Cori Close
American basketball coach
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Cori Rashel Close (born July 29, 1971)[1] is an American college basketball coach who has served as the head women's basketball coach for the UCLA Bruins since 2011.[2] Before UCLA, she spent time as an assistant coach at Florida State University and her alma mater, UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). She was a star player for UCSB, serving as a team captain during the 1992 and 1993 seasons while leading them to the NCAA tournament both years.[3]
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Close with UCLA in 2026 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | UCLA |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Record | 352–144 (.710) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | July 29, 1971 Milpitas, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1989–1993 | UC Santa Barbara |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1993–1995 | UCLA (Asst.) |
| 1995–2004 | UC Santa Barbara (Asst./Assoc.) |
| 2004–2011 | Florida State (Assoc.) |
| 2011–present | UCLA |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 352–144 (.710) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
College statistics
| Year | Team | GP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | BPG | SPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-90 | UC Santa Barbara | 13 | 43.2% | 27.3% | 65.2% | 2.85 | 2.69 | 0.00 | 2.08 | 6.31 |
| 1990-91 | UC Santa Barbara | 29 | 41.3% | 30.8% | 75.9% | 2.62 | 4.28 | 0.03 | 1.90 | 8.97 |
| 1991-92 | UC Santa Barbara | 32 | 48.8% | 31.9% | 77.5% | 2.28 | 5.84 | 0.06 | 1.88 | 12.69 |
| 1992-93 | UC Santa Barbara | 31 | 43.4% | 36.8% | 79.8% | 0.52 | 8.29 | 0.06 | 2.52 | 15.35 |
| Career | 105 | 44.6% | 33.8% | 77.2% | 1.92 | 5.74 | 0.05 | 2.10 | 11.66 |
| Year | Team | GP | FG | FGA | 3P | 3PA | FT | FTA | REB | A | BK | ST | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-90 | UC Santa Barbara | 13 | 32 | 74 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 23 | 37 | 35 | 0 | 27 | 82 |
| 1990-91 | UC Santa Barbara | 29 | 93 | 225 | 8 | 26 | 66 | 87 | 76 | 124 | 1 | 55 | 260 |
| 1991-92 | UC Santa Barbara | 32 | 145 | 297 | 23 | 72 | 93 | 120 | 73 | 187 | 2 | 60 | 406 |
| 1992-93 | UC Santa Barbara | 31 | 169 | 389 | 35 | 95 | 103 | 129 | 16 | 257 | 2 | 78 | 476 |
| Career | 105 | 439 | 985 | 69 | 204 | 277 | 359 | 202 | 603 | 5 | 220 | 1224 |
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA (Pac-12 Conference) (2011–2024) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | UCLA | 14–16 | 9–9 | T–5th | |||||
| 2012–13 | UCLA | 26–8 | 14–4 | 3rd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2013–14 | UCLA | 13–18 | 7–11 | 8th | |||||
| 2014–15 | UCLA | 19–18 | 8–10 | 6th | WNIT Champions | ||||
| 2015–16 | UCLA | 26–9 | 14–4 | T–3rd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2016–17 | UCLA | 25–9 | 13–5 | 4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2017–18 | UCLA | 27–8 | 14–4 | T–3rd | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 2018–19 | UCLA | 22–13 | 12–6 | 4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2019–20 | UCLA | 26–5 | 14–4 | T–2nd | Postseason not held | ||||
| 2020–21 | UCLA | 17–6 | 12–4 | 3rd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2021–22 | UCLA | 18–13 | 8–8 | 7th | WNIT Semifinals | ||||
| 2022–23 | UCLA | 27–10 | 11–7 | T–4th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2023–24 | UCLA | 27–7 | 13–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| UCLA (Big Ten Conference) (2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | UCLA | 34–3 | 16–2 | 2nd | NCAA Final Four | ||||
| 2025–26 | UCLA | 31–1 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA | ||||
| UCLA: | 352–144 (.710) | 183–83 (.688) | |||||||
| Total: | 352–144 (.710) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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Awards and honors
- March 23, 2016 – Close was named the 2016 United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division I Region 5 Coach of the Year
- March 6, 2019 – Close was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year by Pac-12 women's basketball media members[9]
- March 20, 2025 – Close was named USBWA Coach of the Year[10][11]
- March 24, 2025 – Close was named a finalist for the Naismith College Coach of the Year[12]
- April 2, 2025 – Close was the 2025 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year[13]
