Rachel Garcia and Bubba Nickles will return to UCLA in 2021, the school announced on Thursday.
Both Garcia and Nickles had redshirted the 2020 season as they participated in the Stand Beside Her tour with Team USA. The Olympic Games have been postponed to 2021, and the full 18-member US roster of players, including Garcia and Nickles, will represent the nation next summer without having to try out again.
Arizona catcher Dejah Mulipola, the only other member of Team USA with collegiate eligibility remaining, on Thursday also announced her return to Tucson for the 2021 season.
Garcia is the 2-time defending National Player of the Year, having won the award in 2018 and 2019. She led the Bruins to the national championship in 2019 and was awarded the Honda Cup as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2019 WCWS, finishing the tournament 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA in the circle and batting .333 with two home runs and eight RBI at the plate.
Nickles was a 2nd-team All-American selection in 2019, leading the eventual national champions in home runs (18); RBIs (72); and slugging percentage (.714). She finished fifth nationally in RBIs that season and was also named to the WCWS All-Tournament Team after batting .350 with two home runs during the tournament.
Even without their pair of senior stars, UCLA had assembled a 25-1 overall record during the 2020 campaign that was ultimately shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
