This post was updated Feb. 20 at 5:23 p.m.

This weekend’s end might bring about the Bruins’ eighth ranked victory in the span of under 10 days.

Because after downing three top-25 opponents at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational, No. 4 UCLA softball (9-1) will make the road trip to Cathedral City, California, to make its 22nd appearance in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez’s team will face five ranked opponents across six games – No. 22 Missouri (6-5), No. 15 Nebraska (8-2), No. 5 Tennessee (10-1), Baylor (6-4) and No. 14 Duke (8-3).

A UCLA sweep at the tournament would give the Bruins their 11th undefeated tournament appearance in program history.

While junior utility Megan Grant holds the team’s highest batting average over her two appearances in Cathedral City, California, this year’s iteration of the Bruins boasts the country’s top-ranked freshman class. In 2024, junior pitcher Taylor Tinsley pocketed her first conference award – Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week – but this time around, fresh Bruin blood in the circle may have the chance to make their mark.

“Taking what we know last year and the new energy from the freshmen, the newbies, into this year, I think it’s a really good combination,” said junior infielder Jordan Woolery. “We’re in a really good spot right now.”

Throughout Grant, Woolery and Tinsley’s UCLA tenure, the only familiar Mary Nutter opponents going into the weekend are Baylor and Tennessee. Though the Bears are the Bruins’ only upcoming unranked foe, they dealt the Bruins a 5-3 defeat last go around in February 2024.

Baylor’s recent transfer catcher/infielder Turiya Coleman has jumped to the top of her team’s charts – just as graduate student transfer Jessica Clements racked up her 200th hit, this time as one of many Bruin newcomers bolstering UCLA’s locker room.

Tennessee may step up to the plate on the heels of a 10-game win streak, where it averaged nine runs per game. The Lady Volunteers are led by a fresh face in outfielder Saviya Morgan – the freshman has reached home 16 times in her first season, leading her team in the category.

On the other side of the diamond, freshman Bruins are also stepping right into the spotlight.

Freshman catcher/designated player Sofia Mujica – who racked up three RBIs during the team’s Feb. 15 victory over then-No. 14 Alabama – said she derives her confidence from the seasoned veterans surrounding her.

“It’s definitely been a challenge, and it’s also crazy for me to take leadership,” Mujica said. “I have some of the best softball players in my country, and they’re all looking to me for guidance, so it’s really been to my upperclassmen. I’m going to give them a lot of kudos.”

This weekend will be the one of the Bruins’ last before they kick off regular season play, though the Cornhuskers will give them their first taste of Big Ten play before UCLA embarks on its inaugural conference slate.

“I expect for us to get sharper and better and learn how to be able to share games and become really dominant,” Inouye-Perez said. “We have the ability to have a great staff, to be able to go head to head with any opponent, so I look forward to it.”

The first pitch at Big League Dreams Sports Park will be thrown against Missouri on Thursday at 5 p.m. followed by Nebraska at 7:30 p.m.