Men’s basketball
Sam Connon, Daily Bruin reporter
The Bruins now have the top 2019 recruiting class in the conference.
Jaime Jaquez, a four-star shooting guard from Camarillo, California, verbally committed to UCLA men’s basketball Tuesday afternoon on Twitter. Jaquez is the No. 47 prospect in the class of 2019 and is the No. 5 player in the state of California, according to ESPN.
Three-star prospect Jake Kyman announced his commitment to UCLA on Twitter just hours after Jaquez. The 6-foot-6-inch small forward from Santa Margarita Catholic High School is ESPN’s No. 14 player in California and No. 36 at his position in the country.
Jaquez was a member of USA Basketball teams in 2016 and 2017 and averaged 18.3 points between his freshman and sophomore years at Adolfo Camarillo High School. This season, the 6-foot-6-inch shooting guard averaged 31 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, shooting 34 percent from three.
Jaquez and Kyman join four-star combo guard Grant Sherfield, who committed in October as a part of UCLA’s 2019 recruiting class. With two four-stars and a three-star under their belt, the Bruins now boast the second-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to 247 Sports.
Before deciding on UCLA, Jaquez fielded offers from Stanford, USC, Georgetown, Oregon State, Utah and more. Kyman’s only offer was from UCLA.
Women’s basketball
Joy Hong, Daily Bruin reporter
The WNBA preseason kicked off Sunday.
UCLA women’s basketball products guard Jordin Canada and forward Monique Billings debuted in their first professional game this week.
Canada, who was drafted fifth overall to the Seattle Storm, helped her team edge the Phoenix Mercury 73-69 on Tuesday afternoon.
The all-time Pac-12 and UCLA assists leader registered 15 points, three assists and five steals in 23 minutes of action. She went 4-of-9 from the field and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Canada saw action in the first quarter as the first reserve off the bench and picked up from where she finished at UCLA. As a senior, she averaged 17 points and 7.1 assists per game.
Billings, who was drafted 15th to the Atlanta Dream, lifted her team to a 78-61 victory over the Chicago Sky on Sunday.
The Pac-12 leader in double-doubles and rebounds this past season saw 10 minutes of action, going 3-of-7 from the field. Billings finished with 6 points and five rebounds on the night.
The WNBA regular season will begin May 18.
Softball
Peter Frederick, Daily Bruin reporter
The Pac-12 conference has named redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia its pitcher of the week for the third time in the last four weeks.
Garcia pitched in three of the team’s four victories last week, recording a 0.00 earned run average over 14 innings while striking out 22 en route to a 3-0 record. Garcia has not allowed an earned run in her last 41 and 2/3 innings.
This is Garcia’s sixth career Pac-12 Softball Pitcher of the Week award. She previously won the award April 16 and 23 this season, as well as last season on Feb. 21, April 11 and April 25.
The Bruins have now earned 12 weekly awards from the Pac-12 conference this season. Garcia earned Pac-12 Softball Player of the Week honors April 16, while redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan has won Pac-12 Softball Freshman of the Week honors six times this season on Feb. 20, Feb. 27, March 13, April 2, April 23 and April 30. Freshman Briana Perez earned Pac-12 Softball Freshman of the Week on Feb. 13.
Garcia is a top-10 finalist for the 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player Award, touting a 19-1 record this season with a 1.01 earned run average with 197 strikeouts in 125 1/3 innings, while batting .379 with nine home runs and 44 runs batted in.
No. 1 UCLA will host No. 6 Arizona State in its final regular season series Thursday at Easton Stadium.