UCLA basketball adds Stanford transfer Lauren Betts, the No. 1 prospect in 2022 class

UCLA picked up a commitment from Stanford transfer Lauren Betts on Tuesday, adding the former No. 1 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class to a stacked team hoping to improve on an NCAA regional semifinal appearance.

Betts, a 6-foot-7 center, averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game for the Cardinal last season and earned Pac-12 all-freshman team honorable mention recognition. The former McDonald’s All-American was the top-ranked player in her recruiting class and now joins the No. 2 prospect Kiki Rice. Rice, a point guard, earned conference all-freshman accolades after averaging 11.6 points and three assists while helping the Bruins to their first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance since 2019.

Guard Gina Conti is the only UCLA starter who will not return, as seniors Charisma Osborne and Camryn Brown announced their intentions to stay for a fifth season. With McDonald’s All-American forward Amanda Muse as their lone signing for the 2023 class, the Bruins had roster spots to spare for returning players and potential transfers like Betts.

Betts, who was the youngest player on the Cori Close-coached United States team that won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup in 2021, is Close’s second Pac-12 transfer since recent rules allowed more player movement. Close previously plucked forward Angela Dugalić from Oregon, but the Serbian national team member’s UCLA career has been slowed by injury, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament that sidelined her last year.

Dugalić’s injury hampered UCLA’s frontcourt depth, as the Bruins were also without Izzy Anstey for most of the season after the 6-foot-4 forward had preseason hip surgery. Emily Bessoir and freshmen Lina Sontag and Christeen Iwuala rotated down low, but Betts’ addition gives the Bruins an even more commanding post presence.