The UCLA Bruins were riding a very singular high at the end of the 2025-26 NCAA season when the team took home the crown at the conclusion of the March Madness tournament. But almost as quickly as the Bruins were holding celebrations, the team's graduating seniors departed for the WNBA — and, just like that, the Bruins found themselves staring down a true rebuild year.
The Bruins lost a whopping six seniors at the end of the season. Perhaps more impressively, all six of them (Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Angela Dugalić and Gabriela Jaquez) are in the WNBA now — a feat that most college programs certainly don't pull off in one season. But while the addition of those six has been a great gain for the WNBA, it's been tough for UCLA.
So far, it seems like the Bruins are focused on having a good time and playing solid basketball, and trusting that the pieces will fall into place. That's about all they can do in a field that's pretty stacked: the South Carolina Gamecocks are ranked number one in the country. JuJu Watkins has returned for the USC Trojans after missing the entirety of last season. The UConn Huskies are experiencing a bit of a rebuild of their own, but they've still got Sarah Strong — and those aren't the only three teams to be worrying about.
But if any of that is getting to head coach Cori Close, she hasn't been obvious about it. As she told reporters before the beginning of the season, her focus is on "creating another meaningful journey" for both the athletes on her roster and the coaches who work alongside her each game. If there's anyone who knows how to do that, it's probably Close.
The UCLA Bruins are focused on playing as a team
Part of what made the Bruins work so well during the 2025-26 season is that the team wasn't focused on one specific star over another. That's likely partially due to the fact that there was so much talent on the team, but also that playing team-wide, team-first basketball is important to the program. That's a mentality that it seems like UCLA is sticking with this season, and so far, so good: they're only two games in, but so far they've won them by significant margins (73-53 against Lehigh on November 2, and 78-42 against UC Irvine on November 5).
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