Center Lauren Betts, who was the No. 1 recruit in the ESPN HoopGurlz 2022 rankings, announced on social media Tuesday that she is transferring to play for the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team.
The 6-foot-7 Betts, from Grandview High School in Colorado, spent her freshman season with the Stanford Cardinal. Betts played in 33 of the Cardinal's 35 games, averaging 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game. Her season high in points (18) came in the second game of the season, and she scored in double figures nine other times.
She committed to the Cardinal in January 2021, a couple of months before Stanford won the national championship. UCLA was one of Betts' finalists at the time, along with Notre Dame, Oregon, UConn and South Carolina.
Stanford went 29-6 overall and 15-3 in the Pac-12 this season, tying for the conference regular-season championship. The Cardinal then lost in the league tournament semifinals to UCLA. Stanford was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament but lost 54-49 to No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels in the second round. Betts played eight minutes and did not score in that game.
UCLA went 27-10 overall and 11-7 in the Pac-12. The Bruins lost to the Washington State Cougars in the Pac-12 tournament final, and then they advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, where they fell to South Carolina.
Betts is one of three players transferring from Stanford. Also in the portal are junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu and freshman guard Indya Nivar, both of whom averaged 3.2 PPG this season.