Should UCLA Extend John Savage?

Coach John Savage and his UCLA Bruins baseball squad turned heads for the first time in over a decade this month after making an improbable run to the Men's College World Series.

Was it really improbable, though? Coming off a 19-33 season in 2024, the Bruins weren't really expected to do much, what with a squad riddled with sophomores and freshmen. Instead, UCLA quite frankly exceeded expectations, finishing the regular season with a 42-16 record and cruising through postseason regionals to make its first Omaha appearance since winning the national championship in 2013.

Savage signed a massive contract extension after winning in Omaha 12 years ago, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in all of baseball at the time. That extension is up on June 30, leaving UCLA with just over a week to make a decision on the head coach of over two decades.

Savage's 29-win turnaround was one of the biggest in Division-I baseball and the trajectory of this young Bruins team is looking better than ever. Housing the Big Ten Player of the Year Roch Cholowsky, who is only a sophomore along with many of his other teammates, the roster is primed for an even better run than the one it made this season.

Despite brighter days seemingly coming ahead, Savage detailed that there is still room for improvement.

"You've got to evaluate everything," Savage said of where the team can improve ahead of next season, noting a list of things that include roster construction, the transfer portal, the draft and high school prospects among other things. "There's just so much that makes a program. Strength. That's the one thing that I would say that I walked away from this thing is, we got to get a lot stronger physically.

"Some of these guys are 23 and some of us are 18. That, alone in itself, makes a difference. But, at the same time, we got to get stronger physically."

UCLA's postseason was highlighted by early, high scoring offense in the regional rounds, a lockdown bullpen all throughout, and a starting pitching rotation that could have been better in spots. And Savage acknowledges that.

"I think our starting pitching has to get better, clearly," he said. "We've had really good starting pitching, but we have to make sure we have a couple frontline ones and twos that will carry the freight over the weekend. Several guys have a chance to be those guys.

"So there's a slot of things that you gotta still look at and say, 'you know what? we've got to get better in those areas.' And I love doing that. That's part of my job and certainly we're going to be looking at a lot of different things."

That being said. The answer to the question is undeniable. UCLA should, without a doubt, extend Savage with the momentum, experience and connection he has to the Bruins team primed for a deeper run in Omaha next season.

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