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Cori Close could barely keep her seat warm.<\/p>\n
Time after time, pick after pick, the UCLA women\u2019s basketball coach rose Monday evening to celebrate one of her players getting taken in the WNBA draft.<\/p>\n
Three consecutive selections in the first round. Five selections in the first 15. A record six selections overall.<\/p>\nAngela Dugalic, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez pose for a photo before the 2026 WNBA Draft on April 13, 2026 at The Shed in New York City, New York. (Photo by David Dow\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nClose\u2019s players acknowledged their smiling coach in return, center Lauren Betts flashing fours-up on her way to the stage after being selected by the Washington Mystics with the No. 4 pick.<\/p>\n
That was just the start of a record-tying flurry in which guard Gabriela Jaquez went to the Chicago Sky with the No. 5 pick and point guard Kiki Rice went to the Toronto Tempo with the No. 6 pick.<\/p>\n
In a matter of minutes, UCLA became only the second school to produce three consecutive draft picks, joining UConn in 2016.<\/p>\n\n<\/aside>\n\u201cI want to say I\u2019m surprised but I\u2019m not,\u201d Betts told reporters at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York, \u201cbecause I just know how talented all my teammates are, and they deserve every single bit of this night. They\u2019ve worked so hard and I\u2019ve seen their journeys. These are like my sisters, and getting to watch your family do something like that is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
When forward Angela Dugalic went No. 9 to Washington and guard Gianna Kneepkens went No. 15 to the Connecticut Sun, the Bruins had generated five first-round picks, breaking the record of four set by UConn in 2002.<\/p>\n
There was another record to fall when point guard Charlisse Leger-Walker went No. 18 to Connecticut, giving UCLA six draftees in a single year. Leger-Walker, whom Close predicted would be the steal of the draft, also became the first player from New Zealand selected in the history of the draft.<\/p>\nLauren Betts, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic, Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez pose for a photo during the 2026 WNBA draft on April 13, 2026 at The Shed in New York, New York. (Photo by David L. Nemec\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI think it definitely demonstrates that being a selfless team that maybe giving up individual stats for team success, that you can win with that formula,\u201d Rice said of UCLA generating so many draft picks. \u201cYou can still be successful. You can win at a high level as a team but you can also achieve individual goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jaquez and Dugalic shot up the draft charts after strong showings in the NCAA Tournament. Displaying her well-rounded game, Jaquez tallied 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists during the Bruins\u2019 championship victory over South Carolina. Dugalic logged two double-doubles despite coming off the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that was really special about our UCLA team is they\u2019re just incredible players all around,\u201d Kneepkens said. \u201cSo I think it\u2019s a skill to know how to play with great players. And you obviously need that in the WNBA. I feel like I got great practice with that. I\u2019m just going to continue to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Betts and Dugalic will join a rival in former USC star Kiki Iriafen on the Mystics\u2019 roster as well as an ally in UCLA assistant coach Michaela Onyenwere, who recently signed with the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still going to call her coach Mic,\u201d Betts cracked, \u201cjust to get on her nerves.\u201d<\/p>\nLauren Betts of the Washington Mystics poses for a photo during the 2026 WNBA Draft on April 13, 2026 at The Shed in New York, New York. (Photo by Brian Babineau\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAs soon as her name was called, Betts rose from her seat to hug her mother, father, sister Sienna and brother Dylan. Only minutes later, after Jaquez heard her name called, she performed a similar routine with her family as they all FaceTimed with Jaime Jaquez Jr., the former UCLA star who now plays for the Miami Heat.<\/p>\n
Dugalic thanked her family in her native Serbian and Kneepkens made the best quip of the night when asked about her five older brothers and who taught her to shoot.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot any of them,\u201d Kneepkens said, prompting laughter.<\/p>\n
The rookies will be the best paid in league history thanks to the WNBA\u2019s new collective bargaining agreement. Betts will make $407,163 in her first season, Jaquez will make $380,219 and Rice will make $355,058.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel so incredibly grateful for all the women who have fought for what they\u2019ve earned,\u201d said Kneepkens, who will make $289,133 as a rookie. \u201cI mean, just to see what they\u2019ve done for the past 30 years is incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo to know that there\u2019s women I can look up to in the league that are willing to do that, I think it helps me want to do that and continue to grow the league as I step into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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