The UCLA Bruins have won more NCAA titles (11) in basketball than any other school (Kentucky is the next closest at 8). However, this is on the men’s side. The women’s team is still seeking its first national championship; it may very well come this April.
Saturday saw the NCAA do their first projected seeding, for the top 16 seeds, in next month’s women’s tournament, and the Bruins (23-1) were #2 overall behind only undefeated UConn.
UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close led the program to their first ever Final Four last season, and maybe they take the next and ultimate step this spring?
As Ratings.org points out: “Close has been in her position since 2011, but this is the best team she’s ever had, by far.” This Bruins team is absolutely loaded, top to bottom.
Just take a look at our latest WNBA Mock Draft, it’s absolutely overflowing with UCLA Bruins, starting right at the top, with Lauren Betts.
While she’s a big, post player, Betts also possesses a guard’s skill set, and that fits in perfectly for today’s WNBA, just like the contemporary NBA. There is just more international flair to the game these days, and Betts, a British-American born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, fits the bill.
Then you have point guard Kiki Rice, who is a likely top 10 pick in the next draft.
Rice is now simply doing at the college level what she did in high school, where she won Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, Gatorade National Player of the Year, Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year, and Naismith Prep Player of the Year honors.
Other UCLA players likely to go in the first round are shooting guard Gianna Kneepkens and small forward Gabriela Jaquez. So it’s almost the entire starting five that could go in the top 15 overall.
It’s the most talented team in the country, hands down. Only time will tell if that translates to cutting down the nets in Phoenix.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.