The other teams in the regional all have something UCLA doesn’t. The top-seeded Golden Gophers (41-13) won the Big Ten; fourth-seeded Canisius (35-20) is champion of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference; and third-seeded Gonzaga won the West Coast Conference tournament.
UCLA finished fourth in the Pac-12 Conference, but the Bruins’ 36-19 overall record is their best regular-season mark since 2015 and included 19 wins during league play against a contingent of teams that sent four to regionals.
UCLA is among them, thanks largely to a trio of sophomores. Outfielder Jeremy Ydens (.362), second baseman Chase Strumpf (.