Lauren Betts

Lauren is a dominant force in women’s college basketball and a baller. At 6-foot-7 she controls the paint at each end of the court and is at the top of every opponent’s scout. She changes the way teams have to play defense by demanding a double team with every touch. She’s an outstanding passer out of the double team and a menace on the offensive glass. On the other end, she rebounds, blocks shots — and I’ve seen opponents literally U-turning out of the lane. In addition to being a candidate for National Player of the Year, in my mind she’s the leader for National Defensive Player of the Year. Her fiery start to this season has shaken up the top of the rankings as UCLA becamse the number one team in the country for the first time in program history. She is currently averaging a double-double with over 19 points and 10 rebounds per game (as of Dec. 5). She’s doing this after her impressive first season with UCLA where she established herself as a cornerstone of their success after transferring from Stanford. Her field goal percentage was an impressive 64.3 percent, ranking third nationally, and she earned numerous accolades, including All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defensive honors from both coaches and media. She was also recognized as an Associated Press and USBWA All-America Honorable Mention.

Soon after dropping a career-high 31 points, Lauren led UCLA to a monumental win over then-No. 1 South Carolina, helping end their 43-game win streak with an 11-point, 14-rebound effort. In that game, she flipped the script on a South Carolina team used to bullying opponents on the glass by dominating early and setting the tone. The victory propelled UCLA to its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 Poll where she noted, “... if you’ve been sleeping on UCLA, you need to stop right now.”

Lauren’s 2024-25 season will be remembered for her emergence as one of the best players in women’s college basketball, cementing her UCLA legacy, and the start of talks around a potential dominating WNBA future including being the probable number one pick. Lauren is proof that there’s not only one kind of player who’s fit to be the star. As post players historically haven’t had as much of the spotlight, Lauren is making herself hard to ignore. Lauren serves as a representation of the transformative year NCAAWBB has had overall, as she emerged as a star in a season of record viewership, increased parity and democratized media coverage.