More jarring than shocking. That’s how the UCLA Bruins’ NCAA regional exit on Sunday felt. After two weeks of struggling, UCLA finally succumbed, getting walked-off on at their home ballpark by Saint Mary’s to end the 2026 season.
Throughout the entire postseason, UCLA has given themselves zero margin for error. You can blame it on injuries, an abnormally tough regional bracket, or whatever you choose, blowing the 5-2 lead on Sunday is still a massively disappointing end to an otherwise amazing season.
Roch Cholowsky will be one of the top picks of the MLB Draft this summer but he didn’t make a difference during the Los Angeles Regional, going 1-4 in Sunday’s game and 2-12 overall in the regional without recording an extra base hit.
Without ace Logan Reddemann, the UCLA pitching staff saw everyone’s role increase, with Wylan Moss becoming the team’s No. 1 and with so many close games, the Bruins relied heavily on their most dependable relievers. Cal Randall and Easton Hawk are terrific arms out the bullpen for UCLA but head coach John Savage had to ask too much out of them. Reddemann’s absence is hardly an excuse, he’s been out for over a month and the Bruins just didn’t have the impact starting pitching to silence the lineups of Saint Mary’s and Virginia Tech over the regional.
No. 1 overall seeds have been bounced in the regional in back-to-back seasons but UCLA’s is much worse. Vanderbilt backed their way into the overall No. 1 seed at the end of the 2025 season, the Bruins made history by sitting at the top for the entire regular season.
Were the Bruins stacking wins in a Big Ten Conference that’s not all that competetive? Why did the team consistently struggle against every other California-based schools besides USC? Why did the lineup go quiet as soon as the postseason began? There are plenty of questions for the UCLA program after an early exit to the 2026 season.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA baseball got the fate they deserved in the NCAA regional
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
