Softball | 7/31/2025 3:25:00 PM

Cathedral Catholic alumna Megan Faraimo '18 is an Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) champion. She is a Dons Sports Hall of Famer and she is making waves in the world of softball, building on an already legendary pitching career that began right here as a Don.

Megan was a two-sport standout in volleyball and softball during her time at Cathedral Catholic but softball was where she made an incredible mark in the record books. As a junior in 2017, she went 27-1 with a 0.60 earned run average (ERA) and 251 strikeouts in 175 ? innings to help lead the Dons to a CIF SDS Open Division title. As a senior, she went 26-3, with a 0.23 ERA and 405 strikeouts in 186 ? innings and allowed just 47 hits and eight walks. She had 17 shutouts and five no-hitters, including four perfect games. Her 405 strikeouts were the second-highest single season total in CIF SDS history. Faraimo earned national recognition when she was named the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year, awarded to the top high school softball player in the country. 

After graduating from Cathedral Catholic, Faraimo went on to UCLA, where she cemented her place as one of the best pitchers in Bruin history. Her freshman year she was a five-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honoree and finished the year as Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year, All Pac-12 First Team, Pac-12 All Freshman Team, and was a top ten finalist for the National Freshman of the Year award. 

On February 24, 2021 during her redshirt sophomore year, she pitched the 19th perfect game in UCLA program history. Then on April 17, 2021, she recorded a career-high 17 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout against Oklahoma State.

She was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year in both her redshirt junior and senior year (2022 & 2023) and became just the fourth pitcher in program history to record over 100 career wins. In 2022, she became the second player in conference history to win both Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in a career.

Now a professional athlete and New Balance ambassador, she has played for several teams professionally in Japan, Mexico and the United States. In January of this year, Faraimo was drafted third overall by the Talons in the AUSL draft. During the season, she appeared in 14 games with six starts and posted a 3-1 record. Her 40 strikeouts have her ranked second in the league. She played a key role in helping the Talons capture the inaugural AUSL Championship, highlighted by her save in game one of the best-of-three championship series, marking the first ever title in the history of the newly formed league.

Next up for Faraimo is another major stage, Team USA at the 2025 World Games, where she will represent her country again, further proving her status as one of the sport's brightest stars.

From Dons red to Bruins blue and now AUSL gold, Megan Faraimo's journey is nothing short of historic, and Cathedral Catholic is proud to celebrate her continued excellence.