The UCLA women’s basketball team lost one of their first games of the 2025-26 season and then went undefeated from there, culminating in their first national championship. At the helm of this magical journey was Coach Cori Close, who Military Press Magazine had the pleasure of interviewing.

Elise Cooper: How did you feel as the clock was ticking down, and you knew UCLA was going to be national champions?

Coach Cori Close: I think I knew at the end of the third quarter that it was going to be hard for South Carolina to come back. I am so proud of the team and how they went about their business.  I was humble and proud. The best part is that I was able to share it with so many alumni there, my staff and assistant coaches that sacrificed so much, and the families of the players. It was exciting to watch as the players were rewarded for great character, great teamwork, things they will hold on forever.  As the clock was winding down it felt surreal.  For me, it was not necessarily the moment but being able to be a part of a meaningful journey.

EC: During March Madness the Duke game gave fans a bit of a scare, being down a lot at halftime for the first time all year.

CC: It was good for us because we needed to be challenged. I am very thankful for that game.  We had not been challenged like that all year.

EC: Could UCLA have beaten Connecticut?

CC:  Absolutely. We were going to find a way to beat anyone.  We were so focused and locked in there was no one that was going to beat us.

EC: How does it feel beating SC three times?

CC: It is a lot of fun; we beat them twice because we did not play them in the conference tournament this year. OHHHH, you mean for the third time, SC-South Carolina. Beating SC, Southern California, is very meaningful because they are UCLA’s cross-town rivals and we respect them. But beating SC, South Carolina, in the national championship game holds a little more weight. They are a premier program, and it was the national championship game.  They were the ones in our path that we had to overcome. Not one person picked UCLA to win. I am humbled by the way it has brought together the UCLA community and the LA community. 

EC:  Were you and the team upset that no one seemed to take UCLA seriously even though we were ranked number 2 most of the season?

CC: The whole year we worked on shutting out noise and opinions whether over social media, TV commentators, parents who do not understand the day to day, and their circle of influence. We disciplined ourselves honoring those close to us but not to allow information that was not true into our inner circle.

EC: Was this more than a sports story?

CC: It was not just about winning the national championship.  It was the story of the six seniors.  The balance of the excellence and joy they played with. It was the 3.7 GPA the last quarter of their college career. It was the community service we do. It became about character and values. This is what Coach Wooden did for me, to give me hope it could be done differently. I hope we represented the UCLA name and legacy well. This was the best part.

EC:  Are you going to miss the seniors as much as the fans?

CC: Of course.  It has been the joy of my career to watch them accomplish what they wanted to do and now they are moving on to the WNBA. We will continue to celebrate them with fervor and enthusiasm. I am excited about the next group. I will miss the old group terribly but also want to balance missing the seniors, remembering all they did, and for next year repeat a set of standards, expectations, process, and a commitment to excellence. I am really excited about the next group coming in.

EC: Do you watch any of the seniors who are now in the WNBA?

CC: Every chance I get. I will try to watch as much as I possibly can.  I was in Toronto when Kiki’s team played Lauren and Angela’s team. There were four other staff members there. I will try to get to every arena and watch each of them play this summer. It will be fun to watch them evolve as pros. We prepared them to be proactive with their communication by asking questions, be a good team player, and have a high basketball IQ. If they ask my opinion, I will share it, but my role is to be their cheerleader.

EC: You won the national championship in your fifteenth season, while Coach Wooden won it in his sixteenth.  Does this mean you will win the next twelve in a row as he did?

CC: I can never thank enough not only Coach Wooden but the Wooden family. They have been so good to me.  The fact that I have been talked about in the same breath as Coach Wooden is humbling.  I have only won one. But I do not think Coach Wooden would have me worry about winning another one or how many in a row.  He would want me to just look at how good my process is or how well I pour into the hearts of my players, or what kind of tools I am giving them for life.  I do not think he would want me to emphasize the championship or the end game over the importance of the process.

EC: Will the torch be passed on to a new generation of Betts, with Sienna, and getting her and the other returnees to focus?

CC: I think they are very excited about paving their own path. I am excited what Sienna is going to do on her own. She is different than Lauren.  She is incredibly gifted, a very hard worker. She is a different kind of player than Lauren. I never want her to feel like she is walking in the shadow of Lauren. I am excited to see what she creates and how she writes her own narrative.

EC: Who will start next season?

CC: I do not care if the players are a returner, transfer, freshman, or a senior.  I hope to put the players out on the floor that deserve it and will help our team to have the best chance to win.  I will not promise anything. I want every one of them to focus on growing and being an elite teammate.

EC: What are you emphasizing when looking at players in the portal?

CC: Work ethic.  I want players I have to kick out of a gym because they want to be there all the time, working on their game. I value basketball IQ. I value shooting. A player must have the ability to put the team first. There were so many players this past year on multiple occasions that put the team above themselves. The parents supported it. UCLA has some values, and players should not come here if they do not buy into our values. I also think I have a responsibility to adjust. I think we need value and purpose alignment, but I should be willing to be versatile and pivot to help our team to be the best version of themselves.

EC: What about the ratio of high school players to transfer portal players?

CC: I hate it.  Almost all the decisions coming down from the NCAA disadvantage high school recruiting. It makes me sad that with each of these decision high schoolers opportunity is getting less. But my job is to lead this program to excellence. About half of our players are going to be transfers. This year we had to be heavily influenced by transfers because we are losing six seniors. Year in and year out I would bet we will be in the 60/40 ratio of transfers to freshman. 

EC: Do you like the expansion of the tournament teams to 76?

CC: I do not think it is great for women’s basketball, but my focus is how to make it great instead of whether I like it or don’t.  We should probably get rid of the NIT and the secondary NCAA tournament leagues to have a meaningful parody fill of 76 teams. I think there should be adjustments on some of the secondary postseason tournaments.

EC: Should there be a salary cap with the NIL?

CC: I think there needs to be boundaries. There is no competitive equity, no transparency, and no accountability. What we have been promised in these areas have not happened yet. This pace and the financial pressure the donors are under is unsustainable. We need boundaries, infrastructure, agent certification, and competitive equity soon.

EC: Will there be a sequel to the documentary You See LA about the 2024-25 season portraying the first time UCLA women basketball went to the Final Four, but this time about the road to the National Championship for the 2025-26 season?

CC: It was cool. We are working on Season II that will hopefully be multiple episodes. For sure, it is in the works.

EC:  You also coached UCLA spring football practice. What was that like?

CC: It was a lot of fun.  I am a huge fan of what Coach Chesney is doing. I am really excited for the football team.  I have always been a football fan. They asked me and I had a blast.

EC:  What do you want to tell the fans about next season?

CC: Don’t miss out.  Please come out and support.  I hope we double our season ticket base and double our attendance numbers. We put our players under great awareness that we will repeat on our standards of excellence. We will try to have much more fan engagement and opportunities.

THANK YOU!!

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