2025 WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

May 28, 2025

Kelly Inouye-Perez

Jordan Woolery

Taylor Tinsley

Megan Grant

UCLA Bruins

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Coach, if you have an opening statement, feel free. If not, we'll go to questions.

KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: First and foremost, I would like to congratulate all eight teams. To get here is everyone's goal, and it's a journey and a challenge to be able to be here today.

Also, always like to shout out what happens here in Oklahoma, what they do to bring an event like this, create the noise, the excitement, bringing in the fans. I think it's a great opportunity. Also to USA Softball for just being able to also recognize some of the greats that have had outstanding careers.

But today this is about my team, and I'm so proud of their ability to be able to not only set out a goal but to do what they needed to do to get here. And we're excited to play. So with that being said, I can't wait to get started.

Q. Kelly, over the seven years that Missy's been there, what to you has made that series special? And obviously it pre-dated her being there, but in a series that you guys have really dominated this season, it was the first time they took a season from you, but it was still very, very competitive. And the Brooke transfer and everything else, what's made that a rivalry that's continued in the Big Ten and been special?

KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: That's a lot you just put in there. I would say this: Respect for the program. We have enjoyed being in the Pac-12 together. And one thing I really enjoy with Missy is the camaraderie that we have with the coaches in the Pac to be able to do what was best for the conference. It was a great day when Washington and Oregon joined us in the Big Ten so we weren't the only team coming from the Pac.

As far as the rivalry is concerned, it's the game. She does a great job. There is a style of play. They pitch, they hit, they defend. And I love that. I love playing against great opponents because it creates great opportunities, big moments. And she's done a great job of that.

I think we're on the West side so we recruit some of the similar athletes from some of the similar programs. So there's a lot of familiarity. But bottom line, right now, the history and everything that we have done is in the history books. And there's been great stories and great opportunities, but now it's opponent number one for us. So respect for the program, but I look forward to just competing with opponent number one starting tomorrow.

Q. What did you learn from that series you played, what, a month and like five weeks ago? And how has that affected your approach going forward?

KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: The Oregon series? What I learned is that was an opportunity for us in the middle of conference on the road, and what I learned most was our best is yet to come. We didn't play our best ball. We had a day. We had a day where we definitely showed up on day two and finished a game, but day three we didn't finish out.

That's what I learned at the end of the day. I think my team and my players feel the same. At the end of the day, you go to every series with a goal of winning the series, and we walk away knowing we just didn't play our best game. And I think that really set the tone for us getting ready to be able to come through in games like we did in regionals and super regionals because of those lessons learned. So that's pretty much what I learned from that.

Q. As someone in the batter's box facing the pitching rotation that Oregon had in that series, what do you feel like was the most important lesson you have learned, considering what Oregon has presented in the pen has been, for the most part, completely brand new and a lot of success this season?

JORDAN WOOLERY: They did a really great job against us in the series, but I think we learned a lot. We watched a lot of film, and I think we're more prepared this time going in. Like Coach I said, I feel like our best is yet to come. And we are still young, but I think we've gained a lot since those last month and five weeks, like you said. So I think we're in a really good spot now, and we're excited to play.

Q. For Jordan and Megan, I think there's a famous story about you being separated in the line up and letting your feelings be known about that, but I'm curious about the relationship you two have forged off the field over the years and how that has spilled into the lineup to the point where it feels so important that you do hit back to back.

JORDAN WOOLERY: Yeah, Megan is the best. I'm grateful to be hitting in front of her. And I feel like our relationship is so special so it makes it easy to have someone you love, trust, and care about hitting behind you. I think that just makes our relationship so much better on the field.

And off the field, I know Megan is going to have my back no matter what. And there's been moments that we're there for each other regardless of ups and downs. So I think just having someone so supportive and so loving as a teammate but most importantly as a friend, it means a lot to me.

MEGAN GRANT: I would have to agree with that. Just knowing Jordan from the start, we clicked immediately. Even before we got here, it was always like when's our time? When's our time? And we finally get here, and it's a special bond you can't break. Coach I tried to break that by separating us in the lineup... no, I'm just kidding.

Jordan is amazing. Everything we have experienced, being freshmen and going from sophomore, junior, now, our experiences, I feel like we've shared them together, and it makes it that much more special. So just having Jordan here is just one of one.

Q. Taylor, last year was primarily just you and KT. What has the addition of Addisen been like and the three of you working together?

TAYLOR TINSLEY: Yeah, it's been a fire in the bullpen. I think Addisen complements me and KT well. All three of us work together as a unit, as well as Jada Cecil. And we just work together and lean on each other. And we always know that we're going to have each other's back no matter what. So, yeah, it's really awesome.

Q. For Jordan and Megan, you have very different splits against Grein. Jordan obviously has quite a bit of success against her, and, Megan, you have yet to do so. What is unique against -- what is the unique challenge in facing her, and what did you learn in facing her throughout your careers, not just this season but back to her time at Virginia Tech?

JORDAN WOOLERY: Yeah, good pitching brings good competition. So I think we just try to rise to the occasion. I think we're just really grateful to face more great pitching once again this weekend, and I feel like it's going to be a really great opportunity for both of us.

