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Kelly Inouye-Perez
UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Kelly Inouye-Perez begins her 18th season as The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach in 2024. She owns an overall record of 775-197-1 (.797) through 17 campaigns. Including her years as an assistant coach (1994-06) and player (1989-93), this is Inouye-Perez's 36th consecutive season in Westwood. Her head coaching tenure is highlighted by two NCAA Championships in 2019 and 2010. Inouye-Perez, just the third head coach in UCLA softball history, officially took over from Sue Enquist on Jan. 1, 2007. Enquist announced her retirement as head coach on Sept. 26, 2006.
She is a link to five decades of Bruin softball success, joining the UCLA softball program as a freshman in 1989. Inouye-Perez contributed to eight NCAA Championships and a conference-best 12 Pac-10/12 Conference titles in her previous 35 years. She won three NCAA titles as a player in 1989, 1990 and 1992 and three as an assistant coach under NFCA Hall of Famer Sue Enquist in 1999, 2003 and 2004.
Entering 2024, she leads all active Pac-12 coaches with 775 overall victories and 275 conference victories, securing four regular season Pac-12 titles in her tenure as head coach.
Over Inouye-Perez’s 17 seasons as head coach, numerous Bruin players have garnered national, regional and conference recognition. Rachel Garcia was a three-time winner of the Honda Award for Softball (2018, 2019, 2021) and the first two-time winner of the Honda Cup (2019, 2021) which is given to the best female athlete in any collegiate sport. Garcia also was a three-time USA Softball Player of the Year. Inouye-Perez has directed 44 NFCA All-Americans (21 First Team) and 89 NFCA All-Region plaudits (59 First Team). Eighty-two of Inouye-Perez's players have been named to the All-Pac-12 First (61), Second (17) and Third Teams (4) and 26 earned Honorable Mention (discontinued after 2015). UCLA has hauled in seven Pac-10/12 Player of the Year awards since Inouye-Perez took the reins of the program, beginning with Megan Langenfeld in 2010. Ally Carda was a two-time winner in 2014 and 2015 and Rachel Garcia received the award three times (2018, 2019 and 2021), tying her lifelong friend Lisa Fernandez's record. Maya Brady is the most recent Bruin to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2023. Since 2007, UCLA has totaled three Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year awards. Megan Faraimo became the first Bruin to win the award in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023. Five UCLA Bruins have won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Briana Perez became the first Bruin to win Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
Four players who have competed in the Inouye-Perez era of UCLA softball have gone on to represent Team USA in the Olympics. Most recently, four Bruins – Rachel Garcia, Bubba Nickles, Delaney Spaulding and Ally Carda – donned the Red, White and Blue at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and brought home the silver medal.
Inouye-Perez and her staff have been consistently recognized for their efforts on and off the field. The staff was awarded NFCA West Regional Coaching Staff of the Year six times and received the national honor three times in 2010, 2019 and 2021. Inouye-Perez was an assistant coach on the 2000 and 2004 staffs under Enquist that won the NFCA West Regional award. In 2023, Inouye-Perez matched her predecessor Enquist's mark of three Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards (2010, 2021 and 2023).
Personal
Inouye-Perez and her husband, Gerardo Perez, currently reside in Cerritos. Along with Kelly’s exploits on the diamond, Gerardo competed as a catcher/DH for Cerritos College from 1988-90 and helped lead the Falcons to the 1989 Junior College National Championship. After a stellar career at Cerritos, he went on to compete at Loyola Marymount, earning First Team All-West Coast Conference honors his junior and senior seasons. He currently teaches health and coaches baseball at Gahr High School in Cerritos. The couple has two children, Michael (23), a former standout on the UCLA baseball team, and Kylie (18). Michael, or “Mikey”, who was drafted in Round 15 of the 2021 MLB Draft with the 459th pick by the Minnesota Twins organization, plays for its Single-A affiliate, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. Kylie is a freshman on the University of San Diego women's soccer team.
