Looking back, UCLA coach Cori Close has mixed emotions about her team’s 2024/25 campaign.
Featuring one of the most talented starting fives in the sport, the team made historic strides all the way to a program-first Final Four appearance. But last season also served up a bittersweet ending.
The Bruins saw their dream postseason unceremoniously ended by eventual national champions UConn in an 85-51 rout. Highly touted but inexperienced on the big stage, UCLA nearly reached the mountaintop before a rough tumble, stirring up questions about the team’s ability to hang with the NCAA’s blue chip establishment.
“There’s nothing like having a historic season, and falling a little bit short,” head coach Cori Close told JWS in October. “The hunger to do it better, but also the attention to detail that it really takes.”
“It’s one thing to know things in your head, it’s a whole other thing to have them in your heart,” she continued. “And I think our team has a higher degree of these things in our heart.”
With renewed focus and deepened experience — plus an even more complete roster that can run the court against just about anyone — the Bruins just might reach the mountaintop again in 2026.
Following another strong offseason recruiting cycle, UCLA currently sits fourth in the AP Top 25 Poll after ranked wins over No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 19 Ohio State, and No. 23 Tennessee. And now the reigning Big Ten Tournament champions are setting their sights on conference play — with Saturday’s showdown with Southern California rivals No. 17 USC front of mind.
From here on out, attention to detail could make all the difference in how this season’s story ends.
UCLA is on a mission to reduce turnovers and own the glass
Before the 2024/25 season even began, coach Close already knew exactly where her team needed to improve.
The Bruins played a fast-paced style last year, facilitating ball movement inside and out with skill players at every position. This year, Close believed her squad could excel in terms of discipline, rather than sheer talent.
“We went back and studied the last five national championship teams and talked about trends that we see that they all have, that maybe we’ve fallen short in,” she said. “We figured that we need to turn the ball over three fewer times a game.”
Defense also plays a factor. “When you really trace championship teams, they have to be dominant in their rebounding,” she added. “We have a goal to get 70 to 75% of the misses.”
13 games into the season, UCLA hasn’t quite achieved all their goals. But they are showing potential. They’re slightly up in average rebounds with 44.1 per game, while lowering average turnovers by more than three per game.
But the team’s limitations against top talent reared its head in their November 26th loss to No. 2 Texas. UCLA grabbed only 32 rebounds while committing 20 turnovers — nearly double their season average.
“I was really honest with [the players],” Close said after the 76-65 defeat. “There’s some things we’ve been talking about that haven’t gotten enough change. Maybe this will get us to change some things that led to this.”
The threat of not sizing up against the best of the best fresh in their minds, UCLA has subsequently looked stronger. They reduced their turnovers even more against then-No. 14 Tennessee in late November, before dominating the boards against No. 19 Ohio State last Sunday.
“We have an abundance of growth opportunities, we have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other,” Close told JWS.
“We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week. We’re going to just stay focused on those.”
The Lauren Betts blueprint: Efficiency over minutes
Reaching UCLA’s goals relies on team-wide commitment — and figuring out the best way to utilize the team’s biggest star.
The Bruins have a wealth of elite guards, with upperclassmen like Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez running the backcourt. But it’s no secret that the team’s attack and defense runs through 6-foot-8 All-American center Lauren Betts.
The senior is a global talent. She made her USA Basketball debut in December, and is shortlisted to become the 2026 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick once her decorated college career comes to an end.
One of the most dominant two-way bigs in the college game, Betts averaged a near-20-point, 10-rebound double-double last season. She’s an attention magnet on the court, disrupting play at the rim with the motor needed to finish the work back up the court.
Ironically, though, to get the most out of Betts, Close has found she has to actually limit her time on the floor.
“When Lauren and I had our exit evaluation meetings last year, we both agreed that she needs to have less minutes,” said Close. “And honestly maybe even less shots, but more efficiency.”
“As a 6-foot-8 player, you get beat up so much before she even touches the ball,” Close continued. “I think it’s important that we protect her wherever we can.”
Betts is aware that physicality can sometimes throw her off her game. She’s now pushing to hone her tenacity at the rim while leveraging her size through double- or triple-teams.
