UCLA's Cori Close Named National Coach of the Year

UCLA's Cori Close took home the annual honor given by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close celebrates after her team defeated the USC Trojans during the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament final game on Sunday, March 9, 2025, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. UCLA defeated USC 72-67. / Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When UCLA women's basketball coach Cori Close got her first coaching job over 30 years ago, there was no telling what heights her promising young career could reach. Joining UCLA as an assistant in 1993 as a member of Kathy Oliver's staff, little did Close know that one day she would have the Bruins on the verge of history.

Fast forward to 2025. Close, the head coach of the Big Ten Tournament champions, finally got over the hump that is USC in the final, earning the Bruins their second-ever conference tournament championship and their first since 2006.

On Thursday, the United States Basketball Writers Association announced Close as its National Coach of the Year.

Having guided UCLA through an incredible year that saw the team begin their season 23-0, achieving the program's first number-one ranking. The team finished the season 30-2, undefeated in non-conference play, and the team's only losses came to USC with their superstar, Juju Watkins.

It's often not about the losses but how you respond to them, and the hallmark of Close's excellence as a coach was the way her Bruins responded to their second loss to USC in the regular-season finale. That loss could devastate a team. Close's team surrendered the Big Ten regular season title in that loss, which occurred at Pauley Pavillion.

Close rallied her troops to win consecutive Big Ten Tournament games by double-digits, including a whopping 29-point victory over No. 13 Ohio State to send UCLA to the final.

In the final, UCLA defeated USC 72-67 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Under Close's tutelage, Lauren Betts has found the love of basketball again, and the numbers show it. Betts is nearly averaging a double-double per game with 19.6 PPG and 9.7 RPG. Betts was named an AP first-team All-American.

Kiki Rice was named an All-American honorable mention, Junior guards Gabriela Jaquez and Londynn Jones have been fantastic on the year, forward Angela Dugalic took a massive step up in her game in 2025, and the production from the rest of the squad has been phenomenal.

Coaching is one part art, one part science. A coach must understand schemes as well as the human touch. Close's ability to be a teacher, a winner, and a north star is the reason why she's named National Coach of the Year, and as she guides the Bruins to potentially their first-ever national championship, her wallet has benefitted from her success as well.

After receiving her latest honor, Close received a $10,000 bonus, now totaling $45,000 in bonuses achieved this year. However, the priority has not changed. It's win at all costs for UCLA as it enters dangerous waters.

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