UCLA Women’s Basketball: 3 Bruins Named Midseason Contenders For POY Award

Could the Bruins upset heavy favorite Caitlin Clark?

The Atlanta Tipoff Club and Naismith Awards announced the 2024 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's Player of the Year Midseason Team on Tuesday and three Bruins were included.

Graduate student Charisma Osborne joins sophomore Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice as UCLA representatives on the list of 30. 

The Bruins are the only team to have more than two student-athletes on the list.

𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 💫

Three Bruins have made the cut for the Naismith Women's College midseason list! UCLA has the most student-athletes representing a single institution on the team!

🗞️: https://t.co/3fKW7ZDBGw #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/TsYOEBDlui

— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB) February 13, 2024

All three players lead the Bruins in scoring. Osborne has 15.2 points per game, Betts has 15 and Rice has 12.7.

Betts is leading the team in blocks this season with 42 and rebounds with 163 (8.6 per game). Rice and Osborne have 108 and 97 assists on the year.

The 30 will be dwindled to the final four finalists before a winner is named in March.

UCLA has never had a winner since the award began in 1983. All three of the players are deserving of the honor, though it will be hard to dethrone Caitlyn Clark, who is playing on a level all her own.