Lauren Betts Explained

Lauren Betts
Number:51
Position:Center
Height Ft:6
Height In:7
League:Pac-12 Conference
Team:UCLA Bruins
Birth Date:15 October 2003
Birth Place:Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Nationality:American
High School:Grandview (Aurora, Colorado)
College:
Highlights:

Lauren Marie Betts (born October 15, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. She played for Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado, where she was ranked as the number one recruit in her class by ESPN. Betts started her college career at Stanford before transferring to UCLA after one season.

Early life and high school career

Betts was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain and moved around the country during her childhood due to the basketball career of her father, Andrew.[1] Her mother, Michelle, played volleyball for Long Beach State at the college level.[2] When she was in third grade, her family settled in the United States.[3] Before focusing on basketball, Betts was involved in dance, swimming and soccer.[1] She played for Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado. As a freshman, Betts averaged 12.7 points, 8.6 boards and 3.9 blocks per game for the Class 5A runners-up.[4] In her sophomore season, she averaged 17.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, leading her team back to the state title game, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Betts averaged 17.5 points and 11 rebounds per game as a junior, helping Grandview achieve a 17–1 record and reach the Class 5A semifinals. She was named Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year.[6] Betts led her team to the Class 5A state championship in her senior season.[7] She averaged 17.2 points, 11 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game, winning Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School Player of the Year and repeating as Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year.[8] [9] She also played in both the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.[10]

Recruiting

Betts was considered a five-star recruit and the number one player in the 2022 class by ESPN. On January 13, 2021, she committed to playing college basketball for Stanford over offers from Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA, UConn and South Carolina.[11]

College career

Betts came off the bench for Stanford in her freshman season.[12] On November 9, 2022, she recorded a season-high 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in a 104–40 win over Cal State Northridge.[13] As a freshman, Betts averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game, earning Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention. For her sophomore season, she transferred to UCLA.[14] As a sophomore, Betts made 27 starts for the Bruins, averaging 14.9 points per game.[15]

National team career

Betts won a gold medal with the United States under-16 national team at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Chile. She averaged 12.2 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, earning all-tournament honors.[4] Betts was the youngest member of the under-19 national team at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Hungary. She averaged 11.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game en route to a gold medal.[16] Betts played for the senior national team at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup in Mexico, helping her team win a silver medal. She averaged 11.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.[17]

Career statistics

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| Stanford|33||0||9.6||60.2||0.0||56.7||3.5||0.5||0.2||0.9||0.5||5.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24| style="text-align:left;"| UCLA| 29||27||27.2||64.3||0.0||61.0||9.3||1.0||0.4||2.0||2.1||14.9|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career|62||27||17.8||63.0||0.0||59.4||6.2||0.7||0.3||1.4||1.3||10.1|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Newman . Kyle . Grandview's Lauren Betts has lived up to the hype as nation's top prospect — but she still needs a championship . . June 30, 2022 . March 9, 2022.
  2. Web site: Villa . Walter . Women's basketball recruiting: Well-traveled Lauren Betts heads to Chile with USA Basketball . . June 30, 2022 . June 11, 2019.
  3. Web site: Drumwright . Steve . Lauren Betts Showing She Belongs Among World's Best With Selection to USA U16 National Team . https://web.archive.org/web/20190615005746/https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2019/06/betts-feature.aspx . dead . June 15, 2019 . . Red Line Editorial . June 30, 2022 . June 13, 2019.
  4. Web site: Keeler . Sean . Lauren Betts is 6-foot-7, 16 years old, and hasn't even touched the ceiling yet . . July 1, 2022 . December 8, 2019.
  5. Web site: Schubert . Matt . Grandview's Lauren Betts commits to Stanford women's basketball, joining two other recent Colorado recruits . . July 1, 2022 . January 14, 2021.
  6. Web site: Nguyen . Joe . Grandview's Lauren Betts named Gatorade Colorado girls basketball player of the year . . July 1, 2022 . May 27, 2021.
  7. Web site: Keeler . Sean . Class 5A girls championship: Lauren Betts, Grandview finally get their title, top Valor Christian, 52-40 . . July 1, 2022 . March 12, 2022.
  8. Web site: Needelman . Joshua . Stanford commit Lauren Betts named WBCA Player of Year . Just Women's Sports . July 1, 2022 . May 12, 2022.
  9. Web site: Nguyen . Joe . Grandview's Lauren Betts named back-to-back Colorado Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year . . July 1, 2022 . March 9, 2022.
  10. Web site: Desadier . Charlie . No. 1 Senior Lauren Betts is Ready For Her Next Journey at Stanford . . July 1, 2022 . June 10, 2022.
  11. Web site: Laflin . Shane . Lauren Betts, ranked No. 1 in Class of 2022, commits to Stanford . . July 1, 2022 . January 13, 2021.
  12. Web site: Ingemi . Marisa . Lauren Betts is the future of Stanford basketball, even if she isn’t the now . . October 7, 2023 . December 27, 2022.
  13. Web site: Parker . Ben . Recap: #2 Stanford WBB dominates CSUN . . October 7, 2023 . November 10, 2022.
  14. Web site: Nguyen . Thuc Nhi . UCLA basketball adds Stanford transfer Lauren Betts, the No. 1 prospect in 2022 class . . October 7, 2023 . April 18, 2023.
  15. Web site: Lauren Betts Career Stats - NCAAW . 2024-08-07 . ESPN . en.
  16. Web site: Laase . Eden . Bigger than tall: How No. 1 recruit Lauren Betts found herself and her voice . Just Women's Sports . July 1, 2022 . November 2, 2021.
  17. Web site: Betts, Osborne Claim Silver with USA at 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup . UCLA Athletics . October 7, 2023 . July 9, 2023.
  18. Web site: Lauren Betts College Stats. Sports-Reference. April 11, 2024.