Kylee Perez is a shortstop by nature, but the junior has turned into a formidable second baseman for UCLA.
While leading her team in hitting, Perez earned her first All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honor this year as her pairing with shortstop Delaney Spaulding proved to be the strength of UCLA’s team.
“There’s a mentality and a physicality about the second basemen in our program,” head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “They have this ability to be scrappy, high IQ, do whatever it takes for the team. It’s a unique position, but Kylee does an outstanding job playing it.”
Perez can sometimes be overshadowed on a team bursting with stars, but she is the unquestioned emotional leader for the fifth-seeded Bruins who host No. 12 Mississippi this weekend in an NCAA Super Regional.
NCAA SOFTBALL SUPER REGIONAL
- No. 5 UCLA (45-12) vs. No. 12 Mississippi (43-18)
- Easton Stadium
- Thursday, 6 p.m., ESPN
- Friday, 6 p.m., ESPNU
- Saturday, 4 p.m., ESPN (if necessary)