Through the Years
Most recently in 2023, Inouye-Perez won her third Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor after leading the Bruins to their 17th total conference banner and 12th as a member of the Pac-12. UCLA posted a 52-7 record and a 21-3 mark in conference play, earning a No. 2 national seed in the NCAA Tournament to make it 16 straight postseason appearances for Inouye-Perez. UCLA ended the season with a 17-game conference winning streak which was the longest for the team since 2002. With their fifth consecutive conference sweep against Utah, the Bruins concluded their Pac-12 schedule with 21 wins for their most in a season since 1999. In total, UCLA defeated 20 ranked opponents in 2023. The Bruins nearly swept the Pac-12 major postseason awards. Maya Brady was named the Player of the Year, Megan Faraimo Pitcher of the Year and Jordan Woolery Freshman of the Year. Brady was one of the top players in the country, being named a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist. Brady won the Pac-12 Regular Season Batting Crown with a .456 average. Brady recorded UCLA's highest single-season batting average since Allexis Bennett in 2015 (.448) and slugging percentage since Megan Langenfeld in 2010 (.866). Brady finished first in the Pac-12 batting average (.448), slugging percentage (.866), extra-base hits (33) and total bases (149) and was second in RBI (59) and home runs (18). Faraimo, who became the first player in UCLA history to win Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year in back-to-back seasons, ranked second in the NCAA with 29 wins and led the Pac-12 with 232 strikeouts. Both Brady and Faraimo earned NFCA First Team All-American honors while UCLA's star freshman duo of Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery earned Second Team and Third Team All-America acclaim. Grant and Woolery set a UCLA freshman duo record with 104 combined RBI. With the help of All-Pac-12 Second Team selections pitcher Brooke Yanez and catcher Sharlize Palacios, UCLA ranked second in the conference with a 1.64 earned run average and 416 strikeouts.
In 2022, Inouye-Perez led the Bruins to a seventh straight Women's College World Series appearance. The Bruins posted a 51-10 record and 19-5 record in conference play, finishing runner-up behind Arizona State. UCLA opened its conference schedule to the tune of a 10-0 record for the best start in program history. UCLA's pitching staff was once again the story of the team, leading the conference in every statistical category (1.73 earned run average, 292 strikeouts and 21 shutouts). Megan Faraimo and Holly Azevedo dazzled with a combined 45-8 record to become the Bruins' first pitching duo to each record 20-plus wins in a season in 20 years. Faraimo went on to secure Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year honors while Azevedo was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. The Bruins' tossed five no-hitters, ranking second nationally, for the program's most since 2002. Three of those no-no's were perfect games, all coming within eight days of each other in March. Faraimo, Delanie Wisz and Briana Perez each earned NFCA All-American nods. Wisz had her coming-out season in her final year in Westwood, boating the Bruins' best batting average (.405), RBI total (63), home run total (16) and slugging percentage (.767). Perez became the first Bruin to win the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award and was named to her fourth All-Pac-12 Defensive Team. Joining Azevedo, Faraimo, Perez and Wisz with All-Pac-12 accolades were Maya Brady, Savannah Pola and Kinsley Washington, who were all named to the Third Team.
In 2021, Inouye-Perez earned the second Pac-10/12 Conference Coach of the Year award of her career after guiding the Bruins to their sixth consecutive Women’s College World Series and its 11th Pac-12 Championship in program history with a 47-7 record. The Bruins’ pitching staff ranked first in the country with 23 shutouts and a 6.25 strikeout-to-walk ration as well as third with a 1.43 ERA. Brady, Wisz, Perez and Rachel Garcia all ranked first in the top 10 in the conference in home runs. Garcia was named the NFCA Player of the Year as well as the back-to-back winner of both the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year award and the prestigious Honda Cup. Inouye-Perez’s staff was honored as the 2021 NFCA Division I West Regional Coaching Staff of the Year. Aaliyah Jordan, Faraimo, Perez, Garcia and Brady were all named NFCA All-Americans, tied for the most of any school.
