UCLA's Megan Grant breaks 31-year-old NCAA softball home run record

UCLA senior Megan Grant set the NCAA Division I softball home run record on Saturday with her 38th long ball of the 2026 season.

Grant was also a member of UCLA's 2026 NCAA basketball championship team.

In the third inning of Saturday's game against Nebraska, Grant hit a blast to deep left-center field to pass the previous record of 37, set in 1995 by Arizona's Laura Espinoza. Grant set the record in 55 games, 17 fewer than Espinoza.

"Records are made to be broken," Mike Candrea, who coached Espinoza at Arizona, told The Athletic. "It's a pretty phenomenal record to be able to break, so tip my hat off."

Nebraska defeated UCLA on Saturday, 7-2, to claim the Big Ten title.

On Friday against Wisconsin, in the semifinals of the Big Ten conference tournament, the Bruins reached 181 homers on the season, eclipsing the previous record of 161 that had stood since 2021.

Grant boosted that number to 182 with her record shot on Saturday.

"When I first came into college, I wanted to put myself in the books as one of the best, and I didn't really know how to at the time, but throughout my career, just more and more has gone on, and to be able to do that, it's just, it's surreal," Grant told reporters. "I am just so grateful for the opportunity I was blessed with, and just to follow the people that were before me. It's just honor."

Grant tied UCLA's single-season record holder, Stacey Nuveman, with her 31st homer during a doubleheader against Cal on April 18 and surpassed her on April 24 against Washington.

Grant and Nuveman are the only Bruins to hit at least 80 career homers. Nuveman, whose career ended in 2002, is the program's all-time leader with 90. Grant has 85.

Grant joins senior teammate Jordan Woolery (33 homers) as the first teammates in NCAA softball history to each hit 30-plus home runs in the same season.

The NCAA Division I Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, when UCLA (47-8) will find out its postseason seeding. The Bruins are seeking their first Women's College World Series title since 2019 and their 13th in NCAA history.

Grant, Woolery and Taylor Tinsley all intend to continue their softball careers in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League this summer.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: UCLA's Megan Grant sets NCAA softball record with 38th home run