Fresh off a program-first NCAA title, UCLA announced it extended women's basketball coach Cori Close's contract through the 2029/30 season.
Cori Close led the Bruins to a 37-1 record last season, going on to win the 2026 championship behind a history-making senior class. UCLA basketball defeated South Carolina 79-51 in Phoenix to capture the program's first national title.
"What truly stands out with Cori is the character, leadership, and daily commitment she and her staff bring to help developing her players into the best versions of themselves," said athletic director Martin Jarmond.
The historic 2025/26 season included a program-best 31-game winning streak and UCLA's first undefeated regular-season conference championship at 18-0. Coach Cori Close guided the Bruins to a second-consecutive Big Ten Tournament title before tipping off its NCAA tournament campaign.
Close has produced a 358-144 career record over 15 years at UCLA, spanning 10 NCAA tournament runs and sustained success in the NIL era. She stands as the only head coach in program history to eclipse 300 career wins.
The championship season ended with six Bruins selected in the 2026 WNBA Draft, setting a program and conference record. Close has coached 23 WNBA draft picks during her tenure.
"I love being here in Westwood, and I am so excited for what the future holds," Close said. "I would also like to say thank you to our coaches, student-athletes, support staff, alumni, fans, and donors for their belief in our UNCOMMON mission."
UCLA made history on Monday night, after a record six Bruins were selected in the 2026 WNBA Draft — including five in the first round.
The unprecedented feat came just eight days after UCLA lifted its first-ever NCAA championship trophy.
Two-time All-American Lauren Betts led the charge, as Washington selected the Final Four Most Outstanding Player No. 4 overall. The Mystics' pick tipped off a run that saw three straight UCLA products selected.
"This season has been so special. I've enjoyed every second,” Betts said afterwards. "I'm playing with my best friends, my sister. I've had the most amazing season, and I feel like you can just see all the positivity that I play with."
Chicago then took forward Gabriela Jaquez at No. 5, before expansion team Toronto Tempo selected guard Kiki Rice at No. 6. Washington later doubled down on UCLA talent, taking forward Angela Dugalić at No. 9.
Connecticut claimed the final two Bruins, selecting guard Gianna Kneepkens at No. 15 to close out the first round, before taking guard Charlisse Leger-Walker in the second.
Betts and Dugalić will reunite on the Mystics' frontcourt, while Kneepkens and Leger-Walker join forces again on the Sun. Jaquez heads to Chicago while Rice starts fresh with expansion side Toronto.
The haul shattered the WNBA's prior Draft Day record. Four teams previously shared the high-mark, with South Carolina (2023), Notre Dame (2019), and Tennessee (1999, 2008) each yielding five simultaneous draftees.
The six seniors anchored UCLA's dominant championship run, combining to score all 130 points across the Bruins' Final Four wins. UCLA beat Texas 51-44 in the national semifinal, before crushing South Carolina 79-51 in the title game.
The historic 2026 WNBA Draft success caps a 37-1 season for UCLA and head coach Cori Close.
UCLA obviously faces a significant rebuild after losing its core to the WNBA. However, the program has plenty to celebrate after a historic season in Westwood.
After leading UCLA to its first-ever NCAA women's championship, coach Cori Close used her postgame press conference to define the program's foundation and dominating finish to the 2025/26 season.
The Bruins' 79-51 blowout win over South Carolina closed out a season built on consistency on both ends of the floor. However, Close pointed to the group's long-term vision as the ultimate game-changer.
"It's just so rare in life that you can start a journey with a group of people and really envision something... and that it actually happens," Close said.
"When I think back, even on the games of this Final Four, I just think about how many of those 'wills' they actually lived out. And one of the things that they said is every player had to sacrifice. If any of our six seniors were on any other team, I believe they would have been All-American."
Throughout the tournament, UCLA leaned on depth and balance rather than individual production. Multiple players stepped up into key moments across the Final Four.
Close additionally highlighted Gianna Kneepkens' role within that structure.
"Gianna is just a spectacular competitor," she said. "When you come here, you will get buoyed by the comradeship — everybody does that here. She's always had to be the most hardworking player and do it alone. Here, that's the baseline expectation."
The championship also came as the sport continues to evolve, with increased investment and professionalization across NCAA basketball.
