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Six Pac-12 teams return to the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll: No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Washington, No. 14 UCLA, No. 18 California, No. 21 Arizona and No. 24 Oregon. 66.7% of the league is represented in this poll.

Pac-12 play continues this weekend with series action taking place Thursday through Saturday.

The No. 21 Wildcats host No. 7 Stanford in Arizona’s third-straight series against a ranked team. Arizona is 83-17 all-time against the Cardinal, however Stanford has taken the last five contests resulting in back-to-back series wins. The Cardinal has yet to drop a Pac-12 game this season, sitting atop the league standings at 6-0.

No. 18 California continues its trip to the state of Utah with a three-game series against the Utes. The Golden Bears, who run-ruled Weber State, 10-2, on Wednesday, took two of three against Arizona this past weekend for their first league series win of the season. Cal and Utah last squared off in the Pac-12 Tournament, in which the Utes posted a five-run first inning to cruise to a 6-2 win and reach the semifinals. Utah is set to face Utah State on Monday, April 1.

Winners of five straight, No. 24 Oregon travels to No. 14 UCLA. The Bruins swept the Ducks in Los Angeles back in 2022, and UCLA has won eight of the last nine against Oregon. The Ducks took the series opener last season behind Morgan Scott’s complete-game shutout. 

No. 9 Washington continues its homestand with a three-game series against Oregon State. The Huskies took two of three against No. 14 UCLA last weekend, their first series win over UCLA since 2016. Washington took the 1-0 decision against Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament the last time out, with Ruby Meylan tossing a three-hit complete-game shutout. The Beavers defeated Seattle U, 5-3 on Wednesday, with Abby Doerr and Eliana Gottlieb each batting in two runs.

Quick Hits

• Pac-12 is fourth nationally with 5.36 runs per game and with 0.93 home runs per game, and second with 8.01 hits per game.
• Stanford’s NiJaree Canady’s ERA of 0.59 is the fifth-best in NCAA DI, and her 11.2 strikeouts per seven tops the country.
  • Canady has three games with 15 or more strikeouts this season which leads the nation, and her 18 strikeouts on March 3, 2024 against Georgia are the most by any player this year. Canady has recorded 18 strikeouts in a game in back-to-back seasons after fanning 18 Villanova Wildcats on March 3, 2023.
• Three Pac-12 teams rank in the top 10 nationally in fielding percentage: No. 4 Arizona – .980, No. 9 Washington – .980 and No. 10 Oregon – .979.
• Arizona State’s 0.42 triples per game is tied for the fifth-most in NCAA DI, and are 2-1 when they hit more than one triple in a game this season.
  • Kayla Lissy leads the team with four triples this season, which ranks her second in the league.
• Six league programs rank in the top 35 of NCAA DI in slugging percentage: No. 13 Washington – .549, No. 17 California – .541, No. 24 Arizona State – .521, No. 30 Oregon – .501, No. 34 UCLA – .496, No. 35 Arizona – .496.

Rankings Rundown

• USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll: No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 Washington, No. 14 UCLA, No. 18 California, No. 21 Arizona and No. 24 Oregon.
• D1Softball: No. 3 Stanford, No. 7 Washington, No. 14 UCLA, No. 18 California, No. 20 Arizona.
• Softball America: No. 5 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 16 UCLA, No. 19 California, RV Arizona.
• ESPN.com/USA Softball: No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 15 UCLA, No. 19 California, No. T21 Oregon, RV Arizona.
• NCAA RPI Rankings (through 3/26): No. 1 Stanford, No. 12 California, No. 13 UCLA, No. 21 Washington, No. 23 Arizona, No. 31 Oregon, No. 55 Utah, No. 64 Arizona State, and No. 94 Oregon State. 

