Twelve former UCLA women’s basketball players – 11 rostered players and one head coach – are representing their squads in the WNBA. Six of the 11 active players came from the 2026 Draft class that won UCLA’s first national championship in the March Madness era. As the WNBA All-Star break concludes, Daily Bruin Sports assistant editor Sinclair Richman evaluates the former Bruins through the first part of the WNBA season.
Golden State Valkyries: Natalie Nakase
The reigning WNBA Coach of the Year is back to defend her crown.
Natalie Nakase has led the Golden State Valkyries to a 19-8 record – second in the league. Last season, the former walk-on turned three-year starter and captain for the Bruins led the expansion team to the playoffs in its first season in the league.
The Valkyries added a few important pieces in the offseason – including their leading scorer forward Gabby Williams, who is averaging 14.8 points per game. Last season’s Most Improved Player, guard Veronica Burton, has also been key in the success of the squad, contributing 11.9 points and 5.5 assists per game.
Despite the strong record, the team has yet to conquer either the first- or third-ranked opponents in the league. But under Nakase’s leadership, the Valkyries are looking at an opportunity for another successful season and a deeper playoff run than last season.
Indiana Fever: Monique Billings
On her fifth squad in four years, forward Monique Billings is heating up with the Fever. Indiana is currently fifth in the rankings, boasting a 17-10 record and a 7-3 record in its past ten games.
Billings, who was a part of the Bruins’ first No. 1-ranked recruiting class ever in 2014, is averaging 6.9 points per game in the starting lineup of the Indiana squad. The Fever have three players averaging 17-plus points, so there may not be as urgent a need for Billings to be scoring more.
Despite this, Billings has eight double-digit scoring marks, including a 16-point performance in a win against Seattle on July 17, where she shot 5-for-7 from the field.
Her true impact is on the glass, just as it was with the Bruins.
UCLA’s program leader in total rebounds is averaging 5.3 boards per game – a mark that sits second on Indiana. She has also recorded at least one rebound in every game this season, six-plus boards in ten games and a double-digit mark twice.
Billings’ rebounding consistency could be key in remaining a starter for the high-scoring Fever squad. But should Indiana continue to put up numbers offensively, Billings and her team might be in for another playoff run.
Atlanta Dream: Jordin Canada
Guard Jordin Canada, another piece of the 2014 recruiting class, has been a key part of the success of the Atlanta Dream so far. Sitting sixth in the standings with a 16-10 record, Canada and the Dream are on track for another playoff season.
The Los Angeles local, who played her final minutes as a Bruin in 2018, is averaging a career-high 7.7 assists per game – third in the league – to go along with 11.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
Her 3.43 assist-to-turnover ratio is also sixth across the WNBA. UCLA’s all-time women’s basketball assist leader has shown off her court vision, reaching double-digit assists in seven games this season.
Canada, who is also the Bruins’ No. 2 all-time scorer, came up big in Atlanta’s 108-101 win over Indiana on June 18 with 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field. She was also key in the Dream’s second win of the season, recording 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals against the Dallas Wings on May 12.
The two-time All-Defensive First Team selection is using her court vision to find her 2026 All-Star teammates, making her a core piece in the success of the Dream squad.
New York Liberty: Rebekah Gardner
Guard Rebekah Gardner, who last donned the blue and gold in 2012, is part of a New York squad that sits seventh in the rankings with a 15-12 record.
The Liberty, to whom Gardner was traded in 2024 but started playing for in 2025, have struggled to find consistency. Aside from one eight-game win streak, the squad has yet to win more than two games in a row.
Gardner’s time has fluctuated through the season, but she is averaging 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Alongside her playing inconsistencies have come variations in scoring.
She has three games with double-digit scoring this season, peaking at 14 points in a win over Portland on May 14. In contrast, she has had nine games with two or fewer points, including four games without getting on the scoresheet at all.
If Gardner can achieve more scoring consistency, her time on the court should start to rise. The Liberty are in a playoff position, but with so much season left, they will have to continue to compete throughout the next couple of months.
Washington Mystics: Lauren Betts, Angela Dugalić, Michaela Onyenwere
The nation’s capital is home to three former Bruins, all three of whom were part of the 2026 national championship squad.
Forward Michaela Onyenwere, who was drafted in 2021, returned to Westwood before the 2025-26 season as an assistant coach, while center Lauren Betts and forward Angela Dugalić were active members of the squad.
The Mystics are currently sitting in eighth place with a record of 14-12 and are finding a bit of momentum, having won four of their last six games.
Onyenwere has had the most production of the three former Bruins, averaging 10.1 points and three rebounds per game. But her biggest game came in a quadruple overtime win against Portland on June 28, where she scored 30 points in 49 minutes.
Of Onyenwere’s 11 double-digit scoring games, the team has just two losses, showing that when she is successful, the team is as well.
