LOS ANGELES – The Michael Price Family UCLA Women’s Head Basketball Coach Cori Close has been named Coach of the Year, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) announced Thursday.
Close has led the Bruins to a 30-2 record heading into the NCAA tournament, setting a new program best in wins and achieving the 30-win mark for the first time in school history. The Bruins racked up 23-consecutive wins to start the season, including a 22-game win streak by double digits. Both streaks set new school records. Close became the first women’s basketball coach to reach 300 wins at UCLA earlier this season; she boasts 316 career wins at the helm for the Bruins.
The Bruins sat atop the Associated Press Top 25 Women’s Basketball Poll for 12-consecutive weeks during the regular season, setting a record for the Big Ten in UCLA’s inaugural season in the conference. The Bruins reclaimed the No. 1 spot for the final two weeks of the season, totaling 14 weeks in the top spot of the AP poll.
UCLA captured the Big Ten tournament championship – its first conference tournament title since 2006 – as the Bruins overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to take down rival USC on March 9. Close claimed her first conference championship as head of the Bruin program.
Close joins the late Billie Moore as the only UCLA head coaches to earn a national coach of the year award; Moore received the honor in 1978, the year the Bruins took home the AIAW national championship.