Lisa Maria Fernandez (born February 22, 1971) is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She is also the general manager of the Utah Talons for the inaugural 2025 season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winning Olympian with Team 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 career shutouts, WHIP and winning percentage. She also established an Olympic record in softball with 25 strikeouts in a game as a member of the United States women's national softball team. Additionally, she is noted for having pitched in three consecutive gold medal games, getting a save in 1996, an extra-inning shutout in 2000 before concluding the run by cinching the 2004 medal in a 5–1 victory. Fernandez was named the #1 Greatest College Softball Player and is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.
Early years
Fernandez was born and raised in Long Beach, California. Her father emigrated from Cuba, where he played baseball, and her mother was of Puerto 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. At St. Joseph High School, Fernandez joined her school's girls' softball team and together with her teammates won the CIF Championship. A four-time, first-team All-American, Fernandez led UCLA to two national championships (1990 & 1992) and two runner-up finishes (1991 & 1993).
U.S. Women's Olympic Softball Team
In 1990, Fernandez won a gold medal at the ISF (International Softball Federation) World Championship. Among her accomplishments are:
- Led UCLA to two NCAA Women's College World Series Titles
- Four-time NFCA First Team All-American
- NCAA Top VI Award presented to the top six senior student athletes in all divisions
- 1993, Honda-Broderick Cup winner, country's most outstanding collegiate female athlete
- 1991-93, Four-time Honda Sports Award winner for softball presented to the nation's best softball player
Later years
She married Michael Lujan in 2002 and gave birth to their sons Antonio in 2005, and Cruz in 2008. Fernandez and her family reside in Long 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. On August 10, 2022, Fernandez was promoted to associate head coach for the Bruins.
In November 2024, Athletes Unlimited hired Fernandez as the general manager for team Talons in their inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL).
Statistics
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+UCLA Bruins
|-
| 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
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|- align=center
| YEAR
| G
| AB
| R
| H
| BA
| RBI
| HR
| 3B
| 2B
| TB
| SLG
| BB
| SO
| SB
| SBA
|- align=center
| 1990
| 67
| 213
| 27
| 66
| .310
| 22
| 1
| 2
| 7
| 80
| .375%
| 12
| 6
| 1
| 1
|- align=center
| 1991
| 63
| 205
| 25
| 70
| .341
| 32
| 2
| 1
| 9
| 87
| .424%
| 17
| 2
| 0
| 0
|- align=center
| 1992
| 56
| 177
| 47
| 71
| .401
| 29
| 1
| 4
| 10
| 92
| .520%
| 21
| 5
| 2
| 2
|- align=center
| 1993
| 54
| 157
| 43
| 80
| .509
| 45
| 11
| 2
| 12
| 129
| .821%
| 35
| 3
| 0
| 0
|- align=center
| TOTALS
| 240
| 752
| 142
| 287
| .381
| 128
| 15
| 9
| 38
| 388
| .516%
| 85
| 16
| 3
| 3
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Team USA
|-
| 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
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|- align=center
| YEAR
| G
| AB
| R
| H
| BA
| RBI
| HR
| 3B
| 2B
| TB
| SLG
| BB
| SO
| SB
| SBA
|- align=center
| 1996
| 9
| 23
| 5
| 8
| .348
| 5
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 11
| .478%
| 5
| 2
| 1
| 1
|- align=center
| 2000
| 9
| 31
| 2
| 3
| .097
| 2
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 6
| .193%
| 3
| 4
| 0
| 0
|- align=center
| 2004
| 9
| 22
| 3
| 12
| .545
| 8
| 1
| 0
| 3
| 18
| .818%
| 4
| 0
| 0
| 0
|- align=center
| TOTALS
| 27
| 76
| 10
| 23
| .302
| 15
| 3
| 0
| 3
| 35
| .460%
| 12
| 6
| 1
| 1
|}
See also
- List of people of Puerto Rican descent in Sports
- Sports in Puerto Rico
- Lakewood, California
- List of people from Long Beach, California