“Just playing the game, making the right read, is something that’s really important for me, trusting that I know what to do on the floor,” Betts at reporters from USA Basketball training camp last month.
“Also aggressiveness, I think that’s something that I can always grow into.”
UCLA enters 2026 with fresh faces — and family ties
Close sees Betts at her best with nothing to prove individually and a little extra help under the basket. And they worked hard over the offseason to get her that support, shaking things up via both traditional recruiting and the transfer portal.
Take senior transfer Gianna Kneepkins, for example. The former Utah standout is giving the Bruins a scoring boost with 14.3 points per game while carrying minutes alongside more established starters.
“She’s been a pivotal puzzle piece for us in terms of having a 50/40/90 player that’s really able to stretch the floor. She’s making everybody better around her,” Close said of Kneepkins, as the newcomer provides a tall outside presence in the paint.
Close also credits second-year transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker. She’s bolstered the team off the bench after sitting out last season to rehab her ACL.
Betts’s biggest supporter, however, stems from a little closer to home. Lauren’s little sister Sienna, the No. 2 recruit in her class, joined the Bruins this season. And she shares many of her older sister’s attributes on the court.
Listed at 6-foot-4, the freshman can stretch defenses even without her big sister on the court, strengthening UCLA’s reach through negative runs while forcing opponents to game-plan for even more frontcourt power
“[I’m] just trying to help her as much as I can,” Lauren said of her sister prior to the season start. “Especially because we’re playing kind of the same position. Just trying to help her with the plays, help her with tough practices, kind of helping her move on.”
Unfortunately, a lower leg injury delayed Sienna’s college debut by 10 games. The younger Betts missed the loss to Texas, slowing down some of the flow Close is looking to build against a big-heavy lineup. But the plan for the Betts sisters is still very much in motion, even with limited playing time.
Reverse engineering success, one UCLA game at a time
Entering the new year with a healthy roster, UCLA will now have to balance expectations both inside and outside the locker room. Because regardless of how the season ends, significant change looms on the horizon.
“I think it’s really tempting to be championship or bust, and that could not be further from our mission,” Close explained.
“I am such a big believer that you talk about your end goal one time. And then you reverse engineer the process and habits it’s going to take to get there.”
“Just staying present, recognizing that this is also a new team,” senior Kiki Rice told JWS in October. “After what happened last year, there’s lessons in the past. [But we] really just focus on being our best versions of ourselves every day.”
UCLA might have fallen short against Texas last month. But they maintain faith that increased depth, veteran leadership, and a refreshed detail-oriented outlook can guide them all the way through the postseason.
“There were certain levels of preparation, certain ways that we needed to minimize distractions, certain ways we needed to handle all of the ways that are going to be pulling on our attention,” Close said of the team’s Final Four journey, noting that she also learned some major lessons herself.
For now, UCLA is enjoying the moment — and the process — with the hope that the wins keep coming this spring.
“This is probably the most complete team I’ve ever coached,” Close added. “If we can stay healthy and stay focused, we’re going to have big things ahead.”
Star LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson knows exactly what she'd get head coach Kim Mulkey for Christmas.
"Blue crabs," she told Just Women's Sports in November, days before DICK'S Sporting Goods declared her Greatest Wrapper in the Game, a holiday campaign touting the college senior's own limited-edition run of wrapping paper and official holiday campaign video. "Me and her, we like to eat blue crab."
Ranked No. 5 in the AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll, LSU is never far from the Final Four conversation. But Johnson — who's increasingly brought a personal touch to her leadership role on the Tigers — has ambitions that extend far beyond finishing out her collegiate career on top.
Already an NCAA champion with eyes on next year's WNBA draft, the 22-year-old dynamic guard has cemented her legacy as a multi-talent. She's a decorated musician and rapper, an interdisciplinary studies major with a minor in sports administration, and a menace on the court with a motor that never quits.
"I gotta be me first," she said — and that's the secret to her success.
As LSU's leading scorer, Flau'jae Johnson is off to the races
Johnson knows that the Tigers' nonconference schedule rarely features marquee matchups.
