 Fernandez in 2006 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Lisa Maria Fernandez |
| Born | (1971-02-22)February 22, 1971 (age 54) Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Education | UCLA ('95) |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
Medal record | |
Lisa Maria Fernandez[1] (born February 22, 1971) is an American formersoftball player and current associate head coach atUCLA. She is also the general manager of the Talons for the inaugural 2025 season of theAthletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). She playedcollege softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winningOlympian withTeam USA.
Fernandez starred on both sides of the plate for the UCLA Bruins from 1990 to 1993, and was two-time national champion and four-time first team All-American. She continues to hold the UCLA records for careershutouts,WHIP and winning percentage. She also established an Olympic record in softball with 25 strikeouts in a game as a member of theUnited States women's national softball team. Additionally, she is noted for having pitched in three consecutive gold medal games, getting a save in1996, an extra-inning shutout in2000 before concluding the run by cinching the2004 medal in a 5–1 victory.[2] Fernandez was named the #1 Greatest College Softball Player and is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.[3]
Fernandez was born and raised inLong Beach, California.[4][5][6] Her father emigrated fromCuba, where he playedbaseball, and her mother was ofPuerto Rican descent. Fernandez's mother played, with her brother (Lisa's uncle)stickball, a street game similar to baseball played with a broom stick and a rubber ball. Fernandez began playing softball at the age of eight. When she was twelve, she played in a local children's league. She tried out as a pitcher, however, her coach told her that she would never make it because she didn't have the right size and build. AtSt. Joseph High School, Fernandez joined her school's girls' softball team and together with her teammates won the CIF Championship.[2]
Upon graduating from high school, she was accepted toUCLA, where she played softball and earned a degree inpsychology. Fernandez played at UCLA from 1990 to 1993. She was a three-time winner of thePac-12 Player of the Year award, and four-time winner of theHonda Sports Award for softball, and became the first softball player to win theHonda-Broderick Cup in 1993, given to the outstanding collegiate female athlete in all sports.[7][8][9] A four-time, first-team All-American, Fernandez led UCLA to two national championships (1990 & 1992) and two runner-up finishes (1991 & 1993).[2][10]
In 1990, Fernandez won a gold medal at the ISF (International Softball Federation) World Championship. Among her accomplishments are:[2][10]
On April 24, 2001, the Lakewood City Council recognized Fernandez as one of the most remarkable athletes ever to come from the playgrounds and ball diamonds of Lakewood. The city council named the ball field at Mayfair Park in her honor, as the Lakewood Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year.[2]
Fernandez was inducted into theBaseball Reliquary'sShrine of the Eternals in 2019.[13]
She married Michael Lujan in 2002 and gave birth to their sons Antonio in 2005, and Cruz in 2008.[14] Fernandez and her family reside inLong Beach, California. Fernandez is currently an assistant coach for the women's softball team at UCLA. In 2017, she was suspended two games for bumping an umpire after being ejected from a Bruins' Women's College World Series game.[15] On August 10, 2022, Fernandez was promoted to associate head coach for the Bruins.[16]
In November 2024,Athletes Unlimited hired Fernandez as the general manager for team Talons in their inaugural season of theAthletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL).[17][18]
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| 1990 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 83.0 | 33 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 51 | 0.25 | 0.52 |
| 1991 | 20 | 3 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 16 | 1 | 165.2 | 68 | 9 | 6 | 22 | 165 | 0.25 | 0.54 |
| 1992 | 29 | 0 | 30 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 0 | 196.1 | 77 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 220 | 0.14 | 0.52 |
| 1993 | 33 | 3 | 36 | 33 | 33 | 28 | 0 | 249.2 | 80 | 10 | 9 | 46 | 348 | 0.25 | 0.50 |
| TOTALS | 93 | 7 | 107 | 96 | 95 | 74 | 1 | 694.2 | 258 | 32 | 22 | 103 | 784 | 0.22 | 0.52 |
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 1990 | 67 | 213 | 27 | 66 | .310 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 80 | .375% | 12 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 1991 | 63 | 205 | 25 | 70 | .341 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 87 | .424% | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 56 | 177 | 47 | 71 | .401 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 92 | .520% | 21 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 1993 | 54 | 157 | 43 | 80 | .509 | 45 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 129 | .821% | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 240 | 752 | 142 | 287 | .381 | 128 | 15 | 9 | 38 | 388 | .516% | 85 | 16 | 3 | 3 |
| YEAR | W | L | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 0.33 | 0.19 |
| 2000 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29.2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 52 | 0.48 | 0.37 |
| 2004 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 24.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 0.29 | 0.50 |
| TOTALS | 7 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 74.2 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 93 | 0.37 | 0.36 |
| YEAR | G | AB | R | H | BA | RBI | HR | 3B | 2B | TB | SLG | BB | SO | SB | SBA |
| 1996 | 9 | 23 | 5 | 8 | .348 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .478% | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 | 9 | 31 | 2 | 3 | .097 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .193% | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | 9 | 22 | 3 | 12 | .545 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 18 | .818% | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 27 | 76 | 10 | 23 | .302 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 35 | .460% | 12 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Lisa Fernandez—awards, championships and honors | |||||||
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