Sports
Bombs away: UCLA's Jordan Woolery, Megan Grant are a power duo unlike any other
The Bruin Bombers. The Bash Brothers. The Splash Brothers.
Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant are open to any nicknames that reflect their standing as college softball’s most formidable hitting duo.
“Whatever anyone wants to call us,” Woolery said, “we don’t even care.”
Any credible nickname must recognize their staggering power. Bonus points are available for a reference to their native Bay Area. What’s not negotiable is the conveying of their connection, both as the best of friends and their proximity in UCLA’s batting order.
Woolery hits third, followed by Grant in the cleanup spot. It has been that way in every lineup card this season except for the three games in which Grant was either limited to pinch-hitting duties or sidelined because of a minor hamstring injury.
The payoff of pairing them together has been historic, a combination as proven as peanut butter and jelly or Simon and Garfunkel.
The junior sluggers have combined for more home runs (47) and runs batted in (161) than any other pair of hitters in the nation, vaulting the ninth-seeded Bruins (52-10) into the Columbia Super Regional to face eighth-seeded South Carolina (43-15). The best-of-three series starts at 10 a.m. PDT Friday in Columbia, S.C., the opener televised by ESPN2.
“The numbers that they’re putting up,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said of what might go down as the best hitting combo in school history, “are exciting and loud. These two are doing things that you just don’t see.”
Their spots in the order always start with the same ritual — a bat tap, accompanied by Woolery saying, “I got you.” Grant often returns the favor, especially when her teammate gets on base.
Early this season, after Arizona walked Woolery on four pitches, Grant smashed a three-run home run, providing the Wildcats extra reminders about why that was a bad idea.
“What I did was chest-bump Jordan about 50 times when we hit home plate together,” Grant said. “It was just the hypest moment, honestly.”
Woolery and Grant can often be found together in the dugout, on team planes or at Lamonica’s NY Pizza, their go-to stress relief spot in Westwood Village. They’re not roommates but might as well be; they invariably reside in one of their rooms long before the first pitch when Woolery braids Grant’s hair while watching “Catfish,” a favorite television show.
When a reporter inquired about their palpable bond, Grant cracked, “You can feel the aura?”
Both players immediately cracked up.
Separating the inseparable pair is a no-no. The last time it happened, amid a rare slump late last season, Inouye-Perez made the mistake of not putting them back to back in the batting order. They went a combined two for eight and made sure their coach knew about it the next day.
“It’s just the vibe was off, for sure,” Grant said, “so we had to talk to ‘Coach I’ about it.”
The Bruins’ Jordan Woolery has 22 home runs, 82 RBIs and a .423 batting average this season.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
Said Woolery: “Since then, we haven’t left each other’s side.”
Why would they?
Woolery and Grant’s RBI total is the highest by any duo in school history, surpassing the 158 RBIs that Stacey Nuveman and Julie Marshall tallied on the way to helping the Bruins win the 1999 NCAA championship.
When informed of the feat, after they had combined for 13 RBIs last weekend during the Bruins’ record-setting regional romp while outscoring three opponents by a combined 31-2, Grant placed her hand over her mouth in disbelief. Catcher Alexis Ramirez, seated next to Grant and Woolery in the interview room, patted Grant on the shoulder.
“Oh my God,” Ramirez said, offering another nickname, “Smash Brothers.”
Grant then threw an arm around Woolery in celebration, the teammates smiling widely.
“If Meg wasn’t awesome,” Woolery said, “I couldn’t be awesome, so just grateful to have her by my side.”
There’s symmetry in almost everything they do. Both players were finalists for USA Softball collegiate player of the year and have been first team all-conference selections in every season at UCLA.
Megan Grant (43), joining teammates in a celebratory “night night” gesture after hitting a home run Friday against UC Santa Barbara, has 25 home runs and 79 RBIs this season.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Grant’s 25 homers are tied with Ohio State’s Jasmyn Burns for the most in a single season by any Big Ten Conference player. If Grant hits another homer, she’ll break the conference record since Ohio State has been eliminated from the NCAA tournament.
Woolery, who has hit 22 homers, leads the team with 82 RBIs, and her .423 batting average trails only Savannah Pola’s .437. Collectively, the Bruins comprise one of the most fearsome lineups in the country, having piled up a team-record 28 mercy-rule wins.
Hitting coach Lisa Fernandez won’t rate Woolery or Grant over the other in terms of power.
“Oh, no,” Fernandez said with a laugh. “I mean, they’re both powerful. And I give them credit — as powerful as they are, they don’t just rely on that, you know what I mean? They understand when they need to go for theirs, they understand the process.
