UCLA baseball helps Conference of Champions take over the Big Ten

When UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington joined the Big Ten, many questioned how well the Pac-12 schools would handle the move.

The lengthy travel, the cold weather, the perceived more bruising style of play were all supposed to doom West Coast programs.

It has been a challenge, but the Conference of Champions is holding up quite well against the Big Ten’s biggest and brightest.

UCLA rallied to beat Oregon in extra innings during the Big Ten baseball tournament championship game played Sunday in Omaha, Neb., home of the College World Series. The Bruins were coming off a comeback win over rival USC in a dramatic semifinal. All three former Pac-12 teams earned NCAA tournament bids Monday morning.

It was UCLA’s fifth Big Ten conference title this academic year.

Baseball was the Big Ten’s final conference championship event of the academic year. The league crowns champions in 24 men’s and women’s sports and the four former Pac-12 schools won half of them.

The UCLA baseball team, which has racked up a stunning 28 comeback wins this season, earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. The Bruins earned the right to host a regional and super regional should they advance.

UCLA coach John Savage spoke with the Big Ten Network as his players were celebrating their conference tournament victory sealed when Phoenix Call was hit by a pitch in the 11th inning, bringing in the winning run.

“Good teams keep getting better,” Savage said. “… You might see a couple of Big Ten teams back here in a couple of weeks.”

America meets Jerry the dinosaur

Jomboy Media helped UCLA freshman Angel Cervantes and a mini dinosaur named Jerry go viral during the weekend.

Cervantes places the tiny toy dinosaur beside him on the mound every time he pitches.

Noah Darling shared Cervantes’ explanation about his lucky charm.

“He’s just my little guy that’s just hanging out with me,” Cervantes said. “Sometimes when I look down, I put my hand on my lid, I like to take two breaths and that’s what I’m looking at the whole time. He calms me down. I know it might sound, like, childish, but I mean whatever works for you and that’s what works for me. So he’s gonna be here for a long time.”

Bruins’ Charlisse Leger-Walker thriving with Sun

Charlisse Leger-Walker lobbed up a shot and smiled to her right, where her teammate, Gianna Kneepkens, dribbled.

They weren’t preparing for a UCLA game as they did nearly two months ago, but preparing for the Connecticut Sun’s fourth consecutive west-coast road game at Golden State.

Leger-Walker has excelled as a rookie point guard, averaging 7.6 points and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 33.3% from three-point range.

“It’s awesome having one of your closest friends go with you on this journey,” Leger-Walker said after the Sun’s shootaround on Monday. “It definitely helps mentally with the transition from everything, everything is new when you’re a pro.”

Originally not even one of the invitees to draft night in New York, Leger-Walker was selected 18th overall in the second round to Connecticut three picks after Kneepkens was drafted to close out the first round.

She became the record sixth Bruins player drafted to the WNBA that evening.

“Going into the draft there were a lot of emotions and a lot of anxiety,” she said. “You have no idea where you’re going to go, you’re excited, it’s something you’ve been waiting for your whole life. To be there and celebrate with my teammates was even better.”

Leger-Walker said she’s been a bit surprised by how often she has played, averaging 22.4 minutes per game and starting three, but grateful to get the chance to adapt quickly to the league.

“I’ve prepared for this for a really long time,” she said. “I have a lot of experience, and just really trying to bring that into my confidence, and just going out there and just being free and playing the way I know I can.”

Meanwhile, she’s been cheering on Megan Grant, who broke the NCAA record of 40 home runs with the Bruins softball team heading to the Women’s College World Series and played 14 games with the basketball team before the softball season. She was drafted fourth overall to the Portland Cascade of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League this month, too.

It’s just all part of the UCLA women’s pro sports takeover.

“I’ll check in, I text her here and there, but I’m so proud of everything she’s doing, excited for her,” Leger-Walker said. “Especially as she transitions into her pro career, like obviously we’re going to be following that and watching her, but nothing but love for her. She’s amazing, and just such a talented athlete, and such a good person.”

Donovan Dent focuses on new career

Former UCLA guard Donovan Dent likely could have played professional basketball, but many were startled when the Albuquerque Journal’s Geoff Grammer reported the former Bruin is not pursuing that opportunity.

Dent told Grammer he moved to Albuquerque, N.M., to start work as a basketball trainer and reunite with his girlfriend, a former University of New Mexico dance team star who is attending medical school.

The Corona Centennial alum played three seasons at New Mexico before transferring to UCLA this past season. With his name, image and likeness revenue, Dent could comfortably choose his next steps and opted to begin mentoring young basketball players.

“I’m done with pro basketball,” Dent told the Journal on Saturday. “That’s why I came back here. I want to give back to the youth and I want to start training. I want to start working in individual training, group sessions, things like that and I want to get started on that out here [in Albuquerque] — young kids, older kids, just help them with their game and I wanted to start it here because Albuquerque gave me so much.”

Dent hosted a pop-up basketball camp Monday that far exceeded his attendance expectations and is training to play for a New Mexico team in the $2 million TBT (The Basketball Tournament) in July.

Dent had a difficult senior season at UCLA and likely was a longshot to reach the NBA.

But Grammer noted the idea that Dent would pass on pro basketball opportunities startled some members of the media and fans, so he asked Dent again on Monday after his first successful camp if there was a chance he’d play basketball at the professional level one day.

Dent responded: “I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that. All I’m thinking about right now is doing what I’m doing right now [at the kids camp,] and that’s not a pro career. So, I guess people can say I’m retired as of right now.”

A summer schedule change

As most UCLA sports head into summer breaks, the UCLA Unlocked newsletter will also take a few breaks. We will switch to distributing the newsletter every two to three weeks and will use the offseason to dig into some topics readers requested we feature. You can continue to follow updates about the UCLA baseball and softball teams, along with all other sports, at latimes.com/ucla and we’ll be back soon with more updates.

In case you missed it

No. 1 UCLA baseball to host Saint Mary’s; USC and UC Santa Barbara earn NCAA bids

UCLA baseball team rallies to beat Oregon, wins its first Big Ten tournament title

Swanson: UCLA softball star Megan Grant is cookin’ up incredible home-run history

UCLA softball pummels UCF, advances to Women’s College World Series

UCLA’s Mulivai Levu hits walk-off homer to beat USC, advance to Big Ten title game

UCLA softball bats catch fire, Bruins roll to super regional win over UCF

Transfer Soo-Jin Berry accepts smaller role at UCLA to be part of winning program

UCLA men’s basketball lands four transfers through the portal

UCLA softball pummels South Carolina to advance to NCAA super regional

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.