"We don't play nobody in our nonconference schedule," she said. "From December on out, that's when it gets really [exciting]."
Mulkey often schedules a slow start for the team, gradually building towards peak form once LSU enters SEC play in January.
That hasn't stopped the Tigers from showing the country what they're capable of this season. They've scored more than 100 points through all eight matchups so far, setting a new NCAA record for consecutive 100+ point games.
Johnson's progress has featured heavily in every blowout win. She leads the team in points, assists, and three-point percentage per game. But she sees her greatest growth in the intangibles.
Flau'jae Johnson steps up as LSU coach Kim Mulkey's right hand
A self-described loner, Johnson strived to connect with new teammates throughout her four years in Baton Rouge. It's an especially important task as part of an LSU team that thrives through the transfer portal.
The Tigers won the NCAA championship in 2023 — Johnson's freshman year — led by transfer forward Angel Reese, who was then joined the following year by high-profile transfers Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow. This season, former South Carolina Gamecock MiLaysia Fulwiley has entered the mix, with Johnson quickly creating chemistry.
"Ballers just want to ball, like hoopers just want to hoop," she said. "You find different ways to bond and gel with teammates."
When the accomplished hip hop artist's not in the groove working on music, she's trying to extend a hand to the team's freshest faces. "It's been a new job for me as a leader on the team," she said. "It's been easy though, because we just want to hoop."
Year-in, year-out, the Tigers' success relies on picking up instructions and learning schemes quickly, with Johnson — a player very comfortable with Mulkey's system — stepping up to take on the role of team liaison.
"You've just got to read everybody, their emotions, how they're feeling, and you've just got to be there for everybody," she explained. "But that's not hard for me, because I'm an older sister."
Holiday trips and Secret Santas: Flau'jae Johnson's familial drive
Family is everything to Johnson. Being a college basketball star can make the holiday season tough, as the season runs straight through time she'd love to spend back home in Georgia. And with conference play on the horizon, she knows she has to stay focused on the court now more than ever.
"I kind of put that out of my mind, that I won't be with my family until I go pro, because it used to be hard on me seeing my little brothers go trick-or-treating and stuff without me," she reflected, noting how excited she was to use her own DICK'S wrapping paper to shower her family with gifts this year.
Her favorite college holiday memory also involves her family, when her entire family traveled to the team's Thanksgiving tournament in the Bahamas.
"My momma snuck food on the plane — literally the whole Thanksgiving, she cooked it and froze it and put it under the plane," she said, beaming. "And we had a smash Thanksgiving meal in freaking the Bahamas."
This year, Johnson's already looking forward to her team's annual Secret Santa exchange, while also planning to spend her limited time off this winter on a surprise family cabin trip to Colorado The world of NIL has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for Johnson to spread her growing wealth, and she's taken to those opportunities with easy charm.
Setting sights on No. 1, from Baton Rouge to the WNBA
Far from settling for a decorated college run and lucrative personal brand, Johnson is also locked in on making a smooth transition to the WNBA. The calendar year for rising pros is a physical gauntlet, with the draft taking place just weeks after what LSU hopes will be a deep NCAA tournament campaign.
"I'm so ready to go pro," she said. "I really want to establish myself, to show I could be the number one pick in the draft. I feel like my talent level is there, but I've got to execute."
"The W is fascinating," she added. "It's forever growing, and it's powerful women doing these things. So I'm just excited to be in that group."
Johnson has recently been focusing on her fitness, anticipating increased physicality at the pro level — while also aiming for balance. "They're not going to be swinging me around like I'm a little rag doll," she laughed. "[But] I feel like my mind is the most important part. I want to grow, I want to get better."
Of course, other than committing to winning at all levels, Johnson doesn't know exactly what her future holds. For now, she'll continue to make music, sharpen her game, and stay true to herself. As a player with so many gifts to give, the rest will come naturally.
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, and more college talents struck a pose this week, teaming up with Kansas City Chiefs tight end — and newly minted fiancé — Travis Kelce to launch his new "Tru Kolors" American Eagle collection on Wednesday.