“I think they push each other, but they do it in a way that is also embracing each other’s gifts and successes, and I think that is a credit to them and the relationship that they have. We make a conscious effort to understand that one helps the other. The better Jo does, Megan has a chance to pick up RBIs and when Megan does great, Jordan, you’re going to see pitches, so you work together, they make each other great.”
Woolery and Grant have known each other since committing to UCLA when they were in the eighth grade. Even then, Fernandez said, she realized they “may be the best one-two combo in terms of power numbers that have played this game in terms of being back to back.”
Although Woolery dabbled in basketball growing up, Grant was once so smitten with the sport that she thought it was going to be her pathway to a Division I college scholarship. She even earned the nickname “Chef Megan” — a play on Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry’s nickname — before all of the hoopla about sticking with basketball ended when her travel-team coach told her that softball was her calling.
UCLA infielders Jordan Woolery (15) and Megan Grant (43) during a win over UC Santa Barbara. The two combined for 13 RBIs as the Bruins dominated their own regional tournament.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Grant’s toughness is rooted in playing baseball alongside two older brothers who spared no sympathy.
“Being the baby didn’t really mean anything to them, you know?” Grant said. “It was always hardcore — if you can’t catch, get out, that type of stuff.”
That sort of mentality comes in handy for both players while taking batting practice from Fernandez, widely regarded as the top pitcher in softball history.
“Having the greatest pitcher pitch to you after practice,” Woolery said, “that’s a dream, honestly.”
Although it would have been easy for one slugger to try to top the other, they immediately realized that pulling together would only amplify the possibilities.
“At the end of the day,” Woolery said, “our goal is to win a national championship, so we can’t do that if we’re competing against each other, you know?”
Grant likes to say that she has the best seat in the house, watching Woolery hit from the on-deck circle. Whenever one of the — insert nickname here — hits a home run, she always finds her beloved teammate in the dugout, leading to an embrace.
“It’s just like such a bliss moment,” Woolery said. “Just seeing Meg do her thing, it’s so special.”
Pressed about the nickname possibilities, both players finally acknowledge they do have a favorite.
Not surprisingly, it’s the same one, created by Vinny Lavalsiti, a member of the school’s athletics communications staff.
Said Grant: “Bruin Bombers.”
Said Woolery: “Yeah, Bruin Bombers.”
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
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The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
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Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
FIRST ROUND
DIVISION 1
Murrieta Mesa 10, Valley View 0
Orange Lutheran 10, Millikan 0
Chino Hills 2, El Modena 1
Etiwanda 14, Agoura 13
Palos Verdes 3, Riverside King 2
Cypress 4, Fullerton 2
Ayala 11, Charter Oak 1
Riverside Poly 7, California 3
Norco 2, Marina 1
DIVISION 3
Rancho Cucamonga 9, Paloma Valley 1
Great Oak 5, West Torrance 2
Edison 8, El Segundo 5
El Toro 9, Colton 0
Murrieta Valley 9, Redondo Union 8
North Torrance 5, Beaumont 0
West Ranch 7, Trabuco Hills 6
San Juan Hills 8, Riverside North 7
Oak Park 10, Cerritos Valley Christian 4
Highland 7, Northview 2
La Serna 4, Carter 0
Dos Pueblos 5, Crescenta Valley 0
Liberty 10, Arcadia 3
DIVISION 5
Anaheim 11, Flintridge Sacred Heart 0
Patriot 11, Arrowhead Christian 9
Temple City 9, Rancho Christian 6
Grace 11, Buena Park 0
Crean Lutheran 3, Alemany 2
Shadow Hills 8, Cerritos 3
San Marcos 10, Leuzinger 0
South El Monte 7, Long Beach Wilson 5
Covina 11, Garden Grove Santiago 1
Muir 8, Rio Hondo Prep 7
Santa Monica 6, Katella 5
Ontario 6, Norwalk 2
Northwood 18, Duarte 11
DIVISION 7
Bloomington 9, Fillmore 8
Miller 11, Savanna 3
Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 11, Riverside Springs Magnolia 4
Faith Baptist 18, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 4
Twentynine Palms 16, Rancho Alamitos 15
Riverside Notre Dame 12, Costa Mesa 2
Firebaugh 9, Pioneer 8
Chadwick 6, Desert Christian Academy 1
Cathedral City 2, Artesia 1
Orange 9, Bellflower 3
Santa Ana 10, Hawthorne 0
Culver City 9, Temecula Prep 8
DIVISION 8
Banning 20, Redlands Adventist 3
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
SECOND ROUND
DIVISION 1
La Habra at Murrieta Mesa, noon
Chino Hills at Orange Lutheran
Etiwanda at Westlake
La Mirada at Palos Verdes, noon
Garden Grove Pacifica at Cypress, noon
Ayala at JSerra
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Oaks Christian, 1 p.m.
