Kelly Inouye-Perez proud to honor UCLA Bruins’ legacy of winning

No university in the country can claim more national championships in softball than UCLA and no one has woven herself into the fabric of the program more than Kelly Inouye-Perez, who became the all-time winningest softball coach in Bruins history Friday, surpassing her predecessor, Sue Enquist, with her 888th career win — a 15-12 victory over fourth-ranked Florida at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know,” Inouye-Perez said when told about reaching the milestone. “I was just trying to get ready for the next game.”

In her 20th season at the helm, Inouye-Perez bleeds blue and gold. At 56, she has devoted 38 years of her life to her alma mater and has played a role in eight of the Bruins’ record 13 national titles (three as a player, three as an assistant and two more as head coach). She is the only woman to have won NCAA Division I softball championships as a player and coach.

The Florida win improved her record to 888-225-1, an extraordinarily high .797 winning percentage.

Inouye-Perez is only the third head coach in the program’s 52-year history and she played for the other two: Sharron Backus, who won nine national titles (the first in 1978 under the AIAW before softball became an NCAA sport) and posted an 847-167-3 record from 1975 to 1997; and Enquist, the Bruins’ centerfielder from 1975 to 1978 who became an assistant under Backus from 1980 to 1988.

“I’m proud just to be able to sustain the excellence that they started and make them proud,” Inouye-Perez said. “[Associate coach] Lisa Fernandez and I have been able to continue what they started.”

Inouye-Perez and Fernandez have been lifelong best friends, the former catching the latter’s complete-game shutout against rival Arizona in the 1992 NCAA title game. After graduating, both were assistants on Enquist’s staff.

Enquist served as co-head coach with her mentor from 1989 to 1996 and became sole head coach after Backus’ retirement in January 1997. Enquist posted a 887-175-1 mark in 18 seasons and her .834 winning percentage is the best of any college softball coach with 800 or more victories. However, her successor might top it by the time she is through.

Inouye-Perez reflected on the influence Backus and Enquist have made on her.

“Sharron invited me to be part of it and that’s been the best decision of my life,” Inouye-Perez said. “She kept things very simple and taught me action speak louder than words. Sue was instrumental in starting my coaching career. She taught me the basics of John Wooden’s ‘Pyramid of Success’ and how we keep our priorities straight.”

Enquist earned her 887th win in her 1,062nd game as head coach in 2006. Inouye-Perez equaled her total with Friday’s early 14-0 victory over East Texas A&M in her 1,113th game.

“I don’t know that there’s a ‘secret’ other than this is what I love to do,” said Inouye-Perez, who has guided UCLA to two national titles (2010 and 2019) in 11 Women’s College World Series appearances and hopes to add another to her resume this spring. She racked up three more victories Saturday and Sunday as the No. 8 Bruins are off to a fast start with 12 straight victories and an 18-3 overall record.

The sport has evolved a great deal since Inouye-Perez helped the Bruins to three national championships (1989, 1990 and 1992) as a catcher.

“The game has changed … the bats, the balls, the data, technology, the Pac-12 is no longer in existence,” she said. “It’s great for fans. The bat is live, the ball is live. Games are on TV. There’s more competition now with the Power Four conferences (SEC, Big 12, ACC and Big Ten). It’s no longer a West Coast-dominated sport.”

Inouye-Perez was a first team All-Pac-10 selection as a freshman and made the second team as a sophomore. She underwent shoulder surgery in 1991 but came back the following year to earn second team honors again as UCLA won the national title with a 54-2 record. The Bruins returned to the title game in 1993 (her final season) only to fall 1-0 to Arizona.

“It was so fun, I was surrounded by the best,” she said, reflecting on her time in uniform. “Even when we finished second in my last year.”

The Bruins finished 55-13 last year, posting a 17-5 mark in their first year in the Big Ten, and placed sixth in the Women’s College World Series. Under the direction of Inouye-Perez and Fernandez, they were third in 2018, fourth in 2022, fifth in 2008, 2015, 2021 and 2024, sixth in 2017 and and eighth in 2016.

Inouye-Perez was a four-time Pac-12 coach of the year (2009, 2021, 2023, 2024) and inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022. She needs nine more wins to become the 53rd head coach in NCAA Division I history to reach 900 career wins.

For all of her success, Inouye-Perez is not one to rest on her laurels. Not when there are more championships to win.

“We’re always competing for the national championship,” she said. “That’s our goal every year. We have a young team but it’s talented.”

UCLA opens Big Ten action Friday with a three-game set against Wisconsin at Easton Stadium.

Chesney’s tour

New UCLA football coach Bob Chesney continues to tour the Bruins’ dominant spring programs, visiting women’s basketball, tennis, gymnastics and water polo.

He also welcomed a champion to the UCLA offseason workout, inviting tennis star Novak Djokovic to address the team.

“As an individual athlete, it’s one of the things that I’m really missing, is that team spirit, is what you guys are building and what you guys are nurturing here on an everyday basis,” Djokovic said. “I see you guys how much you enjoy each other, supporting each other, lifting each other up and bringing that spirit up. It’s only going to serve you as a team, you individually, a coach and the whole community and of course the college that you’re part of.”

UCLA will kick off spring football practice on April 2 and conclude with a spring game on May 2. The school has not revealed yet whether any workouts will be open to the public.

Women’s water polo wins

The No. 2 UCLA women’s water polo team defeated No. 8 Indiana 18-7 and No. 12 Michigan 17-8.

Anna Pearson (career-high tying six) and Taylor Smith (four) combined for 10 goals to lead the Bruins (12-1, 1-0 MPSF) past the Wolverines (10-7, 3-0 CWPA), who were riding a 10-game win streak.

Michigan led in the first and second quarters, but UCLA controlled the second half. Pearson’s fourth-quarter hat trick of the season gave the Bruins momentum. Lauren Steele earned eight saves, while Joey Niz added five in relief.

The Bruins host No. 1 Stanford at 1 p.m. Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Cardinal beat the Bruins 8-7 earlier this season.

Men’s volleyball still perfect

No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball team rallied for a five-set win over No. 4 UC Irvine (12-2), scoring a 3-2 nonconference win at the Bren Events Center in Irvine.

UCLA won the first, fourth and fifth sets as the teams posted 25-22, 20-25, 28-30, 25-22 and 15-11 scores.

Zach Rama led the Bruins (14-0) with 20 kills, while Sean Kelly added a career-high 19 kills and David Decker chipped in 12.

UCLA limited the Anteaters to .221 hitting and earned 16 1/2 blocks. Micah Wong Diallo had a career-high nine block assists, libero Chris Connelly had a game-high 15 digs and setter Andrew Rowan had a career-high 12 digs.

UCLA plays at rival USC on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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