The Tru Kolors campaign highlights rising, current, and former NCAA athletes, with Fudd and Lee joined by UNC tennis commit Anna Frey as well as a trio of standouts in men's basketball and football.
"I'm inspired by where I come from and the people around me. That's why we chose six incredible athletes — Anna, Azzi, Drew, Kiyan, Suni, and Jeremiah — who stay true to themselves while changing the game," Kelce said in Wednesday's press release.
"Each athlete shares Travis's beliefs of staying true and living life beyond boundaries," the statement continues, describing reigning national champion Fudd as one of "college basketball's most resilient and dynamic players."
Lee is the only former collegiate icon featured in the campaign, with the Auburn alum departing NCAA competition to add three more medals to her six Olympic hardware total at the 2024 Paris Games.
College phenoms like Fudd and Lee have been able to funnel their athletic success into increasingly high-profile NIL deals.
Fudd has had a particularly lucrative year off the court, with this latest venture closely following a collab with Meta earlier this month.
How to buy the Travis Kelce American Eagle collection
Items from the initial Tru Kolors run hit shelves on Wednesday, with the rest of the 90-piece collection dropping on September 24th.
All pieces will be available to buy online at American Eagle.
UConn guard Azzi Fudd wears many hats.
She’s a sharp-shooter on the court and a rising superstar off the court. She's an NCAA national champion and a top WNBA prospect. She's a graduate student at one of college basketball’s preeminent programs. And she's already one of the most famous athletes in the women’s game.
But this week she adds a new title to her growing resume: co-host of Instagram’s latest episode of Close Friends Only along with Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers.
The podcast features Fudd chopping it up with Bueckers. The former UConn teammates chat about their immediate connection on and off the court, swapped style influences (Fudd is apparently a chronic clothes-stealer and listens to all of Bueckers’s Spotify playlists), who’s got the prettiest jump shot, and their favorite WNBA player. (“Probably Paige Bueckers,” Fudd answers readily.)
The two also discuss Meta Quest’s newest WNBA collaboration, a technology which gives fans a courtside view without having to leave the house.
“I was honestly shocked by how real it felt,” Fudd told Just Women’s Sports earlier this week. “Sometimes getting to a game is just unrealistic, so being able to have that as an option is incredible, and can open the game up to so many more people and fans.”
Azzi Fudd steps into the social media spotlight
Emerging from a college career previously defined by injury, Fudd and her UConn teammates finally reached their peak last April, winning the program’s 12th national championship — and its first since 2016. And while the victory checked a longtime bucket list item for the guard, she’s most grateful for her health.
“This has been my first offseason in a little while where I've been completely healthy,” she continued. “So that's been a fun change, getting to be healthy, work on some stuff, travel, relax with family — it's been great.”
Through it all, she’s certainly kept busy. If you’ve been following women’s basketball at all this summer, Fudd has been hard to miss. After the NCAA season ended, she made a high profile appearance accompanying No. 1 pick Bueckers to the 2025 WNBA Draft, going on to become a sidelines mainstay at Dallas games. She also made a splash at All-Star Weekend, and even started her own podcast, Fudd Around and Find Out.
The life of a burgeoning celebrity can be isolating, but Fudd represents a new generation of players ready to utilize social media to their advantage, both professionally and personally. There’s a light, lived-in touch to Fudd and her peers’ ability to connect with friends and family via social media channels while also maneuvering the booming cult of personality forming around the WNBA.
Fudd and Bueckers compare social media habits on 'Close Friends Only'
On Close Friends Only, Fudd and Bueckers banter about the benefits (and necessary etiquette) of labeling an Instagram story “close friends,” as well as their own social media habits.
“You post 10 times in the time it takes me to get one post up,” Fudd tells Bueckers, with her co-host copping to being the heavier Instagram user of the pair.
But beyond sharing with close friends, today’s women’s sports athletes are navigating an industry where follower counts can open sponsorship doors. And that’s clear whether players are promoting multi-million dollar brand deals or partying on a 72-hour All-Star Weekend livestream.