During the 2020 abbreviated season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bruins posted a 25-1 record, with the .962 winning percentage ranking first in the nation. The Bruins were voted the No. 1 team in the nation in the final NFCA, USA Softball and D1Softball polls. As a team, UCLA was also first in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.52), second in batting average (.368) and earned run average (1.20), fourth in runs per game (7.69), sixth in slugging percentage (.594) and tied for ninth in doubles (45). Faraimo led the nation with a 29.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio, ranked second with 149 strikeouts and was tied for second with 13 victories, earning Softball America Pitcher of the Year honors. In addition, Brady was named Softball America Freshman Player of the Year. (No All-American, All-Region or All-Pac-12 awards were given).
In 2019, Inouye-Perez guided the Bruins to their 13th National Championship and 12th NCAA title. The Bruins never trailed at the Women’s College World Series, as Inouye-Perez won her 600th career game in the title-clinching victory over Oklahoma. During their 5-0 run in Oklahoma City, UCLA led the WCWS field in batting average (.310), earned run average (1.84), home runs (12), on base percentage (.392), runs scored (37) and slugging (.574). The Bruins also led the entire NCAA Tournament in average (.317), runs (79), slugging (.548) and homers (18).
Rachel Garcia was named the Most Outstanding Player of the WCWS and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Aaliyah Jordan, Bubba Nickles and Kinsley Washington. Garcia was also selected as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year (Honda Cup), USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, NFCA National Pitcher of the Year, Softball America and ESPNW POY and Pac-12 Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year. Six Bruins earned All-American status (Garcia - First Team NFCA and SA, Nickles - First Team SA and Second Team NFCA, Briana Perez - First Team SA, Kelli Godin - Second Team SA, Taylor Pack - Third Team SA, Megan Faraimo - Third Team SA, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year). Seven players were also honored on the All-Region and All-Pac-12 teams.
The Bruins, who had 14 comeback victories, went 56-6 and tied for first in the Pac-12 Conference (20-4), UCLA’s first league title since 2009. The Bruins finished the season ranked second in ERA (1.43), third in average (.339) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.52), fourth in runs per game (7.03), seventh in on base (.416), eighth in slugging (.547), tied for eighth in shutouts (20), 11th in homers (78), 20th in fielding percentage (.974) and tied for 20th in doubles (90).
Inouye-Perez and her staff were named the 2019 NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year, the second time in a decade they earned the award (2010), and NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year (fifth time).
In 2018, the Bruins again advanced to the WCWS, going 58-7 and placing second in the Pac-12 (20-4). The 58 victories, tied for the most in the nation in 2018, were the most for a Bruin team since 2001. UCLA won the first 25 games of the season, was the last undefeated team in the country and had 14 comeback wins. UCLA finished second in the nation in batting (.335), fifth in runs per game (6.32), sixth in slugging (.520), ninth in on base percentage (.404), 10th in homers (68), tied for 10th in doubles (88) and 12th in ERA (1.83).
Garcia was named the Honda Sport Award winner for softball, as well as NFCA, USA Softball and ESPNW National Player of the Year. Garcia was a First Team NFCA All-American, along with Jordan, while Kylee Perez was named Second Team All-American. Seven Bruins were named NFCA All-Region to tie a school record, and six were honored on the All-Pac-12 Teams, with Garcia earning POY honors and Jordan picking up Freshman of the Year and Batting Champion accolades. On Feb. 25, 2018, Inouye-Perez won the 500th game of her head coaching career with a victory over Missouri. In the classroom, the 2018 Graduation Success Rate was at 100 percent, the sixth-straight season UCLA softball accomplished that feat.
In 2017, the Bruins went 48-15 and tied for third in the Pac-12 (16-8). UCLA finished third in the nation in homers (78) and doubles (97) and seventh in slugging (.521). Garcia, the NFCA National Freshman of the Year, was also an NFCA Second Team All-American, with five Bruins earning NFCA All-West Region First Team accolades, as well as All-Pac-12 nods.
