LOS ANGELES — Cori Close has been around the block in Westwood.

Entering her 15th season as UCLA women’s basketball coach, Close may not have had a roster as talented as the one she brings in for the 2025-2026 season, and that’s coming off a season in which the program reached new heights in its first Final Four berth .

But that’s not all.

Close chuckled as she held court with the media for the first time during the preseason a few weeks ago. The Associated Press Coach of the Year last season – among a clean sweep of national coaching awards – was asked how she spent her summer.

Close admitted she was having more fun than her players, a group full of preseason watch list Bruins and a few of whom could be first-round WNBA draft picks come season’s end.

“It was probably the best summe

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