Betts, the fourth overall pick in the 2026 Draft and the ESPY winner for Best College Athlete – Women’s Sports, has also made her impact known. Averaging 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game mostly off the bench, she is becoming more comfortable playing at the WNBA’s game speed.
[Related: Lauren Betts furthers Bruin legacy with historic ESPY victory]
The two-time First Team All-American had her best game in a win over the Toronto Tempo on June 12, where she scored 18 points in 21 minutes on 8-for-9 shooting from the field. She has yet to become as consistent on the boards, but should she step up her rebounding, Betts could have a bright future with the team.
Dugalić, the reigning Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, is also working off the bench, averaging 3.5 points and three rebounds per game for Washington. Her minutes have decreased as the season progressed: she saw double-digit minutes in 12 of the first 13 games but only in two of the Mystics’ 10 most recent games.
The Mystics have a frontcourt-heavy squad, and Dugalić’s limited production has done the same to her on-court time.
All three former Bruins are fighting for minutes, both with each other and with the rest of the Mystics squad. As the season progresses with Washington on the playoff brink, it is unclear who will step up when most needed.
Toronto Tempo: Kiki Rice
Four-year Bruin and national champion guard Kiki Rice was selected by the Tempo sixth overall as the franchise’s first-ever draft pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. Toronto is currently 10th in the league with a 10-16 record through the season.
Rice started the season off hot, but has only played in 10 games due to an ankle injury in early June. Through 10 games, Rice averaged 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game – marks that sit fourth, third and fourth on the squad, respectively.
The Bethesda, Maryland, local has flashed consistency, scoring in double-digits in all but two of her games. Rice has posted two 19-point and 5-rebound performances, including a win over the LA Sparks on May 17 where she shot 5-for-8 from the field.
Across Rice’s appearances, the Tempo went 5-5, but they have struggled to find recent consistency. Rice is one of two key players on the team who have been hurt, with Toronto having gone 2-8 across its last 10 games.
The Tempo are only two spots out of playoff position, so a healed squad could make a deep run.
Chicago Sky: Gabriela Jaquez
Guard Gabriela Jaquez, another four-year Bruin and national champion, and the Chicago Sky sit 13th in the rankings with a 9-18 record.
Jaquez started at the beginning of the season before she had to sit out due to a knee injury. Despite this, she has still averaged 8.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, marks that sit seventh and fourth on the squad, respectively.
She is currently the only Bruin rookie to have two games with 20-plus points, including a season-high 22 points where she shot 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from three in a one-point loss to New York on June 17. Jaquez’s other 20-point outing came in a win against the No. 1 team in the league, Minnesota, where she shot 6-for-11 from the field and added eight rebounds on May 17.
Her scoring has dropped since the start of the season, as she reached double digits in four of the first six games she played, but has only hit that mark twice in her last 10 matches. Should she start producing the way she was before she was hurt, Jaquez could make her way back into the starting lineup of the team before the season ends.
Connecticut Sun: Kennedy Burke, Gianna Kneepkens, Charlisse Leger-Walker
The Sun also represents multiple Bruins.
Guard/forward Kennedy Burke, who last played for the Bruins in 2019, and guards Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker, who were selected in 2026 after their national championship win, are all active on the Connecticut roster.
(Daily Bruin file photo)
Leger-Walker has been a consistent starter, averaging 6.7 points and 3.3 assists per game, the latter of which sits second on the squad. She has been getting a lot of time, playing 25-plus minutes in the past 10 games.
Her biggest scoring game came in a victory against Seattle on May 20, where she had 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting from the field. Leger-Walker’s consistency in finding her teammates is her biggest asset to the team, shown by her 11 games with four-plus assists.
Burke has made her impact off the bench, averaging 7.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Despite not starting, she has played 20-plus minutes in all but four games this season.
In a game against the Tempo on June 19, Burke shot 5-for-9 from the field to finish with 18 points – just one of her 11 double-digit showings this season. She has also started to find some consistency from behind the arc, shooting above 40% with at least two 3-pointers made in each of the past three games.
The final former Bruin on the roster is Kneepkens. Also coming off the bench, she is putting up three points in eight minutes per game. At UCLA, she had no problem finding her shot from deep, but she has struggled to connect at the professional level.
Kneepkens has shot 6-for-25 from three through the season, but should she start to find her shot, she could impact the squad in increased playing time. In the Sun’s most recent game against the Fever, Kneepkens had seven points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field and 1-for-2 from behind the arc. 
The Sun have started to find their rhythm, going 5-5 in their past ten games – a stark difference from their 2-8 start. A playoff berth is a ways away, as they are currently in 14th place, but they have yet to be eliminated. If Connecticut can continue to win, a Bruin-filled squad could put pressure on a postseason spot.
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