Six national player of the year awards belong to the Bruins.
Three incoming freshmen and three current athletes secured player of the year honors in basketball, softball, soccer, tennis, water polo and golf.
Lonzo Ball, men’s basketball
Heralded five-star men’s basketball recruit Lonzo Ball ran away with multiple national awards. Ball won the Naismith, MaxPreps, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Morgan Wootten and National player of the year awards as well as the Gatorade California State Player of the Year award en route to a 35-0 senior season.
The McDonald’s All-American averaged a triple-double with 23.9 points, 11.3 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game and led Chino Hills to section, state and national titles. Behind Ball and his brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo – both UCLA commits – the Huskies finished the year as the consensus No. 1 high school basketball team in the country.
Madilyn Nickles, softball
The Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year Madilyn Nickles led her softball team to a 20-5 record and 0.63 ERA in her senior year. The incoming freshman pitcher and shortstop is the sixth Bruin in program history to have earned Gatorade National Player of the Year honors, joining rising redshirt senior Paige McDuffee and rising sophomore Rachel Garcia as past award winners.
Nickles recorded three no-hitters and nine shutouts while hitting .552 with eight home runs, 27 runs batted in and 20 doubles. The Merced, California native played 14 games at the World Cup of Softball and World Championships with Team USA posting a homer, 14 RBI and six walks.
Mallory Pugh, women’s soccer
UCLA’s other Gatorade Player of the Year is forward Mallory Pugh. As a 17-year-old, Pugh earned her first cap with the Women’s national team. The former No. 1 soccer recruit became the youngest player in national team history to play in an Olympic qualifying game. She contributed to a 5-0 win against Costa Rica in The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football 2016 Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship.
The Colorado native is competing for a roster spot for the 2016 Olympics before joining the Bruins in the fall.
Mackie McDonald, men’s tennis
In his final season at UCLA, Mackie McDonald was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Men’s College Player of the Year to go along with NCAA titles in singles and doubles. The junior is the fourth Bruin player to win the award after Marcos Giron, Benjamin Kohlloeffel and Marcel Freeman.
The Piedmont, California native turned professional at the end of the season, finishing the year as the No. 1 player in the country in singles and doubles.
Garrett Danner, men’s water polo
Rising senior Garrett Danner secured the top water polo honor in the country for the national champion men’s water polo team. The goalkeeper won the Peter J. Cutino Award after anchoring the defense in a 30-0 season. UCLA won its second national championship 10-7 over USC. In his junior season, Danner held opponents to 163 goals over 30 games, setting the program’s single-season saves record with 278 saves.
Bronte Law, women’s golf
Golfer Bronte Law, who guided her team to the NCAA semifinals, finished the season as the No. 1 golfer in the country. Law was named the 2016 ANNIKA Award winner, given to the nation’s top female collegiate golfer.
The rising senior was All-Pac-12 First Team and WGCA First Team All-American as well as the PING Player of the Year. Law won three events this season – the Bryan Regional, the Stanford Intercollegiate and the PING/ASU Invitational – tying UCLA alumna Kay Cockerill for most event wins in career history.
No disrespect to other sports – but just a few words on Mallory Pugh, who is becoming a wunderkind in the most popular game on the planet, is a bit disconcerting for me. Americans, with a few exceptions, are not aware how lucky they are to see a legend blossom in their own backyard.