In Reply to: W: Texas stole a recruit from us posted by TheHappyBurgermeister on April 09, 2026 at 06:33:08
"UCLA Stars’ Mom Recruiting for Bruins"
UCLA women’s basketball was led to the program’s first NCAA title in history by a group of six graduating players this season. Now that the season is over and the Bruins have been crowned national champions, UCLA needs to start rebuilding the program for the future.
All six graduating players are entering the 2026 WNBA Draft, leaving UCLA with just five players from the national championship roster. Three of those players were freshman this season, including 2025 McDonald’s All-American Game Most Valuable Player, Sienna Betts.
Betts is the younger sister of NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and senior, Lauren Betts.
As Lauren enters the WNBA Draft as a projected first-round pick, Sienna is transitioning into a much larger role for the Bruins next season.
The Betts’ mother, Michelle Betts, is doing her part to help Sienna and UCLA rebuild this offseason. She has offered to talk to players who are in the transfer portal and interested in UCLA about her daughters’ experience with the program.
Michelle has even reached out directly to top players in the transfer portal.
Which Players Has the Betts’ Mother Reached Out To?
So far, Michelle Betts has publicly reached out to three players in the transfer portal on social media: Tennessee freshman guard Aaliyah Crump, NC State sophomore forward Tilda Trygger and Stanford freshman forward Lara Somfai.
All three of these players would be strong additions to UCLA’s roster next season and could be part of the program for multiple years.
Five of the six graduating players from UCLA’s national championship team were with the Bruins for at least two seasons, and two of them (Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice) spent their entire careers with the program. Lauren Betts transferred to UCLA from Stanford as a sophomore in 2023, spending three seasons with the Bruins.
Crump was ranked the No. 5 recruit in the class of 2025 by ESPN. Crump and Sienna have played together on USA Basketball for multiple years. Meanwhile, Somfai represented Australia in several international tournaments and was named a ACC All-Freshman Team selection this season.
Trygger was a regular starter for NC State, averaging a career-high 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 blocks in 30.1 minutes per game. Like Somfai, Trygger was a ACC All-Freshman Team selection last season.