One superstar helps a team win games.
Two make victories feel inevitable.
As No. 8 UCLA Softball (28-3, Big Ten 9-0) rides a 22-game winning streak, much of the team’s success can be attributed to the dominant performance of the “Bruin Bombers.”
Seniors utility Megan Grant and infielder Jordan Woolery have been on an offensive tear this season, combining for 42 home runs and a .542 batting average. With a batting lineup that often leaves opposing pitchers in fear, the second and third batters consistently pressure opposing bullpens.
And associate head coach Lisa Fernandez has played a large role in ensuring the lineup is ready in the batter’s box.
“With her (Fernandez) coaching us, it’s honestly really fun, because every day she brings something new to the table,” Grant said. “She’s always looking out for our best interests, always thinking about us, even when she’s away, she’s always texting us and sending stuff in the chat, just really getting our mindsets right.”
With Grant’s performance thus far in her final collegiate campaign, many people are immediately drawn to her home run count. Across 31 games played, the star has hit 23 balls over the fence, homering in 33% of her at-bats.
Having started every game for the Bruins, Grant boasts a team-leading .557 batting average – good for fifth in the country – with 39 hits and 54 runs batted in. She has also shown immense discipline, having walked 40 times this season, 17 more than the next most-walked Bruin. This can also be attributed to how opposing teams often intentionally walk the senior, as they hope to avoid a destructive home run.
But when a team walks Grant, its job becomes no easier, as it faces the other half of the “Bruin Bomber” duo.
“I mean, with her (Woolery), it’s easy,” Grant said. “I always said that (with) her behind me, it really frees me up as well. Throughout these years, we spent so much time together, all these games being played, we built up that experience and also that camaraderie with each other. No matter what happens, always have your back. When you play with that confidence with each other, the results are kind of showing.”
As the chants of “bomber” routinely echo through Easton Stadium, Woolery continues to fill her role perfectly.
She has nailed 19 balls over the outfield fence across 93 at-bats, yet her play flashes more than just her power. Woolery knows how to reach base in all different ways and often plates many of her teammates.
With the second-highest batting average on the team and eighth-best in the country, Woolery’s .527 clip often brings results for her squad. She leads the team in hits with 49 and is tied for the most doubles with 10. Woolery is also one of four Bruins to have a triple in the 2026 season. Additionally, the Walnut Creek, California, local has recorded 68 runs batted in, 14 more than the second-highest Bruin in Grant.
“It’s going in with the mindset that I have nothing to prove in my last year, and going in with the mentality that anything I do is adding to my legacy here at UCLA, so there’s not more for me to do,” Woolery said. “Coach I. (head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez) said on our opening weekend, ‘If you do nothing, you’ve done enough,’ and that quote really stuck with me, and has been sticking with me these past three weeks or four weeks as we’ve been playing some tougher competition too.”
As the seniors finalize their legacies at UCLA, they continue to bolster their already high standards this year. Grant finished as a USA Top 25 Finalist in 2025, and Woolery finished in the Top 10. Both are likely to again be recognized in 2026. Both superstars also made the All-Big Ten First Team in 2025.
With many games remaining in 2026, the Bruins may continue to rely on the “Bruin Bombers” to achieve success and extend their current hot streak.
“Megan and Jordan set a great example,” Inouye-Perez said. “They’re professional hitters, the way they approach it, the way they go about their bats.”
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