Coco Jaimes, UCF Softball return to California with Super Regional goal in reach
Coco Jaimes grew up in California understanding what UCLA Softball meant.
“When you’re in Florida, you hear about UF, Florida State, UCF,” Jaimes said. “When you’re in California, you hear about UCLA, Cal Berkeley, Stanford, schools like that.”
Now Jaimes gets to experience that stage in a very different way.
The UCF sophomore third baseman and Riverside, Calif., native is heading back to her home state this weekend as the Knights face No. 8 seed UCLA in the NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional at Easton Stadium. UCF is two wins away from the first Women’s College World Series appearance in program history.
For Jaimes and a UCF team with several California connections, the trip is both a homecoming and a historic opportunity.
“I think it’s really fun,” Jaimes said. “It’s a really cool way to have a little homecoming. I know, for at least us sophomores, we haven’t had a chance to play in California yet.
“To play in front of our families and play in a stadium like UCLA, you grow up hearing all about that program being a Californian. To go there and play on that field with this team, I think it’s going to be a really cool experience.”
UCF earned that opportunity by winning the Tallahassee Regional last weekend, knocking off No. 9 overall seed Florida State 4-2 in Sunday’s winner-take-all regional final. It gave the Knights the second Super Regional appearance in program history and their first since 2022.
For Jaimes, the meaning was not lost on anyone in the clubhouse.
“It’s so amazing,” Jaimes said. “We’re so excited to accomplish such a feat. We talked about how in the past, we hadn’t done it yet. This program hadn’t done it yet.
“Just going in with full belief that we knew this team could do it, playing for the past, present and future, and taking in what we did in the past — we can do it this year. Just going in with full confidence that we can beat a tough team.”
Coco hit the walk-off in Friday’s win
UCF’s regional was not easy.
Last Friday, the Knights trailed Jacksonville State 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the 7th, before tying the game on a Beth Damon single and then walking it off on Jaimes’ RBI hit in the 8th. The next day, UCF run-ruled Stetson 10-1. UCF then dropped a 2-1 game to Florida State on Sunday afternoon. That forced UCF to beat the host Seminoles later that same day to keep its season alive.
Jaimes said the first game of the weekend mattered more than just getting UCF into the winner’s bracket.
“I think it was a great start to the weekend,” Jaimes said. “That first game is huge. I think it really does set the tone, and to come out with the win, it just gave us momentum to continue to push through the rest of the weekend.”
Jaimes is continuing what has become a strong postseason pattern for the sophomore. Last season, Jaimes hit safely in all four games of the NCAA Austin Regional, going 8-for-12. Through her first eight career NCAA Tournament games, she is 12-for-24 with three three-hit games.
But Jaimes described the Jacksonville State moment as more of a team execution play than an individual swing.
“I think it just showed that anyone in the lineup is going to come up and do their job,” Jaimes said. “It’s just doing your assignment. We talked about that before the weekend started, and we talked about that during the game. Coach Bear mentioned it to me: What’s my assignment in this moment? What’s my job in this moment?
“CC (Sierra Humphreys) did a great job of getting on base. Ashleigh (Griffin) did a great job. She got a really good bunt down. She hit a really good sac fly. Then it just put me in a position to come up and do my job.”
That, Jaimes said, is the formula UCF has leaned on all season.
“If we can execute that one pitch at a time every single game,” Jaimes said, “we’re going to be in a good position to be successful.”
‘We’re not going to play the name on the jersey’
The next opponent brings a name that carries as much weight as any in college softball.
UCLA is 50-8, the winningest program in the history of college softball and the owner of 12 NCAA championships. The Bruins have also put together one of the most explosive offensive seasons in NCAA history, entering the weekend with 193 home runs and 10.83 runs per game.
But Jaimes said UCF cannot get caught up in everything surrounding the matchup.
“We’re definitely going to focus on ourselves,” Jaimes said. “We’re not going to play the name on the jersey. We’re going to go in and play to our game plan, our approach, and continue to execute however we need to.”
The Knights have already proven they can win away from home against top competition. UCF went to Tallahassee and eliminated Florida State, snapping a 16-game losing streak against the Seminoles while picking up the program’s first NCAA Tournament win over FSU.
Now the Knights will try to do something similar at UCLA, where the Bruins are 8-0 all-time against UCF.
Jaimes is not pretending the challenge is small. She is just keeping the focus narrow.
“Just being relentless,” Jaimes said. “We’ve talked about being relentless and anything can happen. Going in with the full belief that we’ve had all year long that we can do this and we can execute.
“If we play one pitch at a time and continue to play to our game plan and our approach, play Knights softball for the past, present and future, we can do anything and we know it.”
A California homecoming
Jaimes is one of several UCF players with California ties.
The Knights’ roster includes second baseman Sierra Humphreys from Corona, outfielder Izzy Mertes from Chatsworth, Jaimes from Riverside and Samantha Rey from Salinas. For players who grew up around West Coast softball, this weekend carries a familiar feel even while the stakes are unlike anything they have experienced at UCF.
Jaimes said she went to UCLA camps when she was younger and grew up watching the program.
“I grew up watching them, hearing about the program,” Jaimes said. “I went to a couple camps when I was pretty young. Just growing up around it, that’s kind of what you hear about.”
She also has personal connections in the opposing dugout.
Jaimes said she grew up playing on the Corona Angels with UCLA players Aleena Garcia, Jazmine Leyva and Bri Alejandre. That adds another layer to the matchup, but not one that changes UCF’s approach.
The Knights are not traveling to Los Angeles just for the experience.
“This is exactly what we came here to do,” Jaimes said. “This is exactly what we set out in the fall to do, and we’re two games away from our goal.”
‘People love softball there’
Jaimes said part of what makes returning to California special is the environment around the sport.
Softball, she said, is simply different there.
“The competitiveness, from travel ball all the way up to the college level,” Jaimes said. “People love softball there. People love the game there. Growing up around it makes it even more competitive.”
That competitiveness helped shape Jaimes before she got to UCF. Now it has helped put her in position to play on one of the sport’s biggest stages with Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series just two wins away.
“Not just going to California, but playing in the Super Regional, playing with this team,” Jaimes said. “This is exactly what we came here to do.”
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