LOS ANGELES – Junior Lauren Betts has been named to The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, Women’s Midseason Top 25 Watch List, the Athletic Club announced Tuesday.
Selected by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 25 student-athletes who are frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team™ and the Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player. UCLA’s junior center was included in the preseason top 50 list alongside junior Kiki Rice and graduate student Charlisse Leger-Walker.
The center currently leads UCLA Women’s Basketball (15-0, 4-0 B1G) in points (19.8), rebounds (10.0) and blocks (2.2) per game while shooting a team-leading field goal percentage (.615, 112-182 FG – 4th, B1G). She also averages 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game; Betts has set new single-game career highs in points (31 vs. Colgate), assists (5 vs. No. 17 Louisville, vs. No. 24 Michigan) and field goals made (15 vs. Colgate). The junior is approaching 1,000-career points and collected her 500th-career rebound against No. 24 Michigan.
At the midpoint of the 2024-25 season, Betts already has totaled more assists (32) and steals (14) than her entire sophomore season (29 assists, 13 steals). She has nine double-doubles in 13 appearances during her junior campaign.
Betts recently caught the attention of three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson with her 25-point, 12-rebound double-double at Indiana; the center had two blocks and a steal as No. 1 UCLA improved to 15-0.
John R. Wooden Award® Women’s Midseason Top 25 List
Georgia Amoore | Kentucky
Raegan Beers | Oklahoma
Lauren Betts | UCLA
Madison Booker | Texas
Paige Bueckers | UConn
Audi Crooks | Iowa State
Yvonne Ejim | Gonzaga
Hannah Hidalgo | Notre Dame
Kiki Iriafen | USC
Aziaha James | NC State
Flau’jae Johnson | LSU
Ta’Niya Latson | Florida State
Ayoka Lee | Kansas State
Cotie McMahon | Ohio State
Olivia Miles | Notre Dame
Aneesah Morrow | LSU
Lucy Olsen | Iowa
Te-Hina Paopao | South Carolina
Khamil Pierre | Vanderbilt
Sedona Prince | TCU
JJ Quinerly | West Virginia
Sarah Strong | UConn
Harmoni Turner | Harvard
Hailey Van Lith | TCU
JuJu Watkins | USC