In 2016, the Bruins advanced to the WCWS after winning the final two games of the Eugene Super Regional to oust Oregon. UCLA went 40-16-1 and placed second in the Pac-12 (16-5-1). The Bruins led the nation in double plays turned with 45 and also ranked in the Top 31 in five other categories. Three Bruins earned NFCA All-American honors, with Mysha Sataraka and Delaney Spaulding receiving Second Team accolades and Allexis Bennett picking up Third Team plaudits. In addition, six players earned All-Region honors and five were named to the All-Pac-12 Teams. On Feb. 13, 2016, Inouye-Perez won her 400th career game against Wichita State. Inouye-Perez and her staff were named the NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year for the third season in a row and fourth time during Inouye-Perez’s head coaching tenure (2010).
In 2015, the Bruins went 51-12, finishing second in the Pac-12 (19-5). The Bruins, who led all NCAA Tournament teams in homers during the postseason with 17, were tops in the country in batting (.367), second in on base percentage (.467), tied for second in doubles (107), fourth in runs scored (7.92) and slugging (.608) and 11th in homers (89). The Bruins set single-season school records in average, slugging, on base, runs, RBI and walks. Four Bruins were named NFCA All-Americans, with Bennett and Ally Carda earning First Team honors and Spaulding and Stephany LaRosa being named Second Team. A school-record seven Bruins were named NFCA West All-Region, while seven were honored on the All-Pac-12 teams, including Carda, the back-to-back Player of the Year.
In 2014, the Bruins recorded the nation’s best winning percentage (.867) with a 52-8 record. Inouye-Perez picked up her 300th career coaching victory at Hawai’i on Feb. 8. The Bruins finished second in the Pac-12 (19-5) and tied for ninth nationally, reaching the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament. UCLA ranked fourth in the country in slugging and ninth in average and homers per game. Carda and LaRosa each earned First Team All-American accolades, with Carda also being named a Top Three finalist for the USA Softball National Player of the Year Award and Pac-12 Player of the Year. Six Bruins were named All-Region and seven were honored on the All-Pac-12 Teams.
The Bruins posted a 40-20 record in 2013, tying for fifth in the Pac-12 with a 10-14 mark and reaching the Regional Championship game of the Louisville Regional. B.B. Bates was named Second Team NFCA All-American, four were honored on the All-Region squad and six earned All-Pac-12 accolades.
In 2012, UCLA went 36-20 and tied for fourth in the Pac-12 with a 12-12 record. Four Bruins earned All-American honors, tied for the most for any school in 2012, as LaRosa was named First Team, Andrea Harrison and Katie Schroeder Second Team and Samantha Camuso Third Team. Seven were named to the All-Pac-12 Team, including Freshman of the Year LaRosa, while six were All-Region winners.
In 2011, UCLA recorded a 36-19 mark and tied for sixth in the Pac-10 (9-12). Six Bruins were honored on the All-Conference Teams, while Harrison was named First Team All-Region and All-American. Inouye-Perez earned her 200th career victory on March 11 against Sacramento State.
Inouye-Perez led the UCLA softball program to its 12th national title and 11th NCAA Championship in 2010. The Bruins (50-11) went a perfect 10-0 in the postseason, including 5-0 at the Women’s College World Series. UCLA set numerous WCWS records, including the most home runs in one tournament with 14. Megan Langenfeld was named the Most Outstanding Player of the WCWS, while Camuso and Harrison each earned All-Tournament honors. Following the season, Inouye-Perez and her staff were honored as the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year. UCLA set a single-season school record for home runs with 108. Langenfeld and GiOnna DiSalvatore were each named to the NFCA All-American First Team. The Bruins also had three players named to the All-Region Team and eight honored by the Pac-10.
In 2009, she led the Bruins to a Pacific-10 Conference Championship, as UCLA went 45-11 overall and 16-5 in league play. She was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year and earned her 100th career victory on Feb. 22 against Maryland. In 2008, the Bruins went 51-9 and advanced to the WCWS, finishing second in the Pac-10 with a 17-4 record. In her first season at the helm of UCLA in 2007, Inouye-Perez posted a 37-18 overall record and a 12-9 Pac-10 mark (T-3rd).
