LOS ANGELES – UCLA baseball hosts the Southern California College Baseball Classic at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The weekend begins on Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. PT with a marquee matchup against No. 14 Vanderbilt. The Bruins will take on Connecticut on March 1 at 2 p.m. before the weekend action concludes with the 424th edition of the Crosstown rivalry against USC on March 2 at 2 p.m. PT. All three contests will be streamed on B1G+. Fans can also follow along with live stats (StatBroadcast) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball).
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Jackie Robinson Stadium
Games
Friday, Feb. 28 – 5 p.m. (PT)
Saturday, March 1 – 2 p.m. (PT)
Sunday, March 2 – 2 p.m. (PT)
Stream: B1G+
Talent: Jonah Malkin (play-by-play, Fri.), Nick Koop (play-by-play, Sat.-Sun.), Sid Iyer (analyst)
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com
THE RUNDOWN
- UCLA grabbed two come-from-behind victories at the Kleberg Bank College Classic to improve to 6-1 on the season
- On Tuesday night, Roch Cholowsky blasted a grand slam in the fourth inning to propel UCLA to the 8-4 victory
- Cholowsky hit a grand slam in back-to-back games (Feb. 23 vs. MSU, Feb. 25 vs. Arizona State)
- Roch Cholowsky leads the team in hitting with a .387 average, three homers, and 1.320 OPS.
- Cholowsky launched a grand slam to spark UCLA’s nine-run fourth inning in the comeback win over MSU
- Cholowsky enjoyed the third multi-homer game of his career in the win over MSU
- Justin Lee stands out as one of only five players nationwide to have made a Division I-leading six appearances
- UCLA drew 15 walks against BYU, its most in a game since Feb. 18, 2024
- The Bruins are currently ranked 20th nationally in base-on-balls with 59, and 15th in runs scored with 85
- UCLA was 15-11 last season at home
- UCLA enters its inaugural season in the Big Ten in 2025
- The Bruins’ pitching staff has recorded a 2.70 ERA which ranks 26th in the country
- The UCLA bullpen has been outstanding, posting a 1.85 ERA over 39.0 innings
- In 2023, the Bruins welcomed the top signing class in the country
- The Bruins went 5-6 in midweek contests in 2024, with wins against Nevada, LBSU, UCSB, LMU, and Pepperdine
- Roch Cholowsky returns for his sophomore season after receiving Freshman All-American acclaim (Perfect Game).
- The program has posted 15 winning records in 20 seasons under HC John Savage
- Duce Gourson, Cody Schrier, and Luke Jewett were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft
- The Bruins were picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll
- Roch Cholowsky, Cody Delvecchio, and Dean West were named Big Ten Players to Watch
- UCLA is coming off a 19-33 campaign, snapping a streak of seven consecutive winning seasons
- Three transfer pitchers (Ian May – Cal, Ryan Rissas – UCSD, August Souza – Santa Clara) bolster UCLA’s pitching staff
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, Feb. 28 – 5 p.m. PT
UCLA – Jr. RHP Cody Delvecchio (0-1, 4.66 ERA)
VU – Jr. LHP JD Thompson (0-0, 3.12 ERA)
Saturday, March 1 – 2 p.m. PT
UCLA – RS Jr. LHP Ian May (1-0, 2.00 ERA)
UCONN – Sr. RHP Ian Cooke (0-2, 16.88 ERA)
Sunday, March 2 – 2 p.m. PT
UCLA – So. RHP Landon Stump (1-0, 6.00 ERA)
USC – Sr. RHP Michael Ebner (0-0, 9.00 ERA)
MIDWEEK RECAP
Roch Cholowsky’s fourth-inning grand slam and the bullpen’s late-inning dominance propelled UCLA to its third consecutive victory, defeating Arizona State 8-4 on Tuesday night. UCLA leveraged two home runs to fuel a pair of four-run innings, scoring four runs in the second and four more in the fourth. Dean West provided the other crucial swing for the Bruins, a two-run shot in the second inning.
