[Who will be the next champ?]: Softball

Why they’ll win: Experience. Talent.
Coaching. Desire. This team has all of those special traits that
championship teams possess. The Bruins came within six outs of a
national title last year in what was a rocky, up-and-down season.
This year, the Bruins have returned everybody from last
year’s squad, are off to an incredible 36-4 start, and
possess the national No. 1 ranking. Anjelica Selden has been able
to continue her dominance despite being plagued by injuries to her
throwing arm, and she shows no signs of slowing down. The UCLA
offense has increased their productivity as well.

Why they’ll lose: Even though this
year’s team is better than last year’s, the top five
teams are all very close in talent, and it is almost a crapshoot
between which one will come out on top. Also, it is still
questionable as to whether Selden’s arm will be able to take
the same load this year down the stretch as it did last year.
Selden threw every inning in the Women’s College World Series
last year, but her injuries may not allow her to do so this time.
Lisa Dodd has been pitching very well this year, but pitching in
World Series games would be a whole new challenge for her.

Outlook: On a scale of 1-10? 8.

If there was a team to bet on to bring home UCLA’s 98th
National Championship this year, it would be this team. It’s
so hard to beat them in a series.