No. 15 seed UCLA baseball (42-16, 22-8 Big Ten) will host UC Irvine (41-15, 24-6 Big West), Arizona State (35-22, 18-12 Big 12) and Fresno State (31-27, 18-12 Mountain West) in the 2025 NCAA Los Angeles Regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium beginning Friday. Only one team will advance from the double-elimination portion of the tournament to the super regional. Here is this weekend’s scouting report from assistant Sports editor Kai Dizon, who has waited for the Bruins to host a regional for over a year.

UC Irvine
RPI: 23rd
Quad 1 record: 7-5
Team slash line: .301/.418/.476
Team ERA, WHIP and K/9: 4.90, 1.45 and 9.38
X-Factor: SS Colin Yeaman

Led by Big West Coach of the Year Ben Orloff, the Anteaters seemed to be battling the Bruins to host a regional in Southern California all season. But losing series to middling UC San Diego and Cal State Fullerton teams late in the year – on top of falling to Cal Poly in the Big West tournament championship – may have ultimately relegated Irvine to the No. 2 seed in Westwood.

Irvine – which split its two-game season series against UCLA – appears a well-rounded squad, boasting three qualified hitters with an OPS north of 1.000, three bonafide starters, a capable closer and a .975 team-fielding percentage.

And while Big West Field Player of the Year and shortstop Colin Yeaman leads the Anteaters with 13 home runs, his 1.065 OPS isn’t even the team’s best.

That honor belongs to All-Big West First Team outfielder Jacob McCombs, who sports a 1.070 mark. And not to be overlooked, outfielder Chase Call – older brother of UCLA sophomore second baseman Phoenix Call – slashed .322/.469/.573.

Right-hander Trevor Hansen leads the staff with 15 starts, a 3.24 ERA and 89 innings pitched. While Hansen and two other pitchers made at least 10 starts with sub-5.00 ERAs, none of them may be the Anteaters’ most valuable arm.

Southpaw Ricky Ojeda was named the conference’s pitcher of the year after posting a 3.63 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 25 relief appearances and two starts.

At the back of the bullpen, right-hander Max Martin led the Big West with 14 saves and struck out 37 batters while issuing just eight walks.

The Anteaters won the most Quad 1 games of the teams in the LA Regional – four more than the Bruins – and it would hardly be a surprise if Orloff’s squad is the one moving on to the super regional.

Arizona State
RPI: 49th
Quad 1 record: 6-9
Team slash line: .318/.408/.527
Team ERA, WHIP and K/9: 5.27, 1.46 and 11.4
X-Factor: SS Matt King

The Sun Devils – who were a one-and-done in the Big 12 tournament – were one of the last four teams to make the NCAA tournament.

Despite handing the Bruins just one of their two shutouts in 2025, UCLA’s former Pac-12 adversary doesn’t seem to display much pitching prowess.

Former Bruin southpaw Ben Jacobs headlines the Sun Devils’ rotation with his 13.0 K/9, but his ERA hovers above five, and his WHIP sits at 1.37. And no Sun Devil with at least four starts has an ERA below four.

ASU’s only gem out of the bullpen seems to be southpaw Cole Carlon, who posted a 2.82 ERA across 51 innings with a 3.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Sun Devil offense is an entirely different story: All eight qualified hitters boast an OPS north of .850, with four above 1.000. Shortstop Matt King, a UTSA transfer, was co-named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year for his .405/.464/.600 slash line while striking out just 18 times and walking just as often.

Outfielders Kien Vu and Isaiah Jackson add power to ASU’s lineup, registering 10 and 16 home runs this season, respectively. Vu leads the team with his 1.065 OPS and is a season removed from hitting .413.

While the Sun Devils may not be expected to advance to the super regional, they could very well knock out one of the favorites in the Bruins or Anteaters.

Fresno State
RPI: 100th
Quad 1 record: 0-4
Team slash line: .304/.384/.478
Team ERA, WHIP and K/9: 5.21, 1.48 and 8.88
X-Factor: 3B Murf Gray

The Bulldogs are underdogs.

While their RPI is far from the worst in the tournament – Little Rock ranks 238th – it doesn’t strike much confidence. And not only is Fresno State 0-4 in Quad 1 games, it’s 1-6 in Quad 2 games and 11-12 against Quad 3 opponents.

Fresno State earned an automatic bid after winning the Mountain West tournament, but it only had to beat San Jose State and Nevada to get there – with neither team’s RPI within the top 150.

Right-hander Aidan Cremarosa won the conference’s pitcher of the year award despite a mediocre 4.13 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. And besides Cremarosa, no Bulldog with at least six starts has an ERA below five.

Right-hander JT Guerrero leads the team with six saves yet has a 6.10 ERA and 1.70 WHIP. Fresno State has just one pitcher – right-hander Caleb Anderson – with an ERA below 3.50. He boasts a 1.67 WHIP in 27 innings of work.

The Bulldogs’ saving grace is third baseman Murf Gray – the conference’s co-player of the year and the team’s only hitter with an OPS above 1.000. While MLB’s No. 135 2025 Draft prospect isn’t the only cog in Fresno State’s offense – three qualified batters boast an OPS north of .900 – if teams can keep Gray quiet, the Bulldogs’ run in the tournament will look more like a dog walk.