It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for the UCLA women’s basketball team.
Fresh off winning the program’s first ever championship in a rout over South Carolina, the Bruins were the highlight of the 2026 WNBA Draft.
The Bruins’ 2026 class featured six players: Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
All six were drafted, meaning UCLA made history with the most selections for a single school in one WNBA draft. Five of those came in the first round to set another mark.
Betts, a dominant 6-foot-7 center, went first from the group at No. 4 overall to the Washington Mystics. Jaquez, a wing, followed up a breakout championship game by going right after at No. 5, landing with the Chicago Sky.
Then came the back-to-back-to-back pick, as guard Kiki Rice went No. 6 to new expansion team Toronto Tempo.
Gianna Kneepkens, another versatile wing, rounded out the first round by going No. 15 to the Connecticut Sun. Leger-Walker was the sixth and final UCLA pick, landing at No. 18 overall to join Kneepkens in Connecticut (for one season before the franchise relocates to Houston).
UCLA went 37-1 en route to winning the national title, and now its key players get rewarded by dominating the early stages of the draft.
Three schools previously had five players go in one draft: Tennessee (1999, 2008), Notre Dame (2019) and South Carolina (2023).
UCLA got big games from Gabriela Jaquez and Lauren Betts to win its first NCAA tournament title.