No. 1 national seed UCLA eliminated from NCAA Tournament in opening round
By Andrew Olson
Published:
UCLA entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 team in the land. In a shocking turn of events, the Bruins have been eliminated in the opening round.
The Los Angeles Regional will not feature host UCLA. The Bruins were eliminated on Sunday by Saint Mary’s. The Gaels walked it off in the 10th inning of Sunday’s elimination game.
THE SAINT MARY'S GAELS WALK IT OFF. ADVANCE TO REGIONAL FINAL FOR FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY 🔥🔥🔥
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 31, 2026
#1 NATIONAL SEED UCLA IS ELIMINATED pic.twitter.com/KgKUUPRxRr
It was Saint Mary’s that stunned UCLA in Friday’s Regional opener. The Gaels made the Bruins the first No. 1 overall seed to ever lose Game 1 of its Regional. UCLA fought off elimination against Virginia Tech on Saturday, but facing the Gaels again was too much.
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For the Gaels, it is their first trip to the Super Regional round in program history. The Los Angeles Regional is paired with the Morgantown Regional, hosted by No. 16 overall seed West Virginia. WVU is currently playing Kentucky, the Regional’s 3-seed, in the final. The Wildcats would advance to the Super Regional with a victory, while the Mountaineers need to win to force a Game 7.
The 2026 UCLA team is the fifth No. 1 national seed to lose in the regional round, joining 2007 Vanderbilt, 2014 Oregon State, 2015 UCLA and 2025 Vanderbilt.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
