Former top recruit Lauren Betts commits to UCLA after freshman season at Stanford
Betts will join what appears to be a stacked UCLA team
Lauren Betts is headed to UCLA.
The former top-ranked recruit announced Tuesday on Instagram she committed to transfer to UCLA. Betts, who was the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2022, opted to transfer from Stanford earlier this month following a disappointing freshman season.
The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.6 minutes per game last season with the Cardinal under coach Tara VanDerveer. Stanford, which went 29-6 and won a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, was knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the second round by Ole Miss, despite earning a No. 1 seed.
Betts is the first top-ranked recruit to transfer since Elena Delle Donne opted to leave UConn for Delaware. She was eventually selected No. 2 overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft.
Betts will now get to team up with Kiki Rice in Westwood. Rice was the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, and she averaged 11.6 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 41% from the field last season with the Bruins. Senior guard Charisma Osborne, who was projected to be a first-round pick in the WNBA Draft, opted to return to UCLA for a fifth year. Guard Camryn Brown also will be back for another season, which gives UCLA four of its five starters from last season. The Bruins went 27-10 and fell in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament to top-ranked South Carolina.
With Betts on board, the Bruins are sure to be strong contenders next season — both in the Pac-12, where they haven’t won a regular season conference title in more than two decades, and across the country.
