UCLA women's basketball is absolutely rolling this season with one of the best and deepest rosters in college basketball. A big reason for the Bruins' success has been the excellence of star center Lauren Betts, who has been one of the best players in the country all season long.
On Friday, Betts made a massive decision regarding next season. She will be returning to school for her senior season in 2025-26, according to Aishwarya Kumar of ESPN.
UCLA will be thrilled to have Betts back after an excellent first season and a half with the Bruins. The Colorado native transferred to UCLA from Stanford after her freshman season and has been one of the best bigs in college basketball ever since.
Betts averaged 14.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore in her first year in the blue and gold, but she has taken it to a new level this season. For the year, Betts is averaging more than 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game while making a very strong case for Player of the Year honors.




As a result, UCLA is currently sitting pretty at 22-0 and is the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation. The Bruins are currently the title favorites and are the only team with a win over defending champion South Carolina, and a large portion of that credit should go to Betts for her excellent play.
Betts' younger sister, Sienna Betts, may have played a large part in her decision as well. Sienna is one of the best high school players in the class of 2025 and is committed to come play for UCLA, so the two sisters will now get a chance to take the court together for the Bruins in 2025-26.
“I think that I would be crazy if I gave up the opportunity to play with my sister, so obviously, I'm going to come back next year,” Betts said, per Kumar.
UCLA's top two scorers outside of Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice, are also juniors, so the Bruins squad may be loaded again next year. If they can all keep improving, then Rice, Jaquez, and Lauren and Sienna Betts could turn UCLA women's basketball into the next dynasty in college hoops.