advancing to the Women’s College World Series, the most of any other conference. 

Upcoming Schedule (Full Schedule) 

Pac-12 Standings (Full Standings)

Pac-12 Softball Weekly Awards