Norco at Riverside Poly
DIVISION 2
Bonita at Ganesha, 11 a.m.
Whittier Christian at Warren
Simi Valley at St. Paul
Moorpark at Lakewood St. Joseph, 11 a.m.
Temescal Canyon at San Clemente, 12:30 p.m.
Huntington Beach at Camarillo, Monday
Saugus at Vista Murrieta, 12:30 p.m.
Mater Dei at Gahr, noon
DIVISION 3
Great Oak at Rancho Cucamonga
Edison at El Toro, Monday
Murrieta Valley at North Torrance
West Ranch at San Juan Hills
Riverside Prep at Oak Park, 12:30 p.m.
La Serna at Highland
Dos Pueblos at La Salle, Monday
Villa Park at Liberty, 1 p.m.
DIVISION 4
St. Bonaventure at Harvard-Westlake, 11 a.m.
Apple Valley at Oxnard
Don Lugo at Monrovia, 1:30 p.m.
La Quinta at Mira Costa
Rio Mesa at Mission Viejo, 10 a.m.
Oak Hills at Sunny Hills
Ramona at Paramount
Burbank Burroughs at Rosary, Monday
DIVISION 5
Anaheim vs. Santa Clara at Beck Park
Temple City at Patriot
Crean Lutheran at Grace
Viewpoint at Shadow Hills
San Marcos at Irvine University, noon
South El Monte at Covina
Santa Monica at Muir, 10:30 a.m.
Northwood at Ontario, 1 p.m.
DIVISION 6
Irvine at Lakeside
Alhambra at Heritage
Eastside at Granite Hills, noon
El Monte at St. Genevieve
Sierra Vista vs. Southlands Christian at Brea Canyon Cutoff Rd
Hesperia Christian vs. St. Monica Prep at Memorial Park, 2 p.m.
Arroyo at Lancaster
San Jacinto at Jurupa Valley
DIVISION 7
Bloomington at Ramona Convent
Miller at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel
Faith Baptist at Twentynine Palms, Monday
Firebaugh vs. Riverside Notre Dame at Ramona
Chadwick at Cathedral City
Orange at Victor Valley, 11 a.m.
Santa Ana at Culver City, Monday
Windward at Edgewood, Monday at 3:30 p.m.
DIVISION 8
ACE at Avalon
Bolsa Grande vs. San Bernardino, Monday at San Bernardino College
Workman at Glendale
Cobalt at Santa Rosa Academy
Bell Gardens vs. Brentwood at John Anson Ford Park
Pomona Catholic vs. Capistrano Valley Christian at Laguna Hills, 2 p.m.
Fontana at Banning
Hawthorne MSA at Arroyo Valley, 1 p.m.
Note: Quarterfinals May 20; Semifinals May 23; Finals May 28-30 at Bill Barber Memorial Park, Irvine.
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After a slow first round at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, pace of play was a point of emphasis at the PGA Championship on Friday.
However, when an official approached Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley, they became animated.
Thomas, a longtime Team USA Ryder Cup member, and Bradley, last year’s United States captain, were on the fourth hole when they were approached by an official in a cart, and the conversation quickly turned into finger-pointing.
Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley watch from the tenth green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Thomas said after the round that he, Bradley and fellow USA Ryder Cupper Cameron Young, who won the Cadillac Championship earlier this month, were put on the clock, with the official telling them to pick up the pace. However, both Bradley and Thomas appeared to point at the group in front of them.
“We just didn’t really agree with it,” Thomas said, citing course conditions, high winds and tough pins. “We were behind. That wasn’t our issue… It’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up the group behind us.”
Thomas said they were caught up with the pace on the very next hole.
Justin Thomas plays his shot on the 15th tee during the second round of the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
GARRICK HIGGO SHARES BAFFLING COMMENTS WHILE REACTING TO TWO-SHOT PENALTY AT PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Thomas had a lengthy conversation with the official, while Bradley appeared to make his point short and sweet — though he was definitely not happy with the call.
It is a large PGA Championship field, with 156 golfers at the course and groups even starting their rounds on the back nine. The scores have also been rather high, with just 25 players below par at the time of publishing.
Aronimink also features a shared tee box on 1 and 10, holes 9 and 17 crossing paths, and a lengthy par-3 eighth hole that’s causing problems. Three par-3s are over 200 yards on the course, and there is also a 457-yard par 4 on the fourth.
Keegan Bradley prepares to putt on the 14th green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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As Chris Gotterup put it on Friday, “You’re not going to get any four-and-a-half hour rounds out here.”
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