UCLA baseball team came out on the wrong end of a pitchers’ duel, falling to Arizona State, 2-0, on Wednesday afternoon. Despite an excellent start from right-handed pitcher Luke Rodriguez, UCLA was unable to ignite its offense, matching a season-low with just four hits. Arizona State’s pitching staff shut out the Bruins while racking up 12 strikeouts in the game.
ABOUT THE COMMODORES
No. 14 Vanderbilt comes into the weekend series with an 8-1 overall record, with its only defeat coming at the hands of Nebraska. The Commodores swept Saint Mary’s in its previous series, then rolled to a run-rule victory over Tennessee Tech in their midweek game. In 2023, Vanderbilt won two of three games over UCLA in Nashville. The Commodores lead the all-time series 4-3.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
UConn came in to the 2025 season as the reigning Big East champions, posting a 17-4 record in conference play. The Huskies defeated No. 9 Oklahoma to win the Norman Regional, before falling to Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional. UConn has earned just one victory so far in 2025, a 5-3 win over Florida Atlantic in extra innings. This will be the Huskies’ second-even meeting with UCLA after winning their first matchup 5-2 last season.
ABOUT THE TROJANS
Sunday’s contest will mark the 424th edition of the storied Crosstown rivalry. Last season, UCLA emerged victorious in the three-game series, one of only three Pac-12 series wins for the Bruins. This spring, the Trojans have started strong with a 7-1 record, their sole loss being a close 4-3 decision against Rice.
WALKING THE WALK
UCLA drew 15 walks in their 15-4 victory over BYU, marking its highest walk total in a game since Feb. 18, 2024. After the second week of the season, UCLA ranks 20th nationally with 59 total walks and 15th in the country with 85 runs scored.
ROCH’N AND ROLLIN’
Sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky is off to a blistering start in 2025, posting a .387 batting average with three home runs and team-high 14 RBI. He is coming off of a multi-homer game against Michigan State when he blasted a grand slam followed by a solo shot in the next inning. UCLA’s shortstop made it back-to-back games with a grand slam when he launched another into the night in Tuesday’s win over ASU. Cholowsky has recorded a base hit in eight of nine contests to start the season.
BRUIN DEBUTS
Seven Bruins made their collegiate debuts on opening weekend, including position players Logan de Groot, Grant Gray, and Kasen Khansarinia. On the mound, Jack O’Connor, Wylan Moss, Josh Alger, CJ Bott toed the rubber for the first time in the college careers. Additionally, two transfers, Ian May and Ryan Rissas, made their UCLA debuts.
READY TO ROCH
UCLA sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky was named to the Perfect Game Preseason All-Big Ten team. Cholowsky is coming off an impressive freshman campaign with a team-leading .308 batting average and eight homers. The Chandler Ariz. native received Second Team Freshman All-American acclaim (Perfect Game) and a Pac-12 Honorable Mention nod. Cholowksy was the lone Bruin to start all 52 games. He was red hot in the closing stages of 2024, slashing .391/.452/.766 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs over the final 16 games of the season. Recently, Cholowsky was named the No.9 shortstop in the country by D1Baseball.com.
BRUINS PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
Big Ten Preseason Poll
1. Oregon
2. Nebraska
3. Indiana
4. UCLA
5. Michigan
6. USC
FRIENDLY CONFINES
With a sweep over Stanford in the final weekend of the 2024 regular season, UCLA clinched its ninth consecutive season with a winning record at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins have had a losing record at home just twice over the last 20 seasons, last occurring in 2014 (11-20).
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
UCLA added 11 newcomers ahead of the 2025 season, including eight freshmen and three transfers. Coach Savage has bolstered his pitching staff with three pitchers joining via the transfer portal. Left-hander Ian May (California) will look to occupy a spot in the starting rotation after logging 20 starts and 90.0 total innings for the Golden Bears. Fellow southpaw Ryan Rissas (UC San Diego) helped lead the Tritons to their first-ever Big West title in 2023. August Souza (Santa Clara) brings 43 appearances worth of experience after spending a total of five seasons (including 2020 Covid-shortened season) at Santa Clara.
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