REPORT: UCLA Relief Pitcher Cracks Top 100

UCLA relief pitcher Justin Lee has high expectations riding on his sophomore season.

Dec 19, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; The UCLA Bruins basketball logo at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

UCLA baseball's 2025 season is right around the corner, and ahead of the festivities on Opening Day, one Bruin received a high honor before taking the mound. Sophomore right handed pitcher Justin Lee cracked the Top 100 rank for relief pitchers in 2025.

Lee came in at No. 55 on D1Baseball's list of top-100 relief pitchers and was the only Bruin represented. The sophomore struggled in his first season playing college baseball, as most do, but his stuff is the reason that he was ranked highly on the list.

One to watch 👀

Justin Lee is ranked inside @d1baseball’s list of top-100 relief pitchers.

📰: https://t.co/mP34SPVSV1#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ID2r5IqdET

— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) February 8, 2025

In his freshman campaign, Lee appeared in 24 games for UCLA, collecting two wins and two losses along the way. Lee also concluded his freshman season with a 7.55 ERA, allowing 41 hits, striking out 40 and allowing 35 runs in 39.1 innings of work.

According to UCLABruins.com, "Arguably his [Lee's] top outing of the year came on Apr. 2 at LMU, as he notched season highs in innings (3.1) and strikeouts (five) while allowing just one earned run en route to his first-career victory."

Going into his sophomore season, Lee will look to lower his earned run average for the Bruins and limit the amount of wild pitches. In the 39.1 innings of work, Lee allowed 12 wild pitches, and when he did find the zone, he often missed over the plate.

If UCLA wants to remain competitive in 2025, Lee will need to be the star player they were hoping he'd blossom into after seeing what he could do at the high school level.

The following was written of Lee, per UCLABruins.com:

"As of Signing Day, Lee was ranked the No. 6 right-handed pitcher in the state of California and No. 17 prospect overall … Nationally, was the No. 20-ranked RHP and No. 88-ranked prospect overall … As a senior, went 9-1 with a 1.24 ERA and 102 strikeouts over 67 2/3 innings to earn Mission League Pitcher of the Year honors."

The stuff is there, it will just need to be better molded. The perfect thing for the Bruins and the rest of college baseball athletes is that they have the chance to work through their mechanics without a load of pressure on their chests. The Bruins' Opening Day festivities will kick off on Friday as UCLA hosts Cal Poly for a three-game home stand.

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