UCLA Women’s Basketball had a fantastic season last year, exceeding expectations by finishing with a 27-10 overall record, making it to the finals in the Pac-12 Tournament and the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Now, the Bruins are looking to repeat this success again as they make their debut in the Big Ten Conference. And according to coaches and the media, they’re going to do just fine.
The Big Ten just released the 2024-25 Media and Coaches Big Ten Preseason Rankings, predicting that UCLA will be the second-best team in college women’s basketball, finishing just behind longtime rival USC.
The other teams rounding out the Top Five are Ohio State, Maryland, and Indiana.
Preseason #B1GWBball honors are here!
Here are who the head coaches voted as their preseason All-Big Ten Team, Player of the Year, and top 5 in the poll.
🔗: https://t.co/J2svTZ0Tvt pic.twitter.com/HnxAMQLBtu
— Big Ten Women’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) September 26, 2024
Additionally, two players were named to both the Media and Coaches’ 2024-25 Preseason All-Big Ten Team: junior guard Kiki Rice and junior center Lauren Betts. Betts was a unanimous choice for the Coaches’ preseason team.
Rice has proven to be a key player for the Bruins ever since she was a freshman. In her first season, she averaged 11.6 points, 4.5 total rebounds, three assists, and 1.2 steals in 37 games. She was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team for her efforts.
In her sophomore season, Rice averaged 13.2 points, 5.7 total rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.4 steals in 34 games, all of which she started. She was named to the All-Pac-12 Team in 2024.
Betts transferred to UCLA after spending her freshman season with Stanford, where she averaged 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.9 blocks, 0.5 assists, and 0.2 steals across 33 games.
In her debut year with the blue and gold, Betts came alive, averaging 14.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, two blocks, one assist, and 0.4 steals in 29 games. She was named to both the All-Pac-12 Team and the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team for her debut season with the Bruins.
The only other school with two players on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team is USC. Graduate forward Kiki Iriafen made both teams while sophomore guard Juju Watkins was a unanimous choice for both the coaches and the media.
Watkins was also named the Coches and Media’s 2024-2025 Preseason Player of the Year.
Needless to say, it looks like the UCLA Bruins are going to have a standout season in the Big Ten. Hopefully, they’ll be able to improve on last season’s success and win it all for the first time.
More UCLA Women’s Basketball: ESPN Power Rankings List Bruins Among Top 5 Best 2024 Teams
