Senior Lauren Betts of UCLA has been selected for The Associated Press All-America women’s college basketball team, according to an announcement made on Tuesday. Betts, who was named a first-team All-American for the 2024-25 season, leads the preseason selections after an impressive junior year.
She is joined on the AP team by Hannah Hidalgo from Notre Dame, Madison Booker from Texas, Sarah Strong from UConn, and Ta’Niya Latson from South Carolina. Both Betts and Hidalgo received 29 votes each out of the 31-member national media panel.
Betts, who was recognized as the 2025 Lisa Leslie Center of the Year, also received unanimous selection as Defensive Player of the Year by Big Ten coaches. She became the first UCLA player to record over 600 points, 300 rebounds, and 100 blocks in a single season during her junior year. Additionally, she set a new single-season blocks record with 100 and established the UCLA single-game blocks record with nine blocks against Baylor at the Coretta Scott King Classic.
As the team’s leading scorer with an average of 20.2 points per game, Betts set a career-high of 33 points in a game against Maryland, one of four games in which she scored more than 30 points. She also swept national Defensive Player of the Year awards, receiving honors from the AP, Naismith, and WBCA, and became the first UCLA women’s basketball player to earn AP First Team All-America honors.
