How Bruins Pair Garnered Big Ten Baseball Honors

UCLA stars take home weekly awards from the conference after big games against Tulane and TCU.
Jun 14, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA;  UCLA Bruins head coach John Savage on the field before the game against the Murray State Races at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
Jun 14, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach John Savage on the field before the game against the Murray State Races at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

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The college baseball season is off to a tremendous start for the No. 1-ranked UCLA Bruins, who are now 6-1 following a weekend sweep of No. 8 TCU.

Taking down a top-10 opponent three times, one week after losing your first game, is one heck of an answer by the Bruins and can help establish their national standing and seeding down the line. But the most significant immediate rewards for their performance come from the Big Ten Conference itself, honoring two UCLA players with Weekly Awards for the first time in the school's brief tenure as a member of the conference.

Big Ten Player of the Week

Junior outfielder Will Gasparino was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for his performances against Tulane and TCU. The 6-foot-6 transfer from Texas had a phenomenal week, going seven-for-13 at the plate with five home runs, 15 RBIs, and seven runs scored. That included two multi-home run games: Tuesday against Tulane and Sunday against TCU as the Bruins completed the sweep of the Horned Frogs.

The Los Angeles-native was expected to have a great defensive impact on the program as he returned home following an All-SEC Defensive Team season with the Longhorns. Yet, in the early going, his offense has been a huge plus as well. Gasparino currently leads UCLA in slugging percentage and RBIs, is tied with Rpoch Cholowsky for the team lead in home runs, and is among the Bruins' best in OPS, batting average, hits, runs scored, and total bases.

He has nine hits this season, and eight have been for extra bases.

Big Ten Pitcher of the Week

Sophomore relief pitcher Wylan Moss is the Big Ten's Pitcher of the Week after tossing four scoreless innings against TCU and striking out 10 hitters -- including the last nine he faced. Moss had high expectations placed on him before the season, earning recognition as one of the conference's top bullpen arms after a stellar freshman season. He's on pace to be even better this season, already about a quarter of the way to last season's strikeout total after just two appearances.

Both his relief appearances have been Saturday wins for the Bruins. During opening weekend, he fired 2.2 scoreless innings against UC-San Diego, allowing one hit and one walk.

Opponents are hitting just .136 against Moss this season, and he's allowed no runs and only the one walk in 6.2 innings. After hurling 48.1 innings as a freshman, keeping those numbers consistent will only be helpful for UCLA going forward.

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Travis Tyler
TRAVIS TYLER

Travis Tyler joined On SI as a writer in January 2026. He has experience contributing to FanSided’s NFL, college football, and college basketball coverage, in addition to freelance work throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area, including high school, college, and professional sports for the Dallas Express and contributions to the College Football Dawgs, Last Word on Sports/Hockey, and The Dallas Morning News. In addition to his writing, Travis contributes video and podcasting content to Fanatics View and regularly appears as a guest analyst. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and SMU and is an avid Detroit sports fan with a deep knowledge and appreciation of sports history. Follow Travis Tyler on Twitter at @TTyler_Sports.