Lauren Betts Shines Bright: Named to Midseason Top 25 for John R. Wooden Award

LOS ANGELES – Junior Lauren Betts has been selected for The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, Women’s Midseason Top 25 Watch List, as announced by the Athletic Club on Tuesday.

Chosen through a preseason survey of national college basketball analysts, the roster includes 25 student-athletes who are key candidates for the highest accolades in collegiate basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team™ and the Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player. UCLA’s junior center was featured in the preseason top 50 list alongside junior Kiki Rice and graduate student Charlisse Leger-Walker.

Currently, the center leads UCLA Women’s Basketball (15-0, 4-0 B1G) in scoring (19.8), rebounds (10.0), and blocks (2.2) per game while achieving a team-leading field goal percentage (.615, 112-182 FG – 4^th, B1G). Additionally, she averages 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game; Betts has recorded new single-game career highs in points (31 vs. Colgate), assists (5 vs. No. 17 Louisville, vs. No. 24 Michigan), and field goals made (15 vs. Colgate). The junior is nearing 1,000 career points and marked her 500^th career rebound against No. 24 Michigan.

As of the midpoint of the 2024-25 season, Betts has already amassed more assists (32) and steals (14) than in her entire sophomore year (29 assists, 13 steals). She has registered nine double-doubles in just 13 games during her junior season.

Betts recently gained recognition from three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson following her outstanding 25-point, 12-rebound double-double performance at Indiana; the center achieved two blocks and one steal as No. 1 UCLA improved to 15-0.

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John R. Wooden Award® Women’s Midseason Top 25 List (Alphabetical)
Georgia Amoore | Kentucky
Raegan Beers | Oklahoma
Lauren Betts | UCLA
Madison Booker | Texas
Paige Bueckers | UConn
Audi Crooks | Iowa State
Yvonne Ejim | Gonzaga
Hannah Hidalgo | Notre Dame
Kiki Iriafen | USC
Aziaha James | NC State
Flau’jae Johnson | LSU
Ta’Niya Latson | Florida State
Ayoka Lee | Kansas State
Cotie McMahon | Ohio State
Olivia Miles | Notre Dame
Aneesah Morrow | LSU
Lucy Olsen | Iowa
Te-Hina Paopao | South Carolina
Khamil Pierre | Vanderbilt
Sedona Prince | TCU
JJ Quinerly | West Virginia
Sarah Strong | UConn
Harmoni Turner | Harvard
Hailey Van Lith | TCU
JuJu Watkins | USC
 
About the John R. Wooden Award®
Established in 1976, the Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Award Program™ symbolizes the peak of accolades in college basketball. It honors the Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player for both men and women, the Wooden Award All-America™ Teams for both genders, and annually designates the Wooden Award® Legend of Coaching recipient.
 
Wooden Award® All-Americans have demonstrated to their institutions that they meet or exceed the criteria of the John R. Wooden Award®, as outlined by Coach Wooden and the Wooden Award® Steering Committee. These standards encompass progress towards graduation and maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
 
Past awardees include icons like Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant (’07), Candace Parker (’07, ’08), Maya Moore (’09, ’11), Breanna Stewart (’15, ’16), as well as the most recent winners, Caitlin Clark of Iowa (’23, ’24) and Zach Edey of Purdue (’23, ’24).
 
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award® has facilitated nearly one million dollars in charitable contributions in the names of its All-American honorees and has enabled over 1,000 underprivileged children to attend week-long college basketball camps. Wooden Award All-Americans are invited to acknowledge their individual charitable initiatives, for which the John R. Wooden Award Foundation will contribute to charitable causes supporting the character of the student. Furthermore, the John R. Wooden Award® collaborates each year with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) to host the Wooden Award® Special Olympics Basketball Day, an event that connects Special Olympics athletes with Wooden Award® All-Americans and coaches during Wooden Award® Weekend at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
 
The 2025 Wooden Award® Legends of Coaching recipient is Mark Few from Gonzaga, who will be honored alongside the 2025 Wooden Award® Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year on April 11, 2025.
 
For the latest information, visit www.WoodenAward.com and follow the Wooden Award® on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodenaward, and on Twitter and Instagram at @WoodenAward. For additional details about Principal Financial Group and its sponsorship activities, explore their Sports Partnerships and Sponsorships page. To find out more about the Los Angeles Athletic Club, visit www.LAAC.com