"It is a different era now," Close continued. "We're a professional organization now... But it can't overtake our love of the game or our love of each other."
Now, the challenge shifts. UCLA enters next season as the defending NCAA women's champion, with expectations reset after this year's breakthrough run.
For the second consecutive year, South Carolina found itself on the losing end of an NCAA final blowout, falling 79-51 to UCLA on Sunday to mark the third-largest margin of victory in women's title game history.
The Gamecocks shot just 29% from the field and became the first team to lose back-to-back championship games by more than 15 points. The 28-point defeat came one year after UConn handed South Carolina a 23-point loss in the 2025 final.
"To get here is hard, to win here is harder, right?" head coach Dawn Staley said postgame. "Obviously we got smacked today. We got to figure out how we smack back."
NCAA Championship Loss Caps Rocky South Carolina Semifinal
The South Carolina loss capped an emotional weekend for Staley. The lauded coach dealt with fallout from Friday's heated exchange with UConn coach Geno Auriemma following the team's semifinal victory. In the incident, Auriemma approached Staley for a postgame handshake, then angrily confronted her face-to-face before staff separated them.
"I'm of integrity," Staley said following the altercation. "If I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did."
Auriemma issued a statement on Saturday, writing that he had no excuse for how he handled the game's end. However, Staley told ESPN she hadn't heard directly from the Hall of Fame coach despite reports he reached out.
"The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don't want my actions to detract from that," Auriemma wrote in his formal apology.
Staley spent much of Sunday's postgame praising UCLA coach Cori Close, who captured her first NCAA title in her 15th season. The two shared a long pregame hug that stood in stark contrast to the Auriemma dust-up.
"I'm always happy for people that worked hard in this game, who are really quality people," Staley said of Close.
Reaching six consecutive Final Fours demonstrates South Carolina's sustained excellence, but Staley and her staff face the challenge of breaking through if they want to claim another NCAA championship title.
UCLA women's basketball dominated South Carolina 79-51 Sunday night to claim its first-ever NCAA championship, capping a 31-game winning streak under coach Cori Close with the program's most important victory.
The Bruins never trailed against the Gamecocks, opening a double-digit lead after the first quarter and building a commanding 36-23 halftime advantage. The 28-point margin of victory ranks as the third-largest in championship game history.
All five UCLA senior starters registered double-digit scoring, led by senior guard Gabriela Jaquez's 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Star center Lauren Betts earned Most Outstanding Player honors with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
"We were determined, the core group, to do something UCLA hadn't done before in the NCAA era," Jaquez said postgame. "We always believed."
The victory punctuates head coach Cori Close's multi-year plan to build a championship program. Close assembled her roster through multiple channels, recruiting rising talents like Jaquez and guard Kiki Rice from high school while adding Betts, Gianna Kneepkens, and Charlisse Leger-Walker via the transfer portal.
"It's immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine," Close said after winning the 2026 NCAA women's championship. "It's beyond my wildest dreams."
UCLA last won a national title in women's basketball in 1978 when the AIAW governed the sport. Ann Meyers Drysdale, who led that championship team, attended Sunday's game as the Bruins made NCAA history.
The Bruins held the Gamecocks to 9-of-35 shooting in the first half while dominating the paint, limiting Joyce Edwards to just two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Cori Close became the longest-tenured single-program head coach to capture a first championship in the win. The victory also avenged last year's double-digit semifinal loss while fulfilling the senior class's mission to bring UCLA its first NCAA crown.
The UCLA women's basketball team is getting the Hollywood treatment, with FOX Sports announcing on Wednesday that the network will debut a documentary on the Bruins entitled You See L.A. on Sunday, March 1st.
The one-hour special promises viewers "an intimate, all-access look" into the Bruins' program-first run to the 2025 Final Four — including "the human stories, emotional stakes, and deep community surrounding" the team — as well as this season's continued success.
"This film is not only about a remarkable season on the court, but also about leadership, community, the power of women's sports, and the resolve of a team representing something bigger than themselves," said FOX Sports VP of development and original programming Barry Nugent in this week's release.
Starring UCLA head coach Cori Close alongside standout players Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez, and Kiki Rice, the film sets out to define the Bruins' basketball culture, with commentary from legends of the sport like Reggie Miller and Candace Parker.
