The NCAA softball tournament is the time to pull out all the stops. And UCLA is doing exactly that.
The Bruins, the No. 6 team in the nation, have dominated teams all season, posting a 40-10 record. UCLA ranks 21st in slugging percentage, 12th in on-base percentage, 16th in scoring and 56th in ERA.
They’re still looking to bolster the ranks, as they added basketball standout Gabriela Jaquez to the roster ahead of the start of the tournament run. She became the latest in a long lineage of UCLA basketball players to join the softball team, following Denise Curry, Jamie Oenning and Nicole Anderson, per the Daily Bruin.
Why is Jaquez joining the softball team? Here’s what you need to know.
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Why Gabriela Jaquez is joining UCLA softball
Jaquez was added to the roster before UCLA began the Los Angeles regional on May 17. She did not appear in a game during the regional run.
“We are excited to welcome Gabriela Jaquez into our Bruin Softball Family,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said in a statement to the Daily Bruin. “Gabriela is a fierce competitor and will add to the depth and versatility of our running game this postseason. As a standout student-athlete on the UCLA women’s basketball team, Gabriela recognizes and upholds our strong Bruin values.”
Softball Gabs is BACKKKK🥎@UCLAWBB @UCLASoftball pic.twitter.com/yBeWReaAvZ
— Gabriela Jaquez (@gabrielarj11) May 14, 2024
Jaquez’s basketball coach Cori Close was all for the idea as well. She described it as a “no-brainer” and said it “wasn’t a hard decision,” per D1 Softball.
“First of all, I really believe in Kelly and how she leads her program,” Close said. “But I also remember what a huge softball fan and player Gabriela was. I remember her senior year in high school she came down to watch UCLA softball in the NCAA Tournament.”
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The role, Jaquez’s softball coach Nichole Pinedo told D1 Softball, will just be to run for the Bruins.Â
“They’ve had a few injuries with their players so they are down to minimal runners on the bench,” Pinedo told D1 Softball. “Gabriela knows the game. She has played at a high level with us at Camarillo, so it makes perfect sense.”
Jaquez has softball experience in the past. She spent three years with Adolfo Camarillo High and helped lead the program to the CIF SoCal Softball Championship. She played alongside Rylee Pinedo, who is a sophomore infielder at UCLA.
Jaquez had a .271 average in his career and a .244 average in her senior year with the team, per MaxPreps. She hit a home run and was successful in both stolen base attempts her senior year. She went three-for-three in steals for her career.
Pinedo recalled Jaquez as a “great athlete” who could play any position for the team as needed.
“We threw her in wherever we needed her,” Pinedo told D1 Softball. “Softball was the sport she did for fun on the side since basketball was her main sport.”
Gabriela Jaquez brother
Jaquez is the latest basketball standout in her family. Her brother, Jaime Jaquez Jr., spent four years at UCLA, starting all but eight games. He averaged 13.4 points for his career, including 17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds as a senior.
Jaime Jaquez Jr., 23, was drafted 18th overall by the Heat in 2023 and played a key role for Miami on its path to the playoffs. He appeared in 75 games, starting 20, while averaging 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
The Heat small forward finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting and ninth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Gabriela Jaquez basketball stats
Season | Class | G | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG-FGA (FG%) |
2022-23 | FR | 37 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.4-5.4 (45.5%) |
2023-24 | SO | 34 | 10 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 3.8-7.9 (47.8%) |
Career | — | 71 | 8.1 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 3.1-6.6 (46.8%) |