ESPN reporter Holly Rowe speaks to UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) on the podium after the win against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the National Championship game of the women’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Before Lauren Betts became a national champion with the UCLA women’s basketball team, the superstar center was a freshman serving in a backup role behind All-Americans Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen at Stanford.
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Betts averaged 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists in just 9.6 minutes per game that season.
“[Stanford’s] offense was built for more of the flowy post players than the big, get-in-there, stay-in-there type of post players,” said former Stanford forward Fran Belibi, who was a senior on that 2022-23 team, in March 2025, per ESPN. “There were a lot of times where [Betts] is seeing things that Kiki and Cam are doing and the coaches are seeing that, and they want to insert her in there in that same kind of role, and it just wasn’t really working for her.”
Betts ultimately transferred to UCLA as a sophomore and stayed with the program for the remainder of her career. Now, Betts is a national champion, the first person to win Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
ESPN reporter Holly Rowe speaks to UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) on the podium after the win against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the National Championship game of the women’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Brink Applauds Betts for Mental Health Advocacy
Brink was a junior during Betts’ freshman season at Stanford. After Betts transferred to UCLA, Brink went on to play her senior season at Stanford, winning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and the Pac-12 championship, before joining the LA Sparks in 2024.
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Brink told the California Post that her former teammate is a “phenomenal player”, and she praised Betts for sharing her battle with mental health. Most recently, Betts wrote an article called “I Want To Be Here” for The Players’ Tribune on March 19.
“I really applaud her for being so vulnerable,” Brink said to the California Post. “I think it was a really hard thing to do, and I think she really did touch a lot of people in a way a lot of people can be afraid to do, so I think that’s really awesome and she totally deserves that moment.”
The Sparks do not have a first-round pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, so Betts will not be joining Brink in LA. But both players are looking to have strong 2026 seasons, with Betts entering her rookie year and Brink returning from an ACL tear.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images