Cori Close was appointed the Michael Price Family UCLA Women’s Head Basketball Coach on April 21, 2011, and has since become one of the most successful coaches in program history. Under her leadership, UCLA has reached new heights: in the 2024-25 season, her Bruins posted a 34-3 record, captured the inaugural Big Ten women’s tournament title, achieved the school’s first-ever Final Four appearance, and for the first time earned the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll (holding it for 14 of 19 weeks). She guided the team to single-season program records in wins (34), consecutive wins (23), and consecutive double-digit-margin victories (22). The season earned her sweep of the major national Coach of the Year awards. Prior to that breakthrough campaign, Close had already led UCLA to multiple 20-win seasons, consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances, and in 2019-20 engineered a 13-game win-streak to open the season before the pandemic truncated the run.
Beyond the numbers, Close’s coaching philosophy blends player development, rebounding dominance, and offensive creativity — UCLA led the nation in rebounding margin in the 2023-24 season and ranked highly in offensive effectiveness. A former collegiate guard at UC Santa Barbara, she returned to UCLA and Florida State in assistant roles before taking the head-coach reins in Westwood. She emphasizes character, community engagement, and academic excellence; in 2024 she received the WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award. Over her career, she has built one of the premier programs in women’s basketball while mentoring young women for success on and off the court.
