This post was updated April 22 at 3:52 p.m. The title of college athlete is one that few can claim. Of the over 7 million high school athletes in the United States, only about 2% go on to play at the D1 collegiate level – and even fewer for a Power Four program. Read more...
Photo: No. 106 senior Kimmi Hance backhands a ball. (Edward Ho/Daily Bruin)
This post was updated April 22 at 11:11 p.m. Joey Aguilar is headed to Tennessee. Madden Iamaleava is circling back to Westwood. And in the span of a day, the trajectory of UCLA football’s quarterback room has been completely rewritten. ESPN’s Chris Low announced Monday afternoon that Aguilar, the redshirt senior who transferred to UCLA from Appalachian State in late December, plans to transfer to Tennessee – less than four months after taking first-team reps as the Bruins’ starting quarterback. Just about an hour later, Low reported that Madden Iamaleava – newly-arrived five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s younger brother – informed his now-former Arkansas coaches that he was headed to UCLA to reunite with his brother in Westwood. The back-to-back moves cap a 26-hour sequence for UCLA and Tennessee, which have effectively swapped quarterbacks. Read more...
Photo: Redshirt senior quarterback Joey Aguilar looks downfield to throw the ball. After just under four months at UCLA, Aguilar entered the portal Monday and is expected to commit to Tennessee – swapping places with Nico Iamaleava, who transferred to the Bruins from the Volunteers on Sunday. (Jeannie Kim/Daily Bruin senior staff)
The Bruins have rarely failed to put the ball in play this season. The squad averages 2.82 strikeouts per game – its lowest since 2002. But with Oregon’s Lyndsey Grein in the circle, the status quo changed. Read more...
Photo: Graduate student outfielder Jessica Clements stands ready in the batters box at Easton Stadium. (Vivian Le/Daily Bruin)
It was one of those weeks where headlines could have hijacked the narrative. The online rumor mill didn’t sleep for three days – whispers that former five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava was en route to Westwood from Tennessee reverberated across social media. Read more...
Photo: Redshirt senior quarterback Joey Aguilar prepares to throw the ball at Drake Stadium during UCLA football’s annual Friday Night Lights and ninth practice of the spring. (Jeannie Kim/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Josh Alger came in to shut the door in the Bruins’ 18-2 victory Feb. 15. But it was probably unclear for many in the stands why sophomore catcher Blake Balsz gave the redshirt junior right-hander a long embrace – or why past and present Bruins flooded social media with words for Alger – after a routine relief appearance in an early-season blowout. Read more...
Photo: Redshirt junior right-hander Josh Alger follows through on his motion at Jackie Robinson Stadium. After a myriad of injuries kept him off the mound since his senior year of high school, Alger had to wait till his fourth season at UCLA to make his collegiate debut, which came Feb. 15. (Renee Rubanowitz/Daily Bruin)
There is no sugarcoating it – the Bruins didn’t win the national title. A shaky beam rotation – UCLA’s worst since March 2 – nearly guaranteed Oklahoma’s victory and its third national championship in four years. Read more...
Photo: As junior Jordan Chiles finishes her NCAA-national-title-winning bars routine Thursday, coach Janelle McDonald bursts into celebration. (Zimo Li/Photo editor)
As Zach Rama stepped up to the service line, the junior outside hitter was bombarded with a cacophony of screams and taunts. But this wasn’t a match-clinching point. Read more...
Photo: Junior outside hitter Zach Rama rises to strike the ball at the opposing block. (Lex Wang/Daily Bruin senior staff)
