Lauren Betts

Lauren Betts is a professional basketball player recognized for her achievements as a center in women's basketball. Standing 6-foot-7, Betts was ranked as the number one recruit in her class by ESPN and earned McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic honors during her high school career at Grandview High School in Colorado. She won the WBCA High School Player of the Year Award and was a two-time Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year.

Betts began her college basketball career at Stanford before transferring to UCLA, where she became one of only three players in UCLA program history with more than 1,800 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. At UCLA, Betts earned multiple accolades, including two AP and USBWA First Team All-American selections, two Lisa Leslie Awards as the nation's top center, and the Naismith Women's College Defensive Player of the Year Award. She became the first player to win both Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Betts averaged 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 58.2 percent from the field, and set the UCLA single-season record for blocks. In the NCAA Tournament, she led the Bruins to their first national championship and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, becoming the first player to record more than 125 points, 50 rebounds, and 15 blocks on 65 percent shooting or better in a single NCAA Tournament.

Off the court, Betts has advocated for mental health awareness in athletics. During her sophomore year at UCLA, she stepped away from the team to address depression and anxiety, later sharing her experience in a first-person essay titled "I Want To Be Here" for The Players' Tribune. Her openness about the pressures of college athletics and her journey to recovery has contributed to broader conversations about athlete mental health.

Betts has represented the United States internationally, winning gold medals with the U.S. Under-16 team at the FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship and with the Under-19 team at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup, as well as a silver medal with the senior national team at the FIBA AmeriCup. The Washington Mystics selected Betts as the fourth overall pick in the WNBA Draft, during a draft in which UCLA became the first program to have five first-round selections and six total picks. Betts enters the WNBA as a prominent figure in women's basketball, known for her skill, defensive ability, and leadership.