The champs are back to work. Following last year’s NCAA championship the UCLA Bruins are back to work with a largely new roster for the 2026-2027 season. UCLA began practice this week, marking the beginning of a new journey for the program.
UCLA head coach Cori Close went to work in the transfer portal to put together a new roster after losing five players to the WNBA Draft from the championship team. UCLA’s legendary senior class will be tough to replace but now the Bruins will turn to Sienna Betts to lead the way.
Betts starred in an exhibition game against the Canadian National Team this summer, where she scored 20 points and looked to be UCLA’s most potent scorer. She’s not the only returning champ for UCLA either, with Amanda Muse, Timea
Gardiner, Lena Bilic and Christina Karamouzi all returning.
“Our team chemistry is really great,” Muse, UCLA’s longest-tenured player, said in the team’s release. “We’re great at connecting off the court, and that shows on the court. It’s been really fun to play together and build with each other so far.”
Muse isn’t the only Bruin fired up for the new season. Newcomer Addy Brown is set to begin her UCLA career after spending her first three college seasons with Iowa State.
“Being able to get the next level, that’s always been a dream of mine,” Brown said. “No staff has a better player development team than UCLA. All the coaches are just super competitive, and they’re going to do whatever it takes to win. That’s what I want to be a part of.”
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA women's basketball returns to practice after championship season
