The 2010s have officially ended, and the book is closed on what was one of the finest decades in history for Division I softball. Records were broken, set, and reset. Championships were won. Success was found. Bonafide stars were made. And, fitting the latter point, you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger star in the sport of softball than Rachel Garcia, our Division I Player of the Decade for the 2010s.
Garcia ended the decade on the highest note possible, winning her 2nd-consecutive National Player of the Year award while also leading her team to the Women’s College World Series title, the 13th National Championship in program history and first since 2010.
After beginning her career as a Bruin with an injury-induced redshirt in 2016, Garcia went on to be named the National Freshman of the Year in 2017 after posting a 1.87 ERA with a 23-9 record in the circle and a .325/8/29 line at the plate, and earning all-conference and all-American honors for her efforts.
In 2018, Garcia enjoyed a true breakout season, posting a 1.31 ERA with a 29-4 record and 315 strikeouts, to go along with a .339 batting average, eleven home runs, and fifty-four RBIs. After the season, she was named the Honda Award winner for softball; earned both the USA Softball and NFCA National Player of the Year awards; a first-team all-American honor; and the PAC-12’s Player of the Year trophy.
Garcia dominated the competition once again in 2019, with a .343 batting average and eleven home runs along with a 1.14 ERA, twenty-nine wins, and 286 strikeouts. She earned her second-consecutive National Player of the Year award, just the fourth athlete to earn the award in back-to-back seasons; she also earned the PAC-12 Player of the Year trophy and the Honda Award for softball, her second consecutive year receiving each award, and was additionally named the PAC-12’s Pitcher of the Year.
The 2020 season will see Garcia take a redshirt in order to compete for Team USA on the Stand Beside Her Tour and in the Tokyo Olympics, but her impact on both the game of college softball within the last decade, as well as on the already-historic UCLA program, is undeniable.
