Podcast: Top Moments Covered in 2024-25 Season

The UCLA Bruins have some ups and downs this season across all sports, but a few stood out amongst the rest as triumphant moments in the Bruins' first season as Big Ten contenders. Many sports had great success, and I had a blast covering every moment of them all.

In this episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, UCLA Bruins On SI beat writer Tom Cavanaugh breaks down the top moments from UCLA's 2024-25 athletic season. It is not quite over just yet, but there have been some memorable moments from the past calendar year.

You can watch the full episode below:

UCLA Football: Defeating Iowa on Homecoming (Week 10)

The Bruins' best win this past season came on Homecoming night at the Rose Bowl against a very talented Iowa Hawkeyes team. A go-ahead field goal from kicker Mateen Bhaghani with mere minutes to play gave the Bruins a 20-17 victory.

Possessing the No. 1 running back in the Big Ten in Kaleb Johnson, UCLA's dominant run defense held the Hawkeyes ' running back to 49 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Bruins running back TJ Harden returned the favor with a season-high 125 yards to help push the Bruins to victory.

UCLA MBB: Crushes Utah State in NCAA Tournament (Round of 64)

UCLA played arguably its best game of the season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past March. A dominant performance over Utah State featured a stunning 48.1% shooting from the field and 10 made 3-pointers (41.7%), winning the ballgame in a blowout, 72-47.

Junior guard Skyy Clark and sophomore shooting guard Eric Dailey Jr. led the way with 14 points each, Clark hitting four triples. Sophomore center Aday Mara had 10 points and five blocks off the bench while senior Kobe Johnson filled up every stat category with a productive day.

This was a significant win for the Bruins because it reinvigorated the program into believing they are ready to compete for a national title, as that performance could have beaten anyone in the country. There is a lot of potential in next year's team to win a Big Ten title and get to a Final Four.

UCLA WBB: Downs Rival USC to Win Big Ten Tournament Title

The Bruins lost just two games throughout the regular season, both coming at the hands of bitter rival USC and JuJu Watkins. In the third and final meeting of the season, head coach Cori Close and her squad got the best of their crosstown foe in the Big Ten tournament championship game.

UCLA pulled out a 72-67 win to capture its first-ever Big Ten Tournament title.

Junior center Lauren Betts led the way with 17 points, assisted by Londynn Jones and KiKi Rice scoring 13 each. Despite Watkins scoring 29 points in the title game, the Bruins had three scorers in double figures and were able to exact revenge against the team that caused them issues all year.

That win is what likely propelled the Bruins to a No. 1 seed, giving them an easier path to reaching their first Final Four in program history. It was a historical season for the Bruins, and there is more to come for a budding program, ready to contend for national championships.

UCLA Baseball: Defeating Northwestern, Capturing First Big Ten Title

Most recently, the Bruins completed back-to-back athletic seasons with Big Ten titles. Taking two of three from the Northwestern Wildcats in the final conference series of the year helped push the Bruins to a Big Ten-best 22-8 record to become Big Ten champs for the first time ever.

They had to share the title with Oregon as co-champions due to the Ducks sweeping the Iowa Hawkeyes to kick Iowa out of first place, foiling their plans for a conference championship. UCLA was rooting for the Ducks to take down Iowa, but at the same time, it needed at least two wins in its final series.

It was such a blast monitoring each throughout the weekend and coming up with the different scenarios that could have allowed any of those three teams to win the title. UCLA was one of the nation's top teams all year and was very deserving of a Big Ten trophy in its first season in the conference.

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