They waited until the last day to enter the portal and still be eligible to play in the spring. Now, former Arizona softball players Sharlize Palacios and Janelle Meoño have announced where they will play that season. Both Southern California products will join current Pac-12 rivals UCLA.
Welcoming a trio of Pac-12 stars to the Bruin Bubble!
The Bruins add Sharlize Palacios and Janelle Meoño from Arizona and Rachel Cid from Oregon.
: https://t.co/DK0UYuKp3q#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/t0UPFGA7i1
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) August 1, 2022
Palacios was an All-Pac-12 performer last season and was critical to helping Arizona advance to the Women’s College World Series. Her strong performance at the plate helped the Wildcats grab an unexpected berth in Oklahoma City after an underwhelming regular season when both the catcher and the team as a whole had wild ups and downs.
Meoño was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2021 but was injured for much of last season. When she returned, she had difficulty getting back into form at the plate but had some clutch plays in the outfield during the postseason.
Both were third-year players for Arizona last season but still have two to play due to the extra year granted by the NCAA due to the pandemic.