“You don’t have to run a play, just throw it to her.” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said during the 2025 NCAA Sweet 16. That “her” was Lauren Betts, and by this time, everyone understood why. Two successive games in the NCAA tournament saw Betts achieving 30 points and 10 rebounds, something that had not been seen in the last two decades. UCLA’s coach Cori Close also did not hesitate in her choice of words: “We have a generational player on our team.” It wasn’t just a moment. It was a breakout performance that turned Spokane Arena into Betts’s personal stage.
The junior’s 2025 season reads like a basketball fairytale: First Team All-American honors, Big Ten defensive player of the year, and the Bruins’ first Final Four. But there is a question underneath these milestones: Why did the college basketball’s most dominant center have to leave Stanford to find her roar?
How was Lauren Betts’ role at Stanford?
Interestingly, Lauren Betts’s time at Stanford did not begin with dominance. She did enter as the No. 1 recruit in the ESPN HoopGurlz 2022 rankings, but she played just 9.7 minutes per game as a freshman. In 33 appearances, her contributions — 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game — never rose above the level of modest. Stanford’s crowded frontcourt and veteran talent such as Cameron Brink minimized her role and Betts watched more than she played.
Lauren Betts’s transition wasn’t seamless. From high school stardom to the elite level of college basketball, there was a huge amount of pressure. Confidence wavered. She had rare highlights in a muted season, including an 18-point outburst against Cal State Northridge.
Dec 29, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) heads to the bench during the fourth quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
At the end of the day, it wasn’t about numbers alone. It was about fit. Betts wasn’t comfortable in the Stanford system. She was unsure what her role was or what her future there would be. There wasn’t much to nurture her development—or her happiness—in the environment. And so that dissatisfaction was the spur that made her embark upon the boldest move, Southern California.
What opportunities did UCLA offer that Stanford didn’t?
However, everything changed at UCLA. Lauren Betts’s shift was not just geographical; it was transformational. She was given the keys to the paint and became the Bruins’ primary center. This increased playing time allowed her to open up her game and her confidence.
More importantly, the culture clicked. Lauren Betts cited her reason for transfer was because of her bond with Cori Close and the close-knit culture of the team. In stark contrast to her Stanford experience, she described UCLA’s program as “family.” The sense of belonging mattered as much as minutes on the floor.
And the results followed. Betts earned All-Pac-12, All-Defensive Team honors in her first season with the Bruins. Her numbers—20.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.8 blocks per game—were more than that. They were statements.
However, the numbers don’t tell you the whole story. UCLA was a holistic ecosystem for her to unleash her potential. She had space to grow. Her skill set was refined with the help of individual development plans. A focus on mental well-being allowed her to stay grounded during the spotlight.
UCLA’s staff, with a dedicated sports psychologist, helped her rebuild that confidence, turning hesitation into dominance—a resource Betts later credited for her mental reset.
By season’s end, Lauren Betts did more than rewrite UCLA’s record books (she had 99 blocks and a .649 field goal percentage); she rewrote her story. From bench player questioning to the projected 2026 WNBA lottery pick, she went from questions to answers.
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