After redshirting his first year on campus in 2011, Hundley broke onto the scene in a big way a year ago in his first season as a starter. On his first play from scrimmage in his first college game, Hundley ran for a 72-yard touchdown against Rice University and didn’t look back from there. Hundley led the Bruins to a 9-5 record, a Pac-12 South Division title and a trip to the Holiday Bowl. Along the way, he set new UCLA records for single-season passing yards (3,740), single-season completions (318), single-season total offense (4,095) and most touchdown passes by a freshman (29). As a dual-threat quarterback, Hundley’s ability to affect the game with both his running and passing abilities earned him national recognition as one of the nation’s top young quarterbacks.
Anthony Barr, football, rising senior outside linebacker
A highly touted recruit out of Loyola High School, Barr struggled to make much of an impact his first two years on campus while playing F-back – a cross between running back and tight end – on offense. In his junior year, Barr made the switch to linebacker and immediately made his presence known. He finished the 2012 season with 13.5 sacks, the second-most in the nation, and 21.5 tackles for loss, the most on the team. Barr made an impact in a different sense during UCLA’s 38-28 win over USC, when his crushing hit on Matt Barkley separated the USC quarterback’s shoulder and caused him to miss the remainder of the season. After his breakout year, Barr was expected to be a first-round draft pick, but elected to return to UCLA for his senior season.
Entering last season, Adams was considered the fourth-best of UCLA’s four incoming freshmen, according to ESPN. Initially overshadowed by top-ranked recruits Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson and Tony Parker, Adams quickly showed he could be a key contributor, scoring 21 points off the bench in the season opener against Indiana State. He was second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game to go with a team-high 73 steals on the year. With Muhammad now in the NBA, Adams will be the team’s top returning scorer.
Quiroga, who hails from San Juan, Argentina, has been the Bruins’ most consistent outside hitting threat for the past several seasons. He has led the Bruins in service aces and points – the total points won through kills, service aces and solo blocks – in all three of his years at UCLA, while leading the team in kills twice. He finished the 2013 season with 420 kills, 52 aces and a .329 hitting percentage, which is the number of kills minus the number of errors, all divided by the total number of attempts. Now entering his senior season, Quiroga will try to push the Bruins into the NCAA tournament for the first time in his career after losing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs the past three years.
Berg, who originally made the UCLA baseball as a walk-on, emerged as one of the best pitchers in college baseball in his sophomore season. He finished the 2013 season with a 0.92 earned run average, a 7-0 record and an NCAA record of 24 saves. Although his fastball doesn’t overpower batters with its speed, Berg’s unusual side-armed delivery gave opposing players trouble, and helped earn him the National College Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year award, which recognized him as the nation’s top relief pitcher. Berg, who was also a Baseball America first-team All-American, helped lead the Bruins to their first-ever national championship in 2013.
After tying for a team-high of seven goals last season, Williams now enters his senior year as the Bruins’ top returning point scorer. After midfielders Ryan Hollingshead and Evan Raynr – two of UCLA’s best shot creators last season – graduated, even more responsibility falls to Williams to fill that void. Williams was named a 2012 first-team All-Pac-12 selection last year and will look to improve on that his year. He will now try to lead the Bruins further in the NCAA tournament after the Bruins were ousted from in the second round by the University of San Diego Toreros.
With the departure of Zakiya Bywaters, who was the No. 1 pick in the National Women’s Soccer League draft, Smith will step in as the Bruins’ top returning offensive option. Her eight goals last season were second on the team behind Bywaters. Smith also converted on 25 percent of her shots last season, making her a more efficient scorer than Bywaters was. After losing in the NCAA quarterfinals last season, Smith will try to guide the Bruins further into the NCAA tournament this year.
Ally Carda, softball, rising junior pitcher/utility
Carda was a two-way force last season. The Bruins’ top pitcher, she also finished among the top on her team in hitting statistics. As a pitcher, Carda finished with a 23-10 record, a 2.30 ERA and 217 strikeouts. As a hitter, Carda’s .339 batting average was the fourth-best on the team. Carda also hit 18 home runs and drove in 50 runs during the season.
After the graduation of outside hitter Rachael Kidder, Reeves will step into Kidder’s former role, as the two play the same position. Reeves finished last season fifth on the team in kills with 150 and helped defensively with 276 digs, the second-most on the team. Reeves was named to the 2013 Pac-12 All-Star team and traveled to China this summer to compete against professional Chinese teams.