Can UCLA reach the mountaintop in 2026?

Settle in with this JWS long-read to learn more about UCLA’s 2025/26 NCAA journey ahead of Saturday’s showdown with SoCal rivals USC.

Can UCLA reach the mountaintop in 2026?

Looking back, UCLA coach Cori Close has mixed emotions about her team’s 2024/25 campaign.

Featuring one of the most talented starting fives in the sport, the team made historic strides all the way to a program-first Final Four appearance. But last season also served up a bittersweet ending.

The Bruins saw their dream postseason unceremoniously ended by eventual national champions UConn in an 85-51 rout. Highly touted but inexperienced on the big stage, UCLA nearly reached the mountaintop before a rough tumble, stirring up questions about the team’s ability to hang with the NCAA’s blue chip establishment.

“There’s nothing like having a historic season, and falling a little bit short,” head coach Cori Close told JWS in October. “The hunger to do it better, but also the attention to detail that it really takes.”

“It’s one thing to know things in your head, it’s a whole other thing to have them in your heart,” she continued. “And I think our team has a higher degree of these things in our heart.”

With renewed focus and deepened experience — plus an even more complete roster that can run the court against just about anyone — the Bruins just might reach the mountaintop again in 2026.

Following another strong offseason recruiting cycle, UCLA currently sits fourth in the AP Top 25 Poll after ranked wins over No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 19 Ohio State, and No. 23 Tennessee. And now the reigning Big Ten Tournament champions are setting their sights on conference play — with Saturday’s showdown with Southern California rivals No. 17 USC front of mind.

From here on out, that attention to detail could make all the difference in how this season’s story ends.

Reducing turnovers and owning the glass

Before the 2024/25 NCAA season even began, coach Close knew exactly where her team needed to improve.

The Bruins played a fast-paced style last year, facilitating ball movement inside and out with skill players at every position. This year, Close believed her squad could excel in terms of discipline, rather than sheer talent.

“We went back and studied the last five national championship teams and talked about trends that we see that they all have, that maybe we’ve fallen short in,” she said. “We figured that we need to turn the ball over three fewer times a game.”

Defense also plays a factor. “When you really trace championship teams, they have to be dominant in their rebounding,” she added. “We have a goal to get 70 to 75% of the misses.”

14 games into the season, UCLA hasn’t quite achieved all their goals. But their process is showing potential. The Bruins are averaging 44.1 rebounds per game, a slight increase over last season, while lowering turnovers by more than three per game.

But the team’s limitations against top talent reared its head in their November 26th loss to No. 2 Texas, with UCLA grabbing only 32 rebounds while committing 20 turnovers — nearly double their season average.

“I was really honest with [the players],” Close said after the 76-65 defeat. “There’s some things we’ve been talking about that haven’t gotten enough change, and maybe this will get us to change some things that led to this.”

The threat of not sizing up against the best of the best fresh in their minds, UCLA has looked stronger in subsequent ranked matchups. They reduced their turnovers even further against then-No. 14 Tennessee in late November, before dominating the boards against No. 19 Ohio State last weekend.

“We have an abundance of growth opportunities, we have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other,” Close told JWS.

“We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week. We’re going to just stay focused on those.”

Betting big on Lauren Betts

Reaching UCLA’s goals relies on team-wide commitment — and figuring out the best way to utilize the team’s biggest star.

The Bruins have a wealth of elite guards, with upperclassmen like Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez running the backcourt. But it’s no secret that the team’s attack and defense runs through 6-foot-8 All-American center Lauren Betts.

The senior is a global talent, making her USA Basketball debut in December while shortlisted to become the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft once her decorated college career comes to an end.

One of the most dominant two-way bigs in the college game, Betts averaged a 20-point, near-10-rebound double-double last season. She’s an attention magnet on the court, disrupting play at the rim with the motor needed to finish the work back up the court.

Ironically, though, to get the most out of Betts, Close has found she has to actually limit her time on the floor.

“When Lauren and I had our exit evaluation meetings last year, we both agreed that she needs to have less minutes than she had in the past,” said Close. “And honestly maybe even less shots, but more efficiency.”

“As a 6-foot-8 player, you get beat up so much before she even touches the ball, it’s totally unfair,” Close said of her star center. “I think it’s important that we protect her wherever we can.”

Betts is aware that physicality can sometimes throw her off her game, as she pushes to hone her tenacity at the rim while leveraging her size through double- or triple-teams.

“Just playing the game, making the right read, is something that’s really important for me, trusting that I know what to do on the floor,” Betts told reporters at USA Basketball training camp last month.

“Also aggressiveness, I think that’s something that I can always grow into.”

Entering 2026 with fresh faces and family ties

Close sees Betts is at her best with nothing to prove individually and a little extra help under the basket. And they worked hard over the offseason to get her that support, shaking things up via both traditional recruiting and the transfer portal.

Take senior transfer Gianna Kneepkins, for example, the former Utah standout giving the Bruins a scoring boost with 14.3 points per game while carrying heavy minutes alongside UCLA’s more established starters.

“She’s been a pivotal puzzle piece for us in terms of having a 50/40/90 player that’s really able to stretch the floor — she’s making everybody better around her,” Close said of Kneepkins, as the newcomer provides a tall outside presence in the paint.

Close also credits second-year transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker, who’s bolstered the team off the bench after sitting out last season to rehab her ACL.

Betts’s biggest supporter, however, stems from a little closer to home. Lauren’s little sister Sienna, last year’s No. 2 high school recruit, joined the Bruins this season. And she shares many of her older sister’s attributes on the court.

Listed at 6-foot-4, the freshman can stretch defenses even without her big sister on the court, strengthening UCLA’s reach through negative runs while forcing opponents to game-plan for even more frontcourt power.

“[I’m] just trying to help her as much as I can,” Lauren said of her sister prior to the start of the season. “Especially because we’re playing kind of the same position, just trying to help her with the plays, help her with tough practices, kind of helping her move on.”

Unfortunately, a lower leg injury delayed Sienna’s college debut by 10 games. The younger Betts missed the loss to Texas, slowing down some of the flow Close is looking to build against a big-heavy lineup.

But the plan for the Betts sisters is still very much in motion, even with limited playing time.

Reverse engineering success, one game at a time

Entering the new year with a healthy roster, UCLA will now have to balance expectations both inside and outside the locker room — as significant change looms on the horizon regardless of how the season ends.

“I think it’s really tempting to be championship or bust, and that could not be further from our mission,” Close explained.

“I am such a big believer that you talk about your end goal one time, and then you reverse engineer the process and habits it’s going to take to get there.”

“We’re a veteran team, but just staying present, recognizing that this is also a new team,” senior Kiki Rice told JWS in October. “After what happened last year, there’s lessons in the past, [but we] really just focus on being our best versions of ourselves every day.”

UCLA might have fallen short against Texas last month, but they maintain faith that increased depth, veteran leadership, and refreshed detail-oriented outlook can guide them all the way through the postseason.

“There were certain levels of preparation, certain ways that we needed to minimize distractions, certain ways we needed to handle all of the ways that are going to be pulling on our attention,” Close said of the team’s Final Four journey, noting that she also learned some major lessons herself.

For now, UCLA is enjoying the moment — and the process — with the hope that the wins keep coming this spring.

“This is probably the most complete team I’ve ever coached,” Close added. “If we can stay healthy and stay focused, we’re going to have big things ahead.”

Don’t miss it: UCLA tips off against USC tomorrow at 8 PM ET, live on Peacock.