Pitching lays the groundwork for success.

Although a quality lineup can create leads, an elite pitching staff will give you a chance to win every contest.

So when sudden pitching changes arise, it can rattle a team

UCL tears have ended the seasons of multiple MLB aces, diminishing their teams’ World Series chances.

Pitching injuries have the same impact in softball: Nebraska pitcher Jordyn Bahl is a glaring example.

Bahl – who transferred from Oklahoma to Nebraska after capturing two-straight national championships – tore her ACL in the first game of the 2024 season. Nebraska then went on to end its season in the Big Ten tournament despite starting the year with championship aspirations.

And while injuries haven’t ravaged UCLA softball’s pitching staff, the transfer portal has.

Rising junior two-way player Kaitlyn Terry entered the portal June 4, and pitcher Addisen Fisher announced her departure from UCLA on June 6. Both voiced their decisions less than a week after Tennessee eliminated UCLA from the 2025 Women’s College World Series on June 1.

Terry transferred to Texas Tech on June 11, and Fisher followed suit the next day, committing to Georgia.

With the departure of graduate pitcher Jada Cecil, rising senior Taylor Tinsley is the only pitcher that is set to return next season for the Bruins.

Tinsley boasted a 2.44 ERA and a .95 WHIP across 137.2 innings pitched last season – both of which were the second-lowest marks on the pitching staff.

But the circle often requires depth, not just individual talent.

With Cecil making just six starts last season, Fisher and Terry stepped up and helped the pitching staff cement a 2.47 team ERA – the 10th-lowest in the nation.

Fisher joined the roster as the No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class. With that came high expectations for the Bend, Oregon, local.

The First Team Freshman All-American honoree answered the call, recording a 16-2 record.

And Terry flourished alongside her.

The southpaw hammered the strike zone, racking up a team-high 172 strikeouts while also posting 20 wins during UCLA’s 2025 campaign.

Terry both limits opposing lineups in the pitcher’s circle and plates runs from the batter’s box.

The Glendale, Arizona, local only had three at-bats in her first season yet still emerged as an option that coach Kelly Inouye-Perez consistently exercised in the batting order during her sophomore season, slashing .257/.361/.368 and driving in 24 runs.

But her pitching absence will likely haunt the Bruins more than her departure from the lineup, especially given that rising seniors Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant will return for the 2026 season after launching 49 combined home runs last season.

The Bruins added former Long Beach State pitcher Brynne Nally on Tuesday to address the roster holes that Fisher and Terry left.

The rising sophomore gained valuable experience during her first collegiate season, pitching 74 innings while maintaining a 3.22 ERA.

Inouye-Perez also secured pitcher and outfielder Natalie Cable in UCLA’s 2025 signing class. Cable, the 57th-ranked recruit in her national class, maintained a 0.63 ERA and struck out 942 hitters throughout her high school career.

Although she doesn’t have the same high school accolades that Fisher earned, her left-handed arm could address Terry’s absence.

A southpaw pitcher is perhaps the most valuable asset that a pitching staff can have, especially given the uniqueness of the trait.

Left-handed softball pitchers are rare – batters have a wealth of experience against right-handed pitchers but lack that same experience against southpaws.

The recipe for plate success in softball is repetition, but left-handed pitchers can impact a batter’s trained swing approach, causing discomfort in the batter’s box.

Southpaws also cancel out the advantage that left-handed batters bring to a lineup, since these pitchers have leverage on the outside part of the zone. This helps keep pitches out of the space where left-handed batters can barrel the ball and pull it with high velocity.

The Bruins will likely rely on Cable in the pitching circle because of their thin positional depth even though the Valrico, Florida, local has yet to pitch at the collegiate level.

This may exert pressure on Tinsley and Nally, who UCLA will likely expect to pitch extended innings at the start of the 2026 season.

The chance of injury is heightened as stress mounts, and the Bruins can ill-afford a pitching injury.

But the physical aspect is just half the battle. Mental fortitude defines pitchers.

Forcing an inexperienced pitcher into an unfamiliar environment can impact their mentality, especially if hits and walks begin to pile up.

This could be an issue for the incoming Bruin pitching pair, who lack the experience of the conference’s veterans.

The jump from high school to collegiate softball may rattle Cable, and Nally is leaping from the Big West to the Big Ten – which will likely require an adjustment period.

Yet, it is possible to achieve success with a thin pitching staff.

Texas Tech two-way superstar NiJaree Canady proved this.

Canady boasted the second-lowest ERA in the nation last season and pitched 48 innings over Texas Tech’s final eight games, including 14 innings during the championship series against Texas. The other Texas Tech pitchers completed just six innings during their postseason stretch.

The Stanford transfer helped limit opposing lineups to nine combined runs during this stretch until the Red Raiders’ final contest June 6, when she allowed five runs across her one-inning-start.

Stll, Canady defied the expectation that softball teams need a complete pitching staff to compete.

And this may provide UCLA with a glimmer of hope after a trying start to the offseason.

The Bruins may only have one route to succeed in 2026, and it could lie on the shoulders of whichever ace emerges from the pitching staff.