Megan Grant has climbed into one of college softball’s most exclusive places, tying the NCAA single-season home run record with her 37th blast for UCLA.
The milestone pulls Grant level with former Arizona star Laura Espinoza, whose 1995 mark had stood as the standard for three decades. Grant, a senior, now shares the top spot in NCAA single-season history, according to reports, after a power surge that has turned UCLA’s lineup into a constant threat.
Grant matched a record that has shaped the sport’s power-hitting conversation since 1995.
Key Facts
- UCLA senior Megan Grant tied the NCAA single-season home run record.
- Grant reached 37 home runs this season.
- She matched the mark set by Arizona’s Laura Espinoza in 1995.
- The record now sits at the center of UCLA’s postseason push.
The achievement lands with extra weight because of how long the record lasted. Espinoza’s total survived eras of change in college softball, from equipment shifts to evolving pitching and deeper national competition. Grant did not just approach a famous number; she caught one of the sport’s oldest benchmarks and forced a new comparison across generations.
For UCLA, the record chase also sharpens the stakes around every remaining game. Grant’s bat gives the Bruins more than headlines. It changes pitching plans, pressures defenses, and adds another layer of urgency to opponents who know one mistake can disappear over the fence. Sources suggest her pursuit of the outright record will now become one of the defining storylines of the closing stretch.
What comes next matters beyond one player’s stat line. If Grant goes past 37, she will rewrite a piece of NCAA history that has held firm since 1995. Even if she does not, this season already stands as a reminder of how a single hitter can bend the sport’s record book — and why every upcoming UCLA at-bat will draw a little more attention.