Kelly Inouye-Perez has served as the head coach of the UCLA Bruins softball program since January 1, 2007, becoming the third head coach in the program’s history and continuing a consecutive 38-year association with the Bruins including her years as a player and assistant coach. Under her leadership as head coach, the Bruins have achieved an overall record of 873-222-1 (.797 winning percentage) through 19 seasons and have earned NCAA Championships in 2010 and 2019. Her teams have appeared in the Women’s College World Series eleven times and made the NCAA Tournament every year of her tenure to date.
Prior to her head-coaching role, Inouye-Perez enjoyed a standout playing career at UCLA where she was a three-time NCAA champion (1989, 1990, 1992) as a catcher, and then served 13 seasons as an assistant coach (1994-2006) during which the Bruins won three more NCAA titles. As a head coach she has been honored with four Pac-10/12 Coach of the Year awards (2024, 2023, 2021, 2009) and led NCAA-champion staffs twice to NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year honors (2010, 2019). She also holds a B.A. in Psychology from UCLA (1993) and completed a master’s degree in Physical Education at Azusa Pacific University (2004).
