How Cori Close Recruited the Best in Women’s College Basketball to UCLA
Coaches in every sport love to talk about having a program that is “player-led.” Not just on the field/court/ice, but in player recruitment as well. UCLA Women’s Basketball head coach Cori Close, who led the Bruins to their first-ever Final Four last season, has created exactly that.
UCLA, off to a 5-0 start and ranked #3 in the country, is led by center Lauren Betts, the favorite to go first overall in the next WNBA Draft. Close wasn’t able to sign Betts the first time that she recruited her, but did close (pun intended) the deal the second time around.
“Actually, she broke my heart and didn’t choose us right out of high school,” Close said at Big Ten Media Day, before iterating her belief that she would have initally landed Betts, had recruits been able to visit UCLA at the time (campus visits were prohibited then, due to COVID-19 restrictions).
Close explained that it was her past relationship with Betts that precipitated her finally coming to Westwood.
“I’d also had a chance to coach her with USA basketball in the United World Cup,” the 54-year-old Bruins mentor said.
“And honestly I was not a good coach for that World Cup team. My father actually passed while we were on the trip, and I was just surviving, to be honest about it, and she was just amazing to me personally, let alone helping us win a gold medal for USA Basketball.”
“So I think I had a lot of relational reference points of just genuine things that we had shared that made that transition to her choosing to come to UCLA, pretty easy, actually.”
A New Tradition, Sister Duo
Close made an oath that she would jump into water, fully clothed, if Betts committed. She followed through, and in the process, started a new UCLA women’s basketball custom.
“Yes, we do have a tradition that if you commit on the visit, I have to jump in the water with all my clothes on,” Close said.
“And so I did that with Lauren, and then when Timea Gardiner (5-star recruit, #6 ranked player in the 2022 class, who transferred in from Oregon State) did the same thing, I made Lauren jump in with me for Timea.
“So the jumping in the water tradition will always be pointed back to Lauren Betts.”
And this is where a snowball effect starts in player recruitment and roster building. Landing Lauren Betts preluded signing Timea Gardner, and soon after that, Lauren’s sister, Sienna Betts.
Except this time, it wasn’t about water, but instead Microsoft Powerpoint. Much like Lauren was ranked the #1 player in her recruiting class (2022) by ESPN. Sienna was ranked by ESPN the #2 player in her class (2025), and initially, she was not interested in UCLA.
In the earlier stages of recruiting, Lauren’s presence at the Los Angeles-area university was a negative, not a positive.
“We had to work through some things to get Sienna back into a position to have UCLA be her number one choice,” Close continued.
“She was like, I’m not going there. My sister’s going there.”
Then things totally turned, due to a visit to SoCal, and an Office app.
“When Sienna was on campus for a visit, Lauren had put together an entire PowerPoint of why her sister should come,” said the coach who has led UCLA to 2015 WNIT and 2025 Women’s Big Ten Tournament titles.
“And we had her parents on Zoom, and even her grandparents, and it was just really neat. By the end, there were tears everywhere. It was very heartfelt. It was very genuine.
“It was (about) just why she wanted to share this experience with her sister, and why they needed to share it together.”
While the recruiting process of Sienna was obviously a team effort, encompassing the whole program, it was obviously led by Close and finalized by Lauren.
Close added: “And what a compliment to Lauren that she would take the time and energy to do that, but I thought that was the closing moment and it was great to see her be the one to put it over the finish line.”
Close Leading Dominant UCLA Squad
Close has been in her position since 2011, but this is the best team she’s ever had, by far. UCLA is, far and away, the front-runner to win the Big Ten this season. While they are not the favorite to win the national championship, they are certainly on the short list of strong contenders.
In recruiting, success usually breeds more success, and the key to recruiting success is relationships. And that is more about the person, off the court, than it is the player, on the court.
Betts and Close meet up biweekly for coffee, where they talk about life itself, and not just basketball.
“We have an every other week coffee date where we go and just talk about everything non-basketball, and I just try to be a good listener,” Close described.
“That’s a privileged time for me. Lauren is obviously one of the best players in the country, and I get wowed by her all the time on the court, but it isn’t my most treasured thing.”
“My most treasured time is truly the relational time is hearing her heart, getting to know what she’s processing and how she’s growing as a young woman.”
Close, the Betts sisters and the rest of the UCLA Bruins will next host the Southern University Jaguars, at Pauley Pavilion, on Sunday.