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UCLA's Cori Close says Final Four loss reshaped her leadership style
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- UCLA's Cori Close says Final Four loss reshaped her leadership style
The UCLA women's basketball team advanced to the 2025 Final Four with national title aspirations but fell a game short of the championship.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies beat UCLA in the semifinals, 85-51, before defeating South Carolina for the program's 12th championship. Bruins head coach Cori Close recently revealed to USA TODAY Sports that after the Bruins lost, she felt like she failed as a leader.
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"Last year, we were No. 1 in the country for 14 straight weeks, but there was a lot of heaviness of expectation," Close said while promoting her partnership with Wescom Foundation, which has a relief initiative dedicated to erasing debt for those impacted by the 2025 California wildfires."It was the first time we were in this situation. Then, you add the fires and how many of our people that were involved in our program were really hurting, and then, we actually just ― keeping it real ― had six players leave our program in an offseason. It was hard. Our players said you would have never have known that we had the best year in UCLA history in women's basketball."
The Bruins went 30-2 in the regular season, winning 30 games for the first time in program history. UCLA also won its first Big Ten championship , defeating USC and guard JuJu Watkins , 72-67. The Bruins then earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, another program first. UCLA beat Southern University , Richmond and Ole Miss before meeting LSU in the Elite Eight. Close and the Bruins withstood a fourth-quarter surge from the Tigers before punching their ticket to the Final Four.
However, that's where their season ended. The Huskies, led by guard Paige Bueckers , overwhelmed UCLA with sweltering defense and punishing shots. By halftime, UConn had a 20-point lead, and a push from center Lauren Betts , who finished with 26 points, wasn't enough. Close says, despite the gut-wrenching end to the season, she's since encouraged the current roster to find the right balance between struggle and joy.
"The hard is good. The hard helps us grow. Nobody grows in their comfort zone," said Close, whose No. 3 Bruins host No. 12 Maryland on Sunday (4 p.m. ET, NBC). "It's not a happiness that depends on your happenings. Joy is a choice. Joy has a depth to it. Joy is not determined by the circumstances around you."
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Before the 2025-2026 season, UCLA lost six players from its Final Four team, including forwards Timea Gardiner and Janiah Barker and guard Londynn Jones. Gardiner, who has been dealing with a knee injury , has yet to return this season. Barker transferred to Tennessee and Jones to USC. As the Bruins reloaded for another championship push, Close brought in Betts' sister, Sienna, a 6-foot-4 freshman forward ranked No. 2 overall in the class of 2025.
Back in the national title conversation this season, the UCLA coach says her team is focused on "selflessness." Close and her staff have challenged players not to put themselves above the team. The staff wants the roster to be hungry and have a growth mindset while shutting out any outside noise. Players are also being pushed to add value and bring energy. Close says she often asks her players if their energy is "worth being caught" and "is it helping us grow or is it having us go back?"
The Bruins coach believes she has "the most talented roster in the country" with "the highest ceiling." To the California native's point, UCLA is led by six seniors ― Betts, guard Kiki Rice , guard Gianna Kneepkens , guard Gabriela Jaquez and guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, plus forward Angela Dugalić ― who could all be picked in the 2026 WNBA draft . Close calls having so many pro prospects "craziness." She wants to help her players master their craft to help them find success after UCLA.
"It's my great joy because I believe in them as people, I believe in their work ethic. I believe in what they've earned," she told USA TODAY. "I believe in the kind of teammates they've chosen to be ― to be able to talk to these agents and these [general managers] and to these head coaches and say, 'You want them on your roster.'
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"This program is not about us. It's about serving them. For me to facilitate a transition they've dreamt of their whole life, how lucky am I?"
While the Bruins continue their national title push, they've made it a point to not only lean on their seniors but also the entire team and the staff. UCLA holds regular lunches to connect with one another on a deeper level. After practice, they gather on a nearby patio and eat together. No phones are allowed as they focus on strengthening their relationships. According to Close, it's paid off. The team has spent so much time together that she's had to shut down the gym because "they don't rest enough."
What's more, the connections have spurred new adventures like Leger-Walker's ongoing TikTok series , where she is teaching Kneepkens how to dance. Close joked with USA TODAY that she wonders when Leger-Walker would help her with her moves. Yet, there's something a bit deeper than team lunches or dancing lessons hidden behind Close's efforts to make UCLA more connected.
"Maybe what we went through last year, a little bit, and what I wanted to do, I just didn't want to miss the moments this year. I wanted to really enjoy it," Close said. "Coach [John] Wooden used to say, 'You know, Cori, you're not coaching people's jump shots. You're coaching people's hearts.' But if you coach their hearts really well, usually, their jump shots end up pretty good, too."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cori Close vows to coach UCLA women's basketball differently with joy
