This post was updated May 28 at 11:05 p.m.

After winning back-to-back games to clinch the Columbia super regional, No. 9 seed UCLA softball (54-11, 17-5 Big Ten) will face No. 16 seed Oregon (53-8, 19-3) on Thursday in the first round of the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. Daily Bruin Sports’ softball beat predicts where UCLA will end its trip after making a record-breaking 33rd appearance.

Connor Dullinger
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: Loss in finals

The Bruins may have the most well-rounded roster in the WCWS.

Inside the circle exist three aces who could be the No. 1 option on any Division I softball program. Each member of the Bruins’ pitching staff – junior pitcher and NFCA Third Team All-American Taylor Tinsley, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Kaitlyn Terry and freshman pitcher/utility Addisen Fisher – boast at least 110 innings pitched, 100 strikeouts and sub-2.65 ERA’s.

In fact, the lowest ERA in UCLA’s arsenal is in the hands of senior pitcher Jada Cecil, who served as a midweek starter this season, posting a 1.22 ERA across 28.2 innings.

And the Bruins’ pitching prowess is supplemented by some of the most imposing bats in the nation.

Junior tandem infielder Jordan Woolery and utility Megan Grant were both named NFCA First Team All-Americans and have combined for 48 home runs and 165 RBIs, with the latter being a single-season record for combined RBIs.

And with UCLA being the highest-ranked seed on its side of the WCWS bracket, the Bruins seem destined for success.

But some things are just too good to be true, and while UCLA displayed its magic against No. 8 seed South Carolina in the super regional, it may have run out of its good fortune.

Felicia Keller
Daily Bruin senior staff
Prediction: NCAA champions

Three has been the magic number for the Bruins this year.

It’s their 33rd WCWS trip.

They won the Columbia super regional in three games.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez won three national championships as a player and three as an assistant coach. But that’s where the pattern stops – Inouye-Perez has only won two national championships as head coach.

And it seems like the perfect year to rectify that.

Spurred by the “Bruin Bombers” – Grant and Woolery – UCLA is primed to break Oklahoma’s WCWS streak.

While there’s still skilled competition to eliminate, high-ranking teams such as No. 1 seed Texas A&M and No. 4 seed Arkansas have already made early postseason exits.

UCLA has shown it can bounce back after a loss. And the WCWS format leaves room for recovery.

The Bruins are going to ride that “Bruin magic” wave all the way to a national championship.

Matthew Niiya
Daily Bruin staff
Prediction: Loss in finals

Losing to Oklahoma is inevitable.

That has been the unfortunate reality for UCLA softball – and every other Division I program – for the past four years.

And this year will be no different.

Luckily for the Bruins, the four-time reigning champions and No. 2 seed Sooners sit on the opposite side of the bracket, as do the third, sixth and seventh seeds. Inouye-Perez’s squad is the highest remaining seed in the second bracket, despite being No. 9.

Familiar faces litter UCLA’s half of the bracket with Oregon first on the docket. Despite dropping the season series 2-1 in Eugene, Oregon, the Bruins have shown the ability to make the necessary adjustments to waddle past the Ducks.

Former Stanford ace NiJaree Canady – who helped knock UCLA out last year with a complete game, one-run gem – has continued her dominance at Texas Tech, a possible round two opponent. Canady leads the Red Raiders and the nation in ERA with a mark of 0.89.

The Bruins have plenty of their own talent to remain competitive in a field of standout players, including two of the most productive hitters in the nation: Woolery and Grant, who have the tied-most and sixth-most RBIs in the country, respectively.

Rallying behind the “Bruin Bombers,” UCLA will return to the title game for the first time since 2019 but will ultimately fall victim to Oklahoma as the latter makes its way to a fifth-straight national title.

Samantha Garcia
Daily Bruin staff
Prediction: Loss in semifinals

The hype from overcoming a three-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning in game 2 of the super regional, capped off by Woolery’s walk-off home run to save the Bruins’ season, may be enough momentum to push UCLA past Oregon in the first round of the WCWS.

After defeating UCLA twice in the conference series, Oregon claimed its share of the Big Ten regular season title. But the Bruins could get redemption against the Ducks by sending them to the elimination bracket.

However, UCLA was nearly swept in the NCAA super regional against South Carolina, allowing 13 runs in the first two games of the series. The Bruins also struggled to activate their offense, scoring only three times in the first 12 innings against the Gamecocks. And in the Big Ten tournament championship, UCLA was shut out by Michigan.

Oklahoma City is not friendly to cold bats. The possibility of facing Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Canady from Texas Tech or an Ole Miss squad with its first WCWS appearance in program history in the second round could present a challenge for the Bruins.

Losing in the second round would force UCLA into the elimination bracket against a lion’s den of SEC opponents to stay alive.

UCLA won’t get three shots at an opponent to get their bats going like they did against South Carolina. The Bruins’ offensive inconsistency will likely be their downfall in the semifinals.