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Black History Month 2025

UCLA baseball prepares for possible final season at Jackie Robinson Stadium

UCLA baseball huddles at Jackie Robinson Stadium. On Tuesday, a judge allowed the Bruins to return to the ballpark for at least one more season. (Jessica Allen/Daily Bruin)

By Kai Dizon

Nov. 2, 2024 1:56 p.m.

Protesters gathered outside Jackie Robinson Stadium for the Bruins’ season-opening series back in February.

Fans may not have heard them then, but they surely hear them now.

After months of uncertainty surrounding the home of the Bruins, only one thing is definite.

UCLA baseball will get at least one more season at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

“We just got news about Jackie,” said sophomore third baseman Roman Martin. “Morale never really went down, but it’s at an all-time high right now, especially because of the news.”

After United States District Judge David O. Carter ruled UCLA’s lease with the Department of Veterans Affairs was illegal Sept. 7, the future of the stadium was thrown into the air.

The Bruins were locked out of their home field Sept. 26 over the judge’s concerns that the land wasn’t primarily being utilized for veterans. UCLA stayed locked out until Tuesday after Carter temporarily lifted the ban through July 4 in exchange for UCLA Athletics doubling its lease payment to $600,000.

During the lockout, UCLA traveled around Los Angeles in search of available high school fields. On Oct. 10, the LA Times reported that the Bruins were practicing at Birmingham High School and Harvard-Westlake.

Back on campus, it also meant the Bruins used non-baseball facilities in Easton Stadium, home of UCLA softball, and Drake Stadium, home of UCLA track and field, to prepare for their 2025 campaign.

“The players are doing fantastic,” said coach John Savage. “I can’t say enough about their fortitude, their urgency and really the way they’ve handled this whole thing. I can’t be prouder.”

Jackie Robinson Stadium has been the Bruins’ home since 1981. Since then, the stadium has undergone numerous renovations that included increasing seating capacity to 1,838 and the addition of an LED scoreboard, the Jack and Rhodine Gifford Hitting Facility just beyond right field and the Branca Family Field directly adjacent to it.

More recently, Jackie Robinson Stadium was the site of the 2019 NCAA LA Super Regional, where then-No. 1 UCLA was defeated by Michigan in three games.

Amid the uncertainty, Savage revealed his captains for the upcoming season: junior right-hander Cody Delvecchio and Michael Barnett and sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky.

Delvecchio was a mainstay in the Bruin bullpen last season – pitching a 2.42 ERA over 26 innings – before being sidelined after sustaining a right flexor strain March 28. Barnett paced the team with five wins while pitching the second-most innings at 79 frames. Cholowsky was a 2024 Freshman All-American, slashing .308/.399/.500 over a team-leading 235 plate appearances in 2024.

“Great leadership with our captains,” Savage said. “I can’t wait to get back on the field at Jackie with them.”

In 2025, UCLA will traverse the U.S., with away series already scheduled for Maryland, Purdue and Illinois.

But in a possibly bitter twist of irony, the Bruins’ first season in the Big Ten could also be their last at their home of 45 years.

What happens after July 4 is anybody’s best guess.

For now, there’s nothing the Bruins can do but prepare for baseball.

“We’re just getting ready for the season,” said sophomore right-hander Justin Lee. “We’re working hard.”

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Kai Dizon | Assistant Sports editor
Dizon is a 2024-2025 assistant Sports editor on the baseball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball beats. He was previously a reporter on the baseball and men’s water polo beats. Dizon is a second-year ecology, behavior and evolution student from Chicago.
Dizon is a 2024-2025 assistant Sports editor on the baseball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball beats. He was previously a reporter on the baseball and men’s water polo beats. Dizon is a second-year ecology, behavior and evolution student from Chicago.
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