On a random Tuesday in November, Lavin surprised Close by showing up after one of the UCLA women’s practices and told her that he had informed Wooden that she’d be tagging along that night. At first, she was nervous. She remembers telling Lavin, “I’m not prepared. I can’t go.”

Watkins was a near unanimous pick for national player of the year, while Close, who led the Bruins to their first-ever Final Four, is coach of the year.

The UCLA Bruins and UConn Huskies are set to face off in the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Friday, April 4. Bruins head coach Cori Close (who won b

UConn football coach Jim Mora is a former colleague, and still an fan of UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close, the Huskies’ Final Four foe.

The post Calls Mount Against Cori Close’s COTY Win as College Basketball Jury Even Ditch Dawn Staley to Pick Another Deserving Coach appeared first on EssentiallySports.

In the latest episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, Madeleine Considine highlights how Head Coach Cori Close used UCLA’s trip to the Final Four to correct

The strength of UCLA basketball lies in its collective effort. Close emphasized the core values of selflessness and commitment to defense that have propelled the team throughout the season. Although Betts and Rice were the standout scorers,

SPOKANE, Wash. — UCLA has won 124 national championships in school history. The women’s basketball team comes into its home gym of Pauley Pavilion and sees banners for 11 men’s basketball titles, nine gymnastics championships and 25 national titles for volleyball.