This post was updated April 3 at 11:27 p.m.
UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close has been named the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year, and junior center Lauren Betts has been awarded the Naismith Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday.
The prestigious pair of national honors for the top-seeded team in the country comes after a historic season for the Bruins, who posted one of the most dominant campaigns in women’s basketball history.
Close helped the Bruins surge to the top of national rankings behind a 34-2 record, including a 23-game win streak to open the season. And Friday in Tampa, Florida, UCLA will face No. 2 seed UConn in the Final Four – the program’s first appearance at that stage in the NCAA era.
“I’m not at a loss for words often, but I am about this award,” Close said in a statement. “I’m humbled and grateful. It’s most meaningful because it gives me a chance to thank each player, staff member, role model and mentor. May our work in the win and loss columns always pale in comparison to the work we do to help teach, mentor and equip for life beyond the hardwood.”
Close, in her 14th season at the helm of the program, became the first coach in program history to claim the sport’s top honor. And through her stretch, she’s steered the Bruins to nine NCAA Tournament runs – five Sweet 16s, an Elite Eight and, now, at least a Final Four, with a program-first national title within reach after a Big Ten tournament crown as well.
At the heart of Close’s schemes in the last two seasons – and at the heart of the team’s defensive identity – is Betts, who transferred from Stanford ahead of the 2023-2024 season. She’s all but embraced her role in Westwood, transforming UCLA’s interior presence.
At 6-foot-7, the former No. 1 overall recruit ranks No. 5 nationally in blocks per game with three and sits atop the Big Ten with 99 swats in 33 games. Heading into her first national semifinal, Betts nears a double-double average with 20 points and 9.6 rebounds, all while dishing out 2.8 assists a game – fueling UCLA’s inside-out attack.
“Defense is something I’ve always taken a lot of pride in,” Betts said in a statement. “Going into every single game, that’s honestly my biggest priority – how can I stop the person in front of me? But to even be up for an award like this is really meaningful to me, it’s truly appreciated.”
The awards come during a landmark season for women’s college basketball – shattering records in attendance and viewership across the sport. And perhaps nowhere has shone brighter than in Los Angeles, where the Big Ten’s newest schools swept the Naismith Awards – Close and Betts taking top coaching and defensive accolades, while USC’s standout guard JuJu Watkins earned Player of the Year distinctions.
