John Savage was in his contract year a season ago, and it seemed like there was a real possibility that UCLA would not bring him back.

His head coach debut was 24 years ago – tasked with reviving an Anteater baseball program that had lain dormant for a decade and was not guaranteed to get back on its feet.

And Savage had his first major role in a Power Five program 29 years ago as the pitching coach of the country’s national championship leader – USC.

This week, Savage could get one heck of a trip down memory lane – beginning with No. 1 UCLA baseball’s (25-2, 12-0 Big Ten) affair against UC Irvine (11-16, 3-6 Big West) on Tuesday in Irvine.

“We really need to focus on Irvine,” Savage said. “It’s a road game. And road games are very important in regards to RPI and all that. … They’re very well coached, and you know they’re going to be ready to play,

When Savage walks out to exchange lineup cards and go over ground rules Tuesday, he’ll be walking inside the venue he helped design – Anteater Ballpark.

And when he shakes hands with Irvine coach Ben Orloff, he’ll be shaking the hand of another coach who learned under the tutelage of Mike Gillespie, who hired Savage at USC and later coached Orloff at Irvine before eventually handing the latter the keys to the program.

“I’ve been fortunate enough in my experiences to play under three really good head coaches,” said assistant coach Jake Palmer, who played at both Irvine and UCLA before returning to Westwood. “My freshman year was (with) a guy named Mike Gillespie. … Hall of Fame college coach. Then Ben took over after that – he’s an unbelievable coach. Then, coach Savage. So I’ve learned a lot from those three guys.”

Maybe it’s the perfect time for Savage to make his more-or-less yearly return to where his head-coaching career started – Cicerone Field.

UCLA is off to its best start through 27 games since at least 1947, if not ever.

And it seems like Savage knows not to take teams like this year’s for granted.

He’s said he knows he has to make the most of junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky’s last season and junior right-hander Logan Reddemann’s only season in Westwood.

Savage has spoken to just how much he values the leadership and culture he has right now, traits he didn’t have before and might not have in the near future.

Though UCLA has won 16 of its 18 games at Jackie Robinson Stadium, it’s played just nine games away from Westwood.

Whether it’s the College World Series and Big Ten tournament in Omaha, or possible NCAA Super Regional or Regional affairs, the Bruins’ championship hopes will require winning tough games on the road.

In their first matchup of 2026, UCLA made UCI look little like the team it was in last year’s NCAA Los Angeles Regional, where the two faced off in the final. The Bruins defeated the Anteaters 11-1 in just seven innings March 10 at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

However, if UCLA wishes to do the same Tuesday, it’ll need to break its streak of five straight-losses at Anteater Ballpark that dates back to 2021.

Plus, Savage has seemed keen on not underestimating the Anteaters – even after March’s blowout.

“They’ll bounce back,” Savage said March 10. “I’d never count them out ever. … (By the) middle of April, late April, they’ll be near the top of the Big West.”

Unsurprisingly, Savage – who fills in as both UCLA’s head coach and pitching coach – is probably best known for his track record with athletes on the mound.

Freshman right-hander Angel Cervantes has been on everyone’s mind in college baseball since electing to pitch in Westwood over signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a 2025 second-round pick.

It was reminiscent of Gerrit Cole’s decision to pick Savage’s program over the New York Yankees organization, which drafted him in the first round in 2008.

And Cervantes said Trevor Bauer’s YouTube videos helped him develop his own repertoire.

Add in another Cy-Young award winner like Barry Zito or an all-star like Mark Prior, and it’s easy to see why so many arms out of Southern California flock to develop under Savage.

It’s also easy to see why so many seem to expect Cervantes to make major contributions right out of the gate.

But Savage has appeared to temper expectations every chance he gets – reminding people that Cervantes is only 18 and playing in an era of college dominated by upperclassmen.

Perhaps Cervantes had no chance of impressing the college baseball world outside Westwood unless he struck out 23 across his first two UCLA starts like Thatcher Hurd did in 2022.

But it seems like those lofty expectations may have done Cervantes more harm than good in the early goings – with his 6.06 ERA and a career-high of just three innings pitched viewed through the lens of a player who passed on a seven-figure professional deal and not a freshman finding his footing.

But for what it’s worth, Cervantes has been showing signs of improvement.

Though his night against Loyola Marymount ended after just 1.2 frames March 24, it still included Cervantes striking out the side in the first to escape a two-on-and-nobody-out situation unscathed.

Coincidentally, the freshman’s best start of his career came against the Anteaters at Jackie Robinson Stadium on March 10, where Cervantes tossed three perfect innings and struck out two.

A similar outing Tuesday could not only rewrite the narrative surrounding the early goings of Cervantes’ collegiate career, but also hand the freshman some possibly much-needed confidence.

Even if Cervantes doesn’t become the lights-out weekend starter some projected he would be coming out of high school, a consistent midweek starter and multi-inning option come the conference and NCAA tournaments could be just as valuable to the country’s No. 1 team.

But sometimes, it’s best to treat every lane as an ordinary street.

“(We’re) working game to game, and not worrying about a streak or what’s gone on in the past or the future,” said junior second baseman Phoenix Call. “And obviously, just the chemistry with everyone – we gel so well. So we’re not really worried about other teams.”