Stanford moves into the top-five of the latest USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll: No. 5 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 12 UCLA, No. 19 Arizona, No. 20 California, and No. 22 Oregon. 

The Pac-12 has two top-25 league series for the second consecutive weekend in No. 12 UCLA at No. 5 Stanford, and No. 8 Washington at No. 20 California.

The battle at The Farm begins Friday on Pac-12 Network, and Sunday’s finale is set to air on ESPN2. The Bruins hold a 101-24 all-time advantage over the Cardinal, including four straight wins. Stanford, who sits atop the Pac-12 standings at 13-2, has won every league series this season including three sweeps, and is undefeated at home in Pac-12 play in 2024.

The Huskies return to the diamond this Friday for the first time in nine days looking to improve on their 10-5 Pac-12 record. Washington swept the Golden Bears in Seattle a season ago, however California took the series in Berkeley, Calif. back in 2022. Cal is 10-5 at Levine-Fricke Field this season, and is one victory away from its second-straight 30-win season.

A pair of in-state rivalry series also headline an action-packed weekend of Pac-12 softball. No. 19 Arizona takes on Arizona State at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium, while Oregon State visits No. 22 Oregon.

The Wildcats are 102-61-1 all-time against the Sun Devils, and most recently defeated Arizona State in the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament. Arizona State swept Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. back in 2022, outscoring the Wildcats 28-2 during that three-game series.

Oregon State upset then-No. 18 Oregon in the most recent matchup between the two teams behind Ellie Garcia’s complete-game shutout. The Ducks have walked off the diamond victorious in seven of their last eight against the Beavers, including a home sweep back in 2022.

More non-conference action is on deck this Wednesday, April 17, with No. 5 Stanford visiting UC Davis for a doubleheader. Utah hosts Weber State looking for its fifth-straight win on, and No. 20 California visits in-state foe Fresno State.

Quick Hits 

• A total of 11 current and former Pac-12 players have been selected to the U.S. Women's National Softball Team rosters for the 2024 Japan All-Star Series and World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women's World Cup. Stanford’s NiJaree Canady & Taryn Kern, UCLA’s Megan Grant, and Washington’s Baylee Klingler will suit up in the red, white and blue at the Japan All-Star Series from July 4-8. Arizona’s Dejah Mulipola, UCLA’s Maya Brady, Ally Carda, Megan Faraimo & Rachel Garcia, Utah’s Hannah Flippen, and Washington’s Sis Bates will represent Team USA at the WBSC in Castions de Strada, Italy from July 15-21. Washington’s Heather Tarr will serve as head coach while Arizona State’s Jimmy Kolatis is an assistant coach for Team USA at the WBSC.
• The Pac-12 is second nationally with 8.01 hits, and 12.65 total bases per game. The league is also fourth with 5.27 runs per game and with 0.97 home runs per game.
  • More than half the league is hitting over .300 this season: Washington - .337, Arizona - .326, Oregon - .315, Utah - .313, UCLA - .312 and California - .303. Stanford (.296) and Arizona State (.293) are on the cusp of that .300 mark.
• At 158-56-1 (.737), the Pac-12 ranks third nationally in non-conference winning percentage, trailing just the SEC (.835) and the Big 12 (.778).
• Oregon’s Kai Luschar (22 SB, 58 H) and Utah’s Haley Denning (20 SB, 62 H) are two of seven players in NCAA DI with over 20 steals and 55 hits this season.
• Cal’s Tatum Anzaldo is two hits away from 200 in her career. The senior has recorded a hit in 17 of her last 19 contests, and her 49 this season rank her in the top-10 of the Pac-12.
• Oregon’s Morgan Scott’s 68 career complete games are the fifth most among active NCAA DI players, and her 12 saves are tied for the most.
  • She is one of two players (Clemson’s Valerie Cagle) to rank in the top five in both categories.
• UCLA’s Maya Brady is one run away from scoring 200 in her career, and Utah’s Denning is five away from that 200 mark.
  • Denning is also two hits away from 300 for her career.

Rankings Rundown

• USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll: No. 5 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 12 UCLA, No. 19 Arizona, No. 20 California, and No. 22 Oregon. 
• D1Softball: No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Washington, No. 12 UCLA, No. 19 Arizona and No. 25 Oregon.
• Softball America: No. 5 Stanford, No. 14 Washington, No. 16 UCLA, and No. 22 Arizona.
• ESPN.com/USA Softball: No. 5 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 11 UCLA, No. t-20 Oregon, No. 22 Arizona, and No. 24 California.
• NCAA RPI Rankings (through 4/16): No. 4 Stanford, No. 14 UCLA, No. 22 Arizona, No. 23 California, No. 26 Washington, No. 28 Oregon, No. 47 Utah, No. 77 Arizona State, and No. 91 Oregon State. 

Conference Notebook

• Arizona: The Wildcats’ .981 fielding percentage is the third best nationally. Arizona is one of two Pac-12 teams (also Oregon) to have four players boasting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage this season (min. 30 chances): Carlie Scupin, Dakota Kennedy, Olivia DiNardo and Jasmine Perezchica. Arizona has 27 errorless games this season, and are 18-8-1 in those contests.
• Arizona State: With a .412 career batting average, Tanya Windle ranks 14th among active NCAA DI players in batting average. Windle is batting .380 this season, which is the 10th best mark in the Pac-12.
• California: The Golden Bears lead the league with 56 homers this season, and their 1.37 home runs per game is the 15th best nationally. Elon Butler is tied for the league lead with 12 long balls, while Lagi Quiroga is tied-for-sixth with 10.
• Oregon: Emma Kauf’s 53 career doubles are the second most among active DI players, trailing Texas State’s Sara Vanderford’s 54. As a team, the Ducks rank second in the league with 58 doubles this season. Three Ducks (Ariel Carlson, Alyssa Daniell and Hanna Delgado) each have 10 doubles on the year which ties them for the fourth most in the league.
• Oregon State: The Beavers upset then-No. 8 Stanford in Sunday’s series finale, which was highlighted by a walk-off two-run off the bat of Lici Campbell. The win was Oregon State’s fourth win over a top-25 team at home since the start of last season, including its second top-10 win.
• Stanford: Stanford’s 1.65 ERA not only paces the Pac-12, but is the fifth-best in the country. The Cardinal also boast a 4.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is the fourth-highest nationally. Stanford is one of two teams in the country (also Tennessee) to rank in the top-five in both statistical categories.
• UCLA: Head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez is one victory away from 800 in her career, and is looking to become the second active Pac-12 head coach to reach the 800-win plateau (Washington’s Heather Tarr - 816 career victories), as well as the 32nd active NCAA DI head coach to achieve this milestone.
• Utah: The Utes are currently on their second-longest winning streak of the season at four straight after downing Weber State before sweeping Arizona State this past weekend. Southpaw Mariah Lopez won three games in the circle for Utah, posting a 0.41 ERA over 17.1 innings while striking out 20. Lopez earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors for her efforts.
• Washington: Six Pac-12 players are hitting .400 or better in league play, and the Huskies have two of them in Sydney Stewart (.421) and Brooke Nelson (.400). Stewart has hit safely in seven of her last nine Pac-12 games, and Nelson is currently on a five-game hitting streak going into this weekend.

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. 

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