Lauren Betts
American basketball player (born 2003)
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Lauren Marie Betts (born October 15, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado, where she was ranked as the number one recruit in her class by ESPN. Betts started her college career with the Stanford Cardinal before transferring to UCLA after one season. She has twice been named a first-team All-American with the Bruins. She led UCLA to a national championship in 2026, when she was named the NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP).
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Betts with UCLA in 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 51 – Washington Mystics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 15, 2003 Dallas, Texas, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Grandview (Aurora, Colorado) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2026: 1st round, 4th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2026–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026–present | Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life and high school career
Betts was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, and moved around the country during her childhood due to the basketball career of her father, Andrew.[1] When she was in third grade, her family settled in the United States.[2] Before focusing on basketball, Betts was involved in dance, swimming and soccer.[1] She played for Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado. As a freshman, Betts averaged 12.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game for the Class 5A runners-up.[3] In her sophomore season, she averaged 17.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, leading her team back to the state title game, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Betts averaged 17.5 points and 11 rebounds per game as a junior, helping Grandview achieve a 17–1 record and reach the Class 5A semifinals. She was named Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year.[5] Betts led her team to the Class 5A state championship in her senior season.[6] She averaged 17.2 points, 11 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game, winning Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School Player of the Year and repeating as Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year.[7][8] She also played in both the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.[9]
Recruiting
Betts was considered a five-star recruit and the number one player in the 2022 class by ESPN. On January 13, 2021, she committed to playing college basketball for Stanford over offers from Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA, UConn, and South Carolina.[10]
College career
2022–23: Freshman season
Betts came off the bench for Stanford in her freshman season.[11] On November 9, 2022, she recorded a season-high 18 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in a 104–40 win over Cal State Northridge.[12] As a freshman, she averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game, earning Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention.[13]
2023–24: Sophomore season
For her sophomore season, Betts transferred to UCLA.[13] She immediately assumed a greater role with the Bruins as the team's starting center.[14] In January 2024, Betts missed four games due to a medical issue, which was later disclosed as time to focus on her mental health.[15][16] On February 16, she scored a season-high 24 points in a 79–77 loss to AP No. 11 Oregon State.[17] Betts finished the season averaging 14.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. She was an All-Pac-12 Team and a Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection, while earning All-America honorable mention from the AP and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).[16]
2024–25: Junior season
In the second game of her junior season, on November 10, 2024, Betts had 31 points and nine rebounds in an 81–63 win over Colgate.[18] On January 20, 2025, she tallied 24 points, nine rebounds, and a program-record nine blocks in a 72–57 win against AP No. 25 Baylor.[19] On January 26, 2025, Betts posted a career-high 33 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks in an 82–67 victory over AP No. 8 Maryland. During the game, she shot 14-of-15 from the field (93.3 percent), breaking the program single-game record in field goal percentage with at least 15 attempts.[20] On February 20, Betts surpassed Monique Billings to set the UCLA single-season record in blocks, as part of a 22-point, 6-block effort in a 70–55 win over AP No. 25 Illinois.[21]
The Bruins had a strong season and were ranked number one in the nation after defeating defending champion South Carolina during the regular season. Betts led the Bruins to their First Big Ten Tournament Championship and First 30 wins in a season.[22] Betts was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team and was the most outstanding player of the tournament.[23] Betts was named as both an AP[24] and a USBWA[25] First Team All–American.[26] She was named one of four finalists for the Naismith Women's Player of the Year,[27] and was named the 2025 Naismith Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year.[28] She was named to the John R. Wooden Award Women’s All-America team.[29] She received the Lisa Leslie Award, which honors the top college center.[30] Betts helped the Bruins reach the 2025 Final Four, and was named to the NCAA WBB Final Four all-tournament team.[31]
2025–26: Senior season
During her 2025–26 season, Betts earned her second Lisa Leslie Award,[32] and she was named the Big Ten Player of the Year while repeating as the conference's defensive player of the year.[33] She led UCLA to both the Big Ten regular season title and tournament championship win. The Bruins won the 2026 national championship, and Betts was named the NCAA tournament MOP.[34] On April 28, 2026, Betts was named the Honda Sport Award winner for basketball.[35]
Professional career
On April 13, 2026, the Washington Mystics selected Betts as the fourth overall pick of the 2026 WNBA draft.[36]
National team career
Betts won a gold medal with the United States under-16 national team at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Chile. She averaged 12.2 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, earning all-tournament honors.[3] Betts was the youngest member of the under-19 national team at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Hungary. She averaged 11.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game en route to a gold medal.[37] Betts played for the senior national team at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup in Mexico, helping her team win a silver medal. She averaged 11.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.[38]
Personal life
Betts was born to Andrew and Michelle Betts. Andrew was a center for the Great Britain and England national teams who played for several leading European clubs and was drafted by the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. Her mother, Michelle, played volleyball for Long Beach State; winning a national title in 1993.[39][37] Betts is biracial. She has a sister, Sienna, who also plays basketball at UCLA, and two brothers, Dylan and Ashton.[40] In 2025, Betts appeared in the 10th season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars as a guest who received a makeover as part of a weekly challenge.
Business interests
On July 21, 2025, Betts and her sister, Sienna, were signed by Unrivaled, a 3x3 basketball league, to NIL deals as part of "The Future is Unrivaled Class of 2025".[41][42]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | Stanford | 33 | 0 | 9.6 | 60.2 | – | 56.7 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 5.9 |
| 2023–24 | UCLA | 29 | 27 | 27.2 | 64.3 | – | 61.0 | 9.3 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 14.9 |
| 2024–25 | UCLA | 34 | 34 | 30.1 | 64.8 | – | 62.0 | 9.5 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 20.2 |
| 2025–26 | UCLA | 37 | 37 | 27.7 | 58.2 | 0.0 | 68.6 | 8.8 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 17.1 |
| Career | 133 | 98 | 23.7 | 61.9 | 0.0 | 62.0 | 7.8 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 14.6 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference[43] | |||||||||||||
