Reasons why UCLA's women's basketball team will win a national championship

If you have not been paying attention to the Bruin's women's basketball team this season, now is the time to do so, as they are the team ranked No. 1 in the country and the favorite to win the national title in 2025.

UCLA Bruins guard Gabriela Jaquez
UCLA Bruins guard Gabriela Jaquez | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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UCLA basketball
The UCLA home game was relocated because of wildfires. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Here are the two reasons why UCLA will win a national championship in 2025.

No. 2: The UCLA teams is very talented and the rankings back up that statement

The freshman class that UCLA brought in this season consisted of two five star recruits as well as a highly ranked four star recruit. However, you have to go back to the 2022 recruiting class to see how the Bruins build arguably the most talented roster in women's college basketball.

When guards Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones, forward Gabriela Jaquez, and centers Christeen Iwuala and Lina Sontag signed with UCLA, it began a wave of excpetional recruiting by Cori Close and her staff. This would end up being the best class the Bruins have had under Close during her tenure as UCLA coach. .That class, at the time was compared to the 2014 class, which helped UCLA make it to their second NCAA regional final and included Monique Billings and Jordin Canada, who were later picked in the WNBA draft.

Unfortunately, most national publications like 247 Sports, On3, Rivals, etc. did not compile national women's college basketball ranking until 2024. However, ESPN has put out a ranking and UCLA's amazing 2021 class had a No. 1 overall ranked class according to ESPN. Of those student athletes from that class, Rice, Jaquez, and Jones are juniors now and are major contributors to UCLA's success.

Even in the transfer portal, UCLA has brought in a ton of talent. For example, UCLA's leading scorer Lauren Betts transferred to be a Bruin after one year at Stanford and was the No. 1 ranked recruit out of high school. Betts is UCLA's leading scorer this season and a national player of the year candidate.

No. 1: Leadership, experience, and depth

UCLA's top five leading scorers are juniors, and the top seven leading scorers are either juniors or seniors. The tremendous amount of experience and leadership is vital in helping this year's team and their efforts in obtaining a national title in 2025.

UCLA's depth and production on this year's team are crucial for qualifying for the NCAA tournament. The Bruins have ten players who average over ten minutes per game, and UCLA has six players who average nine or more points a game.

The Bruins have five players who average two or more assists per game and five who shot 50% or above in field goal percentage this season. Betts, Rice, and Jaquez collectively average ten or more points per game, two and a half assists per game, and a field goal percentage of at least 56%.

UCLA plays a nationally televised game as they play Baylor in the Coretta Scott King Classic in their last non-conference game of the season. The game will be in Newark, New Jersey, in the Prudential Center but this UCLA team does not let long trips for games deter them from accomplishing their short-term goal of winning the game in terms of reaching their long-term goal of preparing to win a national championship.

Schedule

Schedule