Seniors Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice from the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team have been named to the John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal, 2025–26 Women’s Midseason Top 25 Watch List. The announcement was made by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Lauren Betts, who was a Wooden All-American for the 2024-25 season and named national defensive player of the year, has led UCLA to a 14-1 record this season with a team-high average of 16.3 points and 2.1 blocks per game. She currently leads the Big Ten Conference in rebounds per game at 8.4 and is averaging 21.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game in conference play.
Kiki Rice, an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention last season, is having her best year as a senior with career highs in points (15.3) and rebounds (6.5) per game along with shooting percentages of .497 from the field, .353 from three-point range, and .869 from the free throw line. Rice is UCLA’s second-leading scorer, rebounder, and assister with an average of 4.4 assists per game; she also holds the second-best assist-turnover ratio in the Big Ten Conference at 3.0.
The John R. Wooden Award was established in 1976 to honor outstanding players in college basketball for both men and women as well as coaches through its Legends of Coaching recipient selection each year.
According to its guidelines, honorees must be certified by their universities as meeting standards set by Coach Wooden himself—including academic progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative GPA of 2.0.
Past recipients include notable figures such as Larry Bird (1979), Michael Jordan (1984), Tim Duncan (1997), Kevin Durant (2007), Candace Parker (2007 & 2008), Maya Moore (2009 & 2011), Chiney Ogwumike (2014), Juju Watkins of USC (last year’s women’s recipient), and Cooper Flagg of Duke.
The award program has contributed nearly one million dollars to university scholarship funds and nonprofit organizations on behalf of its All-American recipients since its inception; it has also provided opportunities for more than one thousand underprivileged children to attend week-long college basketball camps.
Each year, Special Olympics Southern California partners with the John R. Wooden Award to host a basketball tournament that brings together Special Olympics athletes alongside All-Americans and coaches during John R. Wooden Award Weekend at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
The Foundation’s mission centers on promoting teamwork, academic excellence, character development—and upholding values associated with John R. Wooden’s legacy through educational initiatives guided by an independent board of directors.
This year’s Legends of Coaching Award will be presented along with both Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year on April 10, 2026 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
