Softball On SI

Megan Grant’s Journey from Darkness to Dominance Fuels UCLA Softball

Megan Grant has emerged as a star for UCLA, overcoming personal struggles last fall with the support of head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez to deliver one of the best seasons in program history.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
UCLA softball's Megan Grant fires her teammates up in the middle of a huddle.
UCLA softball's Megan Grant fires her teammates up in the middle of a huddle. | Crash Kamon/UCLA Athletics

Megan Grant has become a shining light for the UCLA Bruins this season despite being in a dark place last fall.

The utility player needed help and head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez was her shoulder to lean on.

"I think it's not talked about enough within the sport," Grant said to Softball America's Tara Henry and Gray Robertson on Monday's episode of Good Morning Softball America. "A lot of it has to do with last year and just the idea of sometimes not fulfilling your own potential. To me, a lot of the external stuff doesn't matter but the thing that kind of gets me the most is what I believe in myself.

"In terms of last year, I just thought I could do more and I was in kind of a dark place, but Coach I, being the woman that she is, really helped me out of that."

Grant has fought her way through those tough times and is putting together one of the best seasons in UCLA program history.

Through 108 at-bats, Grant leads the nation with 22 home runs and 68 runs batted in. Grant's two homers in Friday's game against Washington pushed her total to 20 through 42 games played, tying her with Stacey Nuveman-Deniz (1999) as the fastest Bruin to reach the 20-homer benchmark in a single season. Grant's 22 home runs are currently tied for fourth most in UCLA single-season history and the most by a Bruin since 2013.

However her last nine at-bats were ridiculous.

Grant was named the Big Ten's Player of the Week and the NFCA National Player of the Week for a second-consecutive week on Monday after going 6-for-9 with five home runs, two of which were grand slams, 11 runs batted in, six runs scored, and a 3.083 OPS.

This is only the fourth time that a UCLA Bruin has earned the national honor in back-to-back weeks.

"It has everything to do with trust and confidence," Grant added. "Just trusting in my abilities, my swing at the end of the day and just trusting all the work I put in, not just throughout the year but, throughout all the years I've played."

The junior still has more to give and the road ahead is rough. The Bruins take on the Oregon Ducks for a three-game series in Eugene starting Friday.

The two teams are tied for first place in the Big Ten with 12-1 records. The Nebraska Huskers trail in third at 11-3.

First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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