Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery dominate headlines.

And for good reason, as the “Bruin Bombers” have racked up historic senior year campaigns, with Grant setting a single-season home run record with 40 and counting four-baggers, along with Woolery being on track to become the first player in NCAA history to boast a .500 batting average while hitting more than 30 home runs and plating more than 100 runners.

But the Bruins’ biggest strength is arguably their lineup depth, which their young core anchors.

Five of the Bruins’ starting batters are underclassmen.

“They trust the process, and this is a young team that definitely is doing a great job of sticking with the coaches (and) with the game plan,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “The youth of the team’s ability to come in and learn from the Jordans (senior infielder Woolery) and the Megans (senior utility Grant) that are bought in also to the plan is why we’re experiencing such great success.”

The budding Bruins spearheaded the Westwood squad’s dominance against UCF last weekend, when UCLA outscored its Los Angeles super regional opponent 23-5 across two games.

Woolery, who boasts a nation-high 112 RBIs, plated just one runner throughout the super regional slate, and Grant didn’t record a single hit against UCF, even though she drew six walks throughout the series.

Redshirt freshman Aleena Garcia headlined the Bruins 14-4 victory against the Knights on Saturday, recording a UCLA postseason single-game record seven RBIs and blasting two three-run home runs to help the Bruins pull away.

Garcia was sidelined after just 17 games into her first-year campaign, which prompted her redshirt, but she has thrived in her second year at UCLA.

Although the Pico Rivera, California, local is primarily touted for her defensive prowess at shortstop, where she boasts a team-high 110 assists on a 96.7% fielding clip, she has flashed growth at the plate.

The current four-hole hitter has notched 33 extra-base hits this season, which has spurred her .811 slugging percentage, and she has recorded 62 hits across 169 at-bats – good for a .367 hitting clip.

​​”We go out there and have so much fun and spread joy to each other,” Garcia said. “We’re out there enjoying the game, and every opportunity we get out there is an opportunity to do something great.”

Freshman infielder Bri Alejandre joins Garcia on UCLA’s impactful young core, and the two underclassmen both played on the Corona Angeles – a travel softball team – in high school.

They are now patrolling the left side of the UCLA infield.

Alejandre has assumed the starting third-base spot, which has allowed Woolery to helm first base, and the freshman has helped turn nine double plays from the left corner of the infield.

But the Alhambra, California, local boasts a powerful batting approach.

Despite her fresh status at UCLA, Alejandre recorded at least one hit in all eight of her collegiate postseason outings. She plated at least one runner in all but one of those games.

Alejandre’s slugging has bolstered the Bruin lineup, as her 24 home runs this year rank third on the Westwood roster. The All-Big Ten First Team selection has lifted a four-bagger in three of her last four games.

“Aleena Garcia and Bri Alejandre … love to play on the big stage, and … they’ve taken on the responsibility knowing that Megan and Jordan may not get a lot of great pitches,” Inouye-Perez said on Big Ten Network. “They’re living for those big moments.”

But power isn’t the sole attribute required to construct a strong lineup.

Sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp brings a contact-first approach that heightens the lineup’s versatility.

Slimp, who was just named a NFCA Third Team All-American, has the third-highest batting average on the Westwood squad with a .428 batting average – .45 points higher than her first-year clip.

The Georgetown, Texas, local said that her primary focus during each at-bat is to touch first base, a true sign of a contact-first hitter.

Slimp has also contributed to the Bruins’ plate parties.

The sophomore hit just two home runs her freshman year. She has already hit 16 this year.

Although the Bruins’ leadoff hitter had grown accustomed to Grant or Woolery plating her as the two- and three-hole hitters, respectively, the outfielder began to plate herself this year, helping her break a UCLA single-season run record and solidify her nation-high 94 runs scored mark.

Slimp said that the prolific hitters that follow her in the lineup has allowed her to swing more freely in the leadoff spot.

“I know that anyone behind me is going to get the job done, and basically, if I get on, I’m an automatic run, because I have that much trust in the people behind me,” Slimp said. “That takes a lot of weight off my shoulders.”

And her most recent four-bagger secured a walk-off run-rule victory against UCF to set the tone in the super regional series, her third homer across the Bruins’ postseason slate.

Sophomore infielder Kaniya Bragg and freshman utility Jolyna Lamar round out the budding Bruins in the batting order – each of whom earned All-Big Ten Team selections, with Bragg achieving a Second Team honor and Lamar garnering a Freshman Team honor.

And no matter the Bruins’ ultimate outcome at the Women’s College World Series, the Inouye-Perez-led bunch has a promising future, even without the “Bruin Bombers.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team and their ability to be able to play for each other and with each other, but it’s about big moments in both seasons (regular season and postseason) and the ability to step up in those big moments when you have young Bruins,” Inouye-Perez said.