Baseball players could be seen practicing on the UCLA Intramural Fields just over a year ago, after the lease on their home stadium was deemed to be illegal.
The team had just finished its final Pac-12 season at 19-33 – its worst record in 19 years.
And UCLA’s head coach’s contract was set to expire at the end of the campaign.
But now, the Bruins are ranked No. 1 in the nation – their first time atop a preseason poll since 2008.
UCLA baseball will kick off its 2026 season by facing UC San Diego in a three-game weekend series beginning Friday at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins feature a squad that lost just one offensive starter in outfielder AJ Salgado and five pitchers who each tossed at least 15 innings – all of whom combined for a 5.05 ERA last season.
While retaining nearly all of its offense, UCLA also managed to add a plethora of new pieces from the transfer portal and high school – especially supplementing its pitching staff.
“We needed to build our depth,” said coach John Savage. “We needed more arms. We needed more power in our arms. We got that, we feel like we really improved ourselves on the mound.”
Headlining the new Bruin arms are right-handers junior Logan Reddemann and freshman duo Angel Cervantes and Zach Strickland.
Reddemann pitched for the University of San Diego last season, where he posted a 2.29 ERA over 55 innings. He ranked third on D1 Baseball’s Transfer Portal Top 50 list and was named to Baseball America’s 2026 Preseason Pitcher of the Year Watch List.
Cervantes and Strickland joined the Bruins after featuring as two of the top 100 MLB Draft prospects last year, according to MLB Pipeline.
Cervantes was drafted No. 50 overall in the second round by the Pittsburgh Pirates but chose to come to UCLA instead, forfeiting a possible $1.93 million payday – the value assigned to the pick by MLB.
Senior right-hander Jack O’Connor said that Strickland has impressed him the most during the offseason.
“Super quiet guy, but he just gets it done no matter what,” O’Connor said. “A lot of expectations as a freshman, but he’s handling it really well and performed pretty well over the fall and winter. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does during the season.”
All three – Reddemann, Strickland and Cervantes – will compete with other Bruins for starts and roles in the weekend rotation.
“As of right now, it’s a group of six starters,” Savage said. “I would say, Reddemann, (senior right-hander Michael) Barnett, (junior right-hander Landon) Stump, Cervantes, (sophomore right-hander Wylan) Moss and Strickland.”
On offense, the Bruins feature many of the same faces as last season – including three who were voted as NCBWA Preseason All-Americans.
Junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky – the projected No. 1 prospect in the 2026 MLB Draft – made the First Team, while juniors first baseman Mulivai Levu and third baseman Roman Martin both made the Third Team.
The Bruins also added junior outfielder Will Gasparino through the portal to bolster their defense. Gasparino – a member of the 2025 SEC All-Defensive Team – slashed .242/.339/.528 while hitting 13 home runs for the Longhorns.
“You’ve got to have pathways, more than just high school recruiting,” Savage said. “It’s the foundation of our program, clearly. But you need to add where there are needs. And we felt there was a need for, potentially, a high-end outfielder, and we clearly felt like we needed more pitching.”
However, UCLA will be starting the season without San Francisco State graduate student transfer outfielder Michael Cunningham – who Savage said underwent surgery – or infielder Grant Gray, who is no longer with the team, a UCLA Athletics spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. Gray appeared in the fall ball game against UC Irvine and had 29 at-bats for the Bruins last season.
After entering last season with almost no nationwide expectations or media buzz, the Bruins will have to adjust to the attention and pressure that can come with a No. 1 ranking.
“Everybody’s aware of it, but it’s really all just a distraction,” said junior catcher Cashel Dugger. “At the end of the day, none of that really matters, especially heading into the season. We just got to go in and play our game no matter what.”
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