Conference Notebook

• Arizona: Carlie Scupin is tied for the league lead in RBI with 36, and has batted in a run in 19 games this season. Scupin is averaging 1.16 RBI per game, which is the third best in the Pac-12.
• Arizona State: Arizona State is coming off a midweek doubleheader against USD, in which the Sun Devils split in their first-ever trip to the USD Softball Complex. Arizona State outlasted the Toreros, 3-2 in nine innings in the finale, and Marissa Schuld tossed all nine in the victory.
• California: With a .420 batting average and a 1.230 OPS, Acacia Anders leads the Golden Bears in both offensive categories. Anders also leads the Pac-12 with 14 doubles on the year, and her 0.44 doubles per game is the 12th-best nationally.
• Oregon: The Ducks’ 2.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the third best in the Conference. Oregon has walked a Pac-12-best 44 batters this season, and its 1.17 WHIP is the second best in the league.
• Oregon State: Grace Messmer is hitting a team-high .526 in Pac-12 action, the second highest league batting average. Messmer has hit safely in all six Pac-12 games this season, including three multi-hit contests.
• Stanford: At 6-0 in league action, Stanford already has two Pac-12 series sweeps under its belt. It’s the first time since 2013 the Cardinal has won back-to-back Pac-12 series. Stanford hits the road this weekend boasting a 6-0 road record.
• UCLA: Maya Brady hit two more home runs this past weekend to move into third place in UCLA history with 62 career homers. Four more long balls will tie Brady with Stephany LaRosa for second in Bruin history.
• Utah: Abby Dayton (.474) and Haley Denning (.452) continue to dominate at the plate, ranking in the top two in the Pac-12 in batting average. Dayton is hitting .462 in Pac-12 play, and has recorded a hit in eight of nine Conference games this season.
• Washington: The Huskies pace the Pac-12 with a .342 team batting average, which if maintained through the end of the season would be their highest since 2020. Washington has four players batting over .350 this year: Kinsey Fiedler – .403, Jillian Celis – .367, Alana Johnson – .361 & Rylee Holtorf – .354.

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) 

Thursday, March 28
No. 18 California at Utah	Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Bay Area, Pac-12 Mountain	4 p.m. PT
Oregon State at No. 9 Washington	Pac-12 Plus	6 p.m. PT
No. 7 Stanford at No. 21 Arizona	Pac-12 Plus	6 p.m. PT
No. 24 Oregon at No. 14 UCLA	Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Oregon	7 p.m. PT
Friday, March 29
No. 18 California at Utah	Pac-12 Bay Area, Pac-12 Mountain	4 p.m. PT
No. 24 Oregon at No. 14 UCLA	Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Los Angeles, Pac-12 Oregon	5 p.m. PT
Oregon State at No. 9 Washington	Pac-12 Plus	6 p.m. PT
No. 7 Stanford at No. 21 Arizona	Pac-12 Plus	6 p.m. PT
Saturday, March 30
No. 18 California at Utah	Pac-12 Bay Area	11 a.m. PT
No. 24 Oregon at No. 14 UCLA	Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Los Angeles, Pac-12 Oregon	11 a.m. PT
Oregon State at No. 9 Washington	Pac-12 Plus	1 p.m. PT
No. 7 Stanford at No. 21 Arizona	ESPN2	7 p.m. PT
Monday, April 1
Utah State at Utah	Pac-12 Plus	5 p.m. PT
Tuesday, April 2
Santa Clara at No. 7 Stanford	Pac-12 Bay Area	5 p.m. PT
No. 14 UCLA at Long Beach State	ESPN+	6 p.m. PT

Pac-12 Standings (Full Standings)

	Conference	Overall
No. 7 Stanford	6-0-0	25-5-0
No. 24 Oregon	7-2-0	20-10-0
No. 9 Washington	6-3-0	22-5-0
No. 14 UCLA	4-2-0	18-8-0
Oregon State	3-3-0	15-16-0
No. 21 Arizona	4-5-0	21-9-1
No. 18 California	3-6-0	25-8-0
Arizona State	2-7-0	18-15-0
Utah	1-8-0	17-14-0

Pac-12 Softball Weekly Awards

	Player	Pitcher	Freshman
Feb. 12	Ariel Carlson, ORE	NiJaree Canady, STAN	Jadyn Glab, WASH
Feb. 19	Elon Butler, CAL	Ruby Meylan, WASH	Regan Shockey, ARIZ
Feb. 26	Maya Brady, UCLA	Taylor Tinsley, UCLA	Regan Shockey, ARIZ
March 4	Jillian Celis, WASH	NiJaree Canady, STAN	Ava Gall, STAN
March 11	Maya Brady, UCLA	NiJaree Canady, STAN	Paige Doerr, OSU
March 18	Sharlize Palacios, UCLA	Regan Krause, STAN	Kaitlyn Terry, UCLA
March 25	Acacia Anders, CAL	Morgan Scott, ORE	Kaitlyn Terry, UCLA

– Pac-12.com –