UCLA Women’s Basketball: Bruins Among Top 5 Teams In Early ESPN Poll

Can they advance beyond the Sweet Sixteen this year?

Your UCLA Bruins women's basketball team, who like their male counterparts are coming off a Sweet Sixteen berth in last spring's NCAA Tournament, have earned exceptional marks from ESPN's Charlie Creme, as part of his latest preseason college rankings.

Creme considers Final Four Most Outstanding Player Angel Reese, a leading prospect for national player of the year honors, and the rest of her reigning NCAA champion LSU Tigers teammates to be the (ahem) cream of the crop. They'll be joined by stellar new additions Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith, who along with Reese could all be named All-Americans. 

The University of Connecticut Huskies come in at No. 2 on Creme's list, boasting their own Big Three of Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Aaliyah Edwards.

Just below that duo, however, are your Bruins, up a slot from their prior ranking on a Creme list.

"The Bruins last won the Pac-12 tournament in 2006," Creme writes. "They last won the regular season-championship in 1999. UCLA has never been to the NCAA Final Four. All of that could change this season. The offseason good news began with Charisma Osborne's decision to bypass the WNBA draft and return to school for her bonus year. Then the No. 1 recruit from 2022, 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts, left conference rival Stanford for Westwood. Kiki Rice was rated right behind Betts and lived up to that ranking as UCLA's second leading scorer (11.6 PPG) last season behind Osborne (15.6 PPG). Emily Bessoir made great strides as a 6-4 sophomore and was the Bruins' most accurate 3-point shooter (35.7%). If Londynn Jones and Gabriela Jaquez make similar jumps in their second seasons, UCLA will have more scoring options than ever under coach Cori Close."

The addition of Betts via the transfer portal appears to be a big factor in Creme's excitement for UCLA's forthcoming 2023-24 run. As a freshman, the center averaged a modest 5.9 points on 60.2% shooting, along with 3.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks, across a scant 9.6 minutes per with the Cardinal. But she is expected to take a massive leap in Close's program. Osborne's decision to forgo a pro opportunity for another year speaks to the clear locker room chemistry already in place.

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