Betts powered the Bruins to the Final Four and is projected as a top-five WNBA Draft pick
13:48 ET, 03 Apr 2026Updated 13:50 ET, 03 Apr 2026
Lauren Betts won’t be the first pro basketball player in her family(Image: Sarah Stier, Getty Images)
UCLA sensation Lauren Betts has propelled the Bruins to a back-to-back Final Four appearance, putting up an impressive 23 points and 10 rebounds in a dominant 70-58 Elite Eight victory over Duke.
The towering 6-foot-7 center is widely tipped to be a top-five selection in the 2026 WNBA Draft, and she won’t be the first in her family to hear her name called on draft night.
Her father, Andrew Betts, was drafted 50th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1998 NBA Draft. The England-born big man began his playing days with the Leicester Riders before crossing the Atlantic to suit up for LIU, later making a name for himself at Long Beach State.
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During his final season, Andrew Betts put up an average of 18.7 points and 10.1 rebounds, drawing the attention of NBA scouts. It was also at Long Beach State where he crossed paths with his future wife, Michelle, who was the standout star of the school’s championship-winning volleyball team.
While Andrew Betts’ professional career in the US was limited, he went on to ply his trade in Greece, Italy, and Spain. He also earned 62 caps for the English national basketball team, including a stint at the 2009 Eurobasket tournament.
Betts’ father was an NBA Draft pick before taking his talents overseas(Image: Thien-An Truong, Getty Images)
Lauren and her sister Sienna, who also suits up for UCLA, were both born during the family’s time in Spain. In a 2026 piece for The Player’s Tribune, Lauren Betts reflected warmly on her upbringing in Western Europe.
“Before I ever picked up a ball, I was just a little kid following my dad around Europe, while he was playing basketball professionally,” she recalled. “Since my dad worked a lot, it was usually just my mom, my siblings, Sienna, and (younger brother) Dylan, and me.”
“When we weren’t at school, we were at the beach, or out somewhere eating good food. I look back at photos sometimes, and I’m just kind of stunned that I had such a magical childhood, living in Spain and traveling to all these countries.”
Lauren encountered difficulties early in her NCAA journey at Stanford, struggling to secure regular minutes on the court. Following just one season, she made the move to UCLA.
Despite a rocky beginning with the Bruins—during which Betts was temporarily admitted to a psychiatric facility—she began to thrive. Just last week, the talented center earned her second straight All-American team selection.
The 2026 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year now has an impressive list of accomplishments, with only an NCAA championship title absent from her stellar record.