MEGAN GRANT: Yeah, I would say the exact same thing. It's great competition, and it's a competitive battle at the end of the day. Going to win some, going to lose some, but I'm excited for the next opportunity to play again.

Q. Jordan, that at-bat that you ultimately hit the walk-off against North Carolina, they showed a still shot of you, and you looked very ready for that moment. Can you go back to that and tell me what was in your mind that made you so ready for that moment that ultimately was so successful?

JORDAN WOOLERY: Yeah, I didn't have a lot of success those prior at-bats. So in that moment I was just praying and I was just like I'm so grateful to be in this moment and have another at-bat because I feel like something good is going to come out of it. And Coach I always tells me the game comes back around. So I feel like it was a perfect opportunity for the game to come back around in that moment.

So it was really special. And we faced a lot of adversity, just a lot was happening in South Carolina. So I was grateful to have my teammates' back because they were so supportive of me that weekend too. So it meant a lot.

Q. Megan and Taylor, about the momentum swing, you started with a loss in South Carolina. Jordan hits the walk-off, and you come out and finish the series in pretty resounding fashion. How big is that momentum for you coming into this week to not only have won and be here again but to have done so in such a fashion that you can just carry it over potentially?

MEGAN GRANT: Yeah, I think what Jordan did was the hugest momentum shift of the series. And for us, it always comes down to a belief. And Jordan started that with us. And we keep saying it to each other, just reiterating it: Guys, we got this. We all know, with everything, we're going to rely on each other as a team. And when in doubt, just lean into each other.

And that's what we did this whole series.

TAYLOR TINSLEY: Yeah, we talk a lot about loving one another and playing for each other and just for the love of the game and just like we're kids playing Wiffle ball all over again. That's really all it is. We're just having fun out there and we're loving one another and just loving the game.

Q. Kelly, you played and began your coaching career at a time when the West Coast schools dominated this sport. The field this week has five SEC teams, a first-time-appearing Texas Tech, and then UCLA and Oregon, two former Pac powers. How can you describe the evolution of the investment in this sport and the dynamics of competing at a school like UCLA from maybe 1995 to now?

KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: '89, but that was close. I think it's outstanding what's happened in this sport. Yeah, I liked dominating when it was West side, and I got to be a product of winning three championships as a player.

Since then, I have been able to see it evolve and grow and see more schools from coast to coast and the investment in the coaches and the athletes and the opportunities. I think it's outstanding.

That being said, the investment that goes into the facility here, the stadium has grown, the fans have grown, and that's what we want to do. We say this is the biggest, the greatest opportunity on the biggest stage.

And I love that back in the day, when we go back, the only game that was on that was televised, and sometimes it was tape delayed, was the championship game. And to be able to see where we are today, that everyone's not only getting regular season, we're going into preseason now, we're going regular season. We're getting the opportunity to see the journeys and meet the athletes and be able to see all the post-season from every regional to every super.

So there's a lot more investment with the fan base, and there's a lot more of those little girls that are watching this with the opportunity to have those goals and dreams and be able to pursue it.

I share with these athletes all the time, they are a whole different type of role model than we were back in the day. We were just playing and trying to win a Natty. These girls have a great opportunity to show what you can do and how hard it is. Everybody likes to see adversity, and we go through it. We definitely do.

But they're student-athletes. They're in school. They take great pride in that. They're competing at the highest level, and they're ultimately role models. They're powerful women. They get up on a stage, succeed, fail, and they do it together.

I think these memories they create are highlighted where you're getting into living rooms now and you're able to see it. The sport has grown. The opportunity is big, the stage is big, and I love it. I think it's great for the sport.

Q. Coach, this one is for you, talking about Addisen, I know Taylor talked about it, but what's it been like watching her development as a freshman this season, a kid from Bend, Oregon, moving to UCLA and watching her journey grow?

KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: I have had the great opportunity to watch her all throughout her high school career and what she's done and how she just played when she was younger and every coach in the country was watching her play to being able to be Gatorade Player of the Year for Oregon and then have a challenging junior year.

But I'm most proud of what she's done her senior year to be able to overcome just the challenges. She's young and talented and there's a big eye on her and a lot of judgment. What she did in high school, to be not only the state championship, Gatorade Player of the Year and national, so much credit to her to be able to be a Bruin.

Then you just come and start learning as a freshman. No matter how great you are and how talented you are, your ability to transition away from home and become a freshman is a challenge.

But I love her coachability. She's more than just what she was. She's a better version of herself from what she was in high school. And that, to be able to have at the highest level of high school, be decorated, still want to be coachable and develop other weapons has been something that I have so much respect for her.

My pitching coach, Rob Schweyer, has paired up with her, and it's been tough. Earlier in the season, it was very emotional. She didn't want to really focus on doing other things, but it was preparing her for moments that she had through the end of season and to today.

So she's a better version of herself. It's tough being a freshman. We can go back and learn just the transition. But I love her to death, and I'm so proud of her growth, and her future is very exciting.

THE MODERATOR: That will wrap things up for UCLA.