“I’m not the best poster,” Fudd admitted. “I do want to make my Instagram a little more casual. [There are] some great pictures in my camera roll that aren’t professional photographer-taken, done up like some Instagrams look.”
“I want it to be very much who Azzi Fudd is, and not just the great side,” she said of her online presence, describing herself as a lowkey person who wants to intuitively let people in on the real highs and lows of life.
But for someone who also calls herself a bad texter, Fudd’s grounded approach to social media does help her keep up with connections despite her packed calendar.
“I love talking on the phone, but who does that these days?” she laughed. “Being able to keep in touch, whether it's a teammate you played with a year ago or from middle school, just getting to get those updates through Instagram is amazing.”
From hard-launching Pazzi to special shared moments
Social media can be a powerful career builder, but young stars also have to figure out how to protect their peace amidst a firestorm of commentary, access, and speculation.
Fudd is no stranger to the dynamics of keeping private moments private while still finding ways to live their public lives authentically. She and Bueckers have threaded that needle with precision, with Bueckers only recently calling Fudd her girlfriend during July’s WNBA All-Star Weekend after months of soft-launch hints.
“I'm definitely someone who tends to keep more private,” Fudd said, noting that the impulse to document everything on social media can take away from staying present. “I don't mind sharing, but just naturally I'm more of a ‘share less’ person.”
Despite her inclinations, the duo has remained a remarkably open book. Fudd and Bueckers are easygoing about the fandom they’ve inspired, from laughing about watching their own fan edits on TikTok to sharing selfies containing clues about their relationship. As Fudd told JWS, she doesn’t think so much about the public’s response — she just enjoys capturing the little things.
“There’s so many special moments, whether you're sharing for other people or just for yourself,” she explained. “Your favorite meal, or your favorite sunset — things that make me happy and I get excited about.”
Azzi locks in ahead of final UConn season
Fudd is approaching her final college season, preparing to step up as UConn pushes for a repeat title. But if the 22-year-old is feeling pressure to stretch herself too thin these days, she isn’t letting it show.
She’s been in the gym, staying healthy and gearing up to take on an even larger role at UConn now that former on-court centerpiece Bueckers has flown the college coop.
She’s focusing on a routine social media followers don’t often get to see: rehab and recovery, eating and sleeping right, getting shots up, and hitting the weight room.
“I'm keeping the main thing basketball,” she said. “Without basketball, without putting in the time in the gym, making sure I’m getting my stuff done, I wouldn’t have all these opportunities.”
“I’m always taking care of [basketball] first,” she continued. “And then getting to enjoy all those things that come with it.”
And she won’t be alone when she heads back to Storrs this fall. The Huskies are returning a number of key national title run contributors, this time taking the court with Fudd leading the way from day one.
“Embracing that vocal leadership role is something I'm working on,” she said “Doing anything and everything I can to make sure that I'm helping my team, putting them in the best position to win and have a great season.”
As for social media, fans can be sure that wherever the season takes Fudd, they’ll be along for the ride.
Last week's landmark $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement is back in the headlines, as eight women's college sports athletes filed an appeal on Wednesday claiming that the approved NIL back-payment plan violates Title IX, the federal law banning gender discrimination in schools.
On June 6th, a federal judge approved a settlement between the NCAA and former student-athletes, with the college sports governing body agreeing to have schools directly distribute billions of dollars in back pay to players barred from financially benefitting off their name, image, and likeness since 2016.
Wednesday's appeal to that back-pay plan calls out alleged payment inequities written into the settlement ruling, which could see up to 90% of the $2.8 billion distributed to former NCAA men's sports athletes.
"The calculation of past damages is based on an error that ignores Title IX and deprives female athletes of $1.1 billion," said Ashlyn Hare, one of the lawyers representing the appellants. "Paying out the money as proposed would be a massive error that would cause irreparable harm to women's sports."
"If Nike wants to [pay male athletes more], that is their choice. If the school, or a conference acting on the school's behalf tries to do that, they are violating the law," John Clune, another lawyer on the team, clarified.
"They can either pay the athletes proportionately, or they can return all of their federal funds," said Clune. "But they can't do both."