Megan Grant's basketball 'side quest' aided historic softball season at UCLA

UCLA softball slugger Megan Grant welcomed Kiki Rice back to Los Angeles with a show. With her former UCLA basketball teammate in attendance — yes, you read that right — Grant hit her 39th home run of the season against South Carolina to extend her NCAA single-season record at the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament on Saturday. By Sunday, Grant’s home run total extended to 40 with a walk-off grand slam.

Instead of scoring baskets, Grant was scoring runs. Lots of them. Rice is used to seeing Grant on the basketball court during their run together on UCLA basketball's national championship team earlier this year, but Rice said seeing the two-way athlete in her element on the softball field was mesmerizing.

It comes as no surprise to Rice that Grant is so dominant on the diamond. “From how she handled herself and how she carried herself on the basketball court, I can tell exactly why she's the best softball player in the country,” Toronto Tempo rookie guard Kiki Rice told USA TODAY’s Studio IX on Tuesday. “Even though basketball wasn't her main thing...

she did it in such a professional manner. " Megan Grant's ultimate 'side quest' Basketball was Grant's first love before she gave up the sport to focus solely on softball, but that didn't stop her from dreaming of playing both in the same season. It seemed like a longshot to Grant, whose many attempts to simultaneously play for UCLA softball and basketball were swiftly denied.