"This film shines a light on the strongest part of UCLA women's basketball: our people," said Close. "You See L.A. celebrates the character, courage, and competitive fire that defined last season, and I couldn't be more proud for the world to witness the humanity behind our success."
How to watch the UCLA basketball documentary You See L.A.
You See L.A. will premiere immediately following the No. 2 Bruins' final 2025/26 regular-season game against crosstown rival USC.
The game will tip off at 6 PM ET, with the documentary expected to air at approximately 8 PM ET, both on FS1.
With just seven regular-season NCAA basketball games left on their 2025/26 schedule, No. 2 UCLA is nearing a perfect Big Ten run, extending their season's conference winning streak to 11 behind a dominant 88-65 win over No. 8 Iowa on Sunday.
Bruins reserve forward Angela Dugalić led the game with 22 points off the bench, as UCLA scored 56 points in the paint behind strong front-court play.
"Angela [Dugalić] earned every single thing that happened today. Her work ethic is just undeniable," said UCLA head coach Cori Close following Sunday's victory. "The thing I'm so proud of is her consistency… doing the simplest things with elite consistency, that's where I've seen the growth in her."
After falling just short of last year's Big Ten regular-season title, UCLA is now riding a perfect conference record, with four of their final seven games taking place at home.
As for the Hawkeyes, their 0-2 SoCal road trip ended their season's unbeaten Big Ten run, with one-conference-loss No. 9 Michigan leapfrogging Iowa in the Big Ten basketball standings as the Wolverines prepare for their own Sunday showdown with UCLA.
"We're not taking any team for granted," said Dugalić. "At the end of the day, if you're our next opponent, that's who we're concentrating on."
How to watch UCLA women's basketball this week
Before hitting the road to face No. 9 Michigan and No. 13 Michigan State next week, the No. 2 Bruins will host unranked Rutgers at 10 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on B1G+.
The 2025/26 Big Ten basketball regular-season title race is heating up, as Sunday's top-ranked clash sees No. 2 UCLA hosting a No. 8 Iowa team reeling from an 81-69 upset loss to unranked USC on Thursday.
While still unbeaten in conference play, the Bruins are coming off a close call of their own, defeating a tough Illinois side 80-67 on Wednesday — UCLA's tightest margin of victory against an unranked opponent so far this season.
"If [Illinois] can stick together… fight the urge to choose themselves or to look elsewhere… they can be in a really special place," UCLA head coach Cori Close said afterwards.
Despite entering the AP Poll's Top 10 for the first time since the Caitlin Clark era, Iowa suffered its first Big Ten loss of the 2025/26 season this week.
The Hawkeyes slipped quickly into foul trouble, as star USC freshman Jazzy Davidson notched 21 points with Iowa forced to rotate their front court.
"We were out of sync to start," Iowa assistant coach LaSondra Barrett said on the postgame broadcast. "Foul trouble was a big thing with Hannah [Stuelke] picking up those two early."
How to watch Iowa vs. UCLA this weekend
The No. 8 Hawkeyes visit the No. 2 Bruins on Sunday, with the pair tipping off live at 5 PM ET on FOX.
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.”
After crashing out of their first-ever Final Four last season, No. 3 UCLA enters their 2025/26 campaign with heightened promise and added depth as the new-look Bruins take aim at another deep NCAA basketball tournament run.
"This is probably the most complete team I've ever coached, and I think if we can stay healthy and stay focused, we're going to have big things ahead," head coach Cori Close told JWS ahead of this week's season tip-off.
"We have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other," she continued. "We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week, and we're going to stay focused on those."
The Bruins' success could hinge on next year's projected No. 1 WNBA draft pick Lauren Betts, though Close indicated that teamwork would be key to unlocking the senior center's full potential.
"We both agreed she needs to have less minutes than in the past, and honestly, maybe even less shots, but more efficiency," said Close. "Everybody wins that way, including Lauren."
Recent transfers like former Utah forward Gianna Kneepkins and ex-Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker should balance the 2025/26 UCLA basketball lineup alongside top freshman recruit — and Betts's little sister — Sienna.
How to watch UCLA basketball this week
While forward Sienna's NCAA debut has been postponed due to a lower leg injury, UCLA fans can catch the elder Betts and the rest of the No. 3 Bruins in action against unranked UC Santa Barbara at 2:30 PM ET on Thursday, streaming live on B1G+.