Over Inouye-Perez’s 13 seasons (1994-2006) as an assistant coach, UCLA was 617-150-1 (.804) and appeared in the NCAA title game seven times, winning the NCAA Championship in the 1999, 2003 and 2004 seasons. The Bruins also won three Pac-10 titles during that span (1999, 2002, 2006) and in 2004 were named the National Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
Inouye-Perez’s primary responsibility as an assistant coach was guiding the Bruin pitchers and catchers, a list which includes many of the most honored and recognizable names in collegiate softball. Behind the dish, where Inouye-Perez also starred as a three-time All-Pac-10 honoree during her playing days at UCLA, she helped mold and influence arguably the best catcher in the history of USA Softball in Stacey Nuveman. Under Inouye-Perez’s tutelage, Nuveman became a three-time Pac-10 Player of the Year, four-time, First Team All-American and the NCAA’s all-time single-season and career home run leader.
Among the other pitching highlights accomplished by the Bruins over her 13 years as an assistant included at least one All-American award earned by a UCLA pitcher in 12 of those campaigns, including Pac-10 Pitchers of the Year Courtney Dale (1999) and Keira Goerl (2003), DeeDee Weiman, four-time Olympian Tanya Harding and two-time Olympian Amanda Freed.
In addition, nearly every UCLA pitching record has been set during the time Inouye-Perez has overseen the Bruin battery and the top five pitchers on UCLA’s career wins list, Goerl, Selden, Carda, Freed and B’Ann Burns, were coached by her.
As a player, Inouye-Perez was an exceptionally strong fielder behind the dish for the Bruins. She made her mark immediately as a collegiate player, earning First Team All-Pac-10 as a true freshman and Second Team as a sophomore, leading the Bruins to the 1989 and 1990 NCAA Championships before receiving a medical redshirt in 1991 due to shoulder surgery.
She came back strong in 1992, picking up Second Team All-Pac-10 honors as the Bruins once again won the national championship and finished with a 54-2 record, the fewest losses in a season in program history. Inouye-Perez also was named to the 1992 All-Women’s College World Series Team, going 5-for-12 (.417) with four RBI during WCWS play. She wrapped up her career as a fifth-year senior in 1993 with an NCAA runner-up finish. Impressively, Inouye-Perez did not commit a single fielding error during her final two seasons.
Among the UCLA pitchers during her five seasons as a player were Lisa Longaker and Lisa Fernandez, both of whom were named to the NCAA’s 25th Anniversary All-WCWS Team. During her UCLA career, Inouye-Perez played in 22 Women’s College World Series games, a mark that is tied for third-best in UCLA history behind only Lisa Fernandez and Kristy Howard (23). Inouye-Perez graduated from UCLA in 1993 with a B.A. in psychology and earned her master’s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific University in 2004.
Prior to college, Inouye-Perez was one of the top players during her ASA days, winning four national championships, with the Panthers (1984, ‘85 and ‘89) and the Raiders (1986). She also competed on an international level in Japan in 1985 and in Peru in 1987 (Pan American Qualifier) and followed her collegiate career with time playing on the NPF Pro Tour.
Inouye-Perez and her husband, Gerardo Perez, currently reside in Cerritos. Along with Kelly’s exploits on the diamond, Gerardo competed as a catcher/DH for Cerritos College from 1988-90 and helped lead the Falcons to the 1989 Junior College National Championship. After a stellar career at Cerritos, he went on to compete at Loyola Marymount, earning First Team All-West Coast Conference honors his junior and senior seasons. He currently teaches health and coaches baseball at Gahr High School in Cerritos. The couple has two children, Michael (23), a former standout on the UCLA baseball team, and Kylie (18). Michael, or “Mikey”, drafted in Round 15 of the 2021 MLB Draft with the 459th pick by the Minnesota Twins organization, remains in their farm system.
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