University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Photo by: Caren Nicdao
Five Bruins Invited to WNBA Draft
April 09, 2026 | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK – Five graduating Bruins have received formal invites to the WNBA Draft 2026 presented by State Street Investment Management SPY.
UCLA center Lauren Betts headlines the 15 prospects in attendance and will be joined by Angela Dugalić, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, and Kiki Rice. The Bruins account for a third of the invitees at upcoming draft, which will be held on Monday, April 13 at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York City.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the draft picks live on ESPN, with exclusive coverage beginning at 4 p.m. PT. The draft on ESPN, along with the WNBA Orange Carpet Special (ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. ET) and WNBA Countdown Presented by Google (ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET), will also be available live on the ESPN App.
Lauren Betts (UCLA / USA): The 6-7 Betts led UCLA to the national championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament. In both 2025 and 2026, she was an AP All-America First Team pick, the Lisa Leslie Award winner as the nation's best center, and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. This season, Betts was also the Big Ten Player of the Year and a candidate for multiple national Player of the Year honors while averaging 17.1 points and 8.8 rebounds.
Angela Dugalić (UCLA / USA): Dugalic helped UCLA reach the Final Four in 2025 and again this season when the Bruins won the national championship. The 6-4 forward won the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Award this season after averaging 9.0 points per game to go with 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. A native of Des Plaines, Ill., Dugalic has represented her parents' homeland as a member of the Serbia National Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gabriela Jaquez (UCLA / USA): The 6-0 guard helped UCLA reach the Final Four for the second consecutive year and propelled the Bruins to their first NCAA national championship with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the title game. Jaquez was a finalist for the 2026 Cheryl Miller Award as the nation's best small forward and an All-Big Ten Second Team pick after averaging a career high 13.5 points per game. She also set personal bests in field goal percentage (53.9) and three-point shooting percentage (39.0).
Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA / USA): In her first season with the Bruins, the Utah transfer helped UCLA win the national title with a team-high 87 made threes. The 6-0 guard was an AP All-America Honorable Mention pick and a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the country's top shooting guard after having twice been a semifinalist for the Cheryl Miller Award as a small forward. She shot 49.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range this season.
Kiki Rice (UCLA / USA): Rice helped UCLA to the Final Four in 2025 and to the 2026 national championship. This season, the 5-11 guard was a semifinalist for both the Naismith Trophy as the National Player of the Year and the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation's best point guard when she ranked eighth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5). An AP All-America Honorable Mention pick, Rice also averaged career-bests of 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
UCLA center Lauren Betts headlines the 15 prospects in attendance and will be joined by Angela Dugalić, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, and Kiki Rice. The Bruins account for a third of the invitees at upcoming draft, which will be held on Monday, April 13 at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York City.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the draft picks live on ESPN, with exclusive coverage beginning at 4 p.m. PT. The draft on ESPN, along with the WNBA Orange Carpet Special (ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. ET) and WNBA Countdown Presented by Google (ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET), will also be available live on the ESPN App.
Lauren Betts (UCLA / USA): The 6-7 Betts led UCLA to the national championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament. In both 2025 and 2026, she was an AP All-America First Team pick, the Lisa Leslie Award winner as the nation's best center, and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. This season, Betts was also the Big Ten Player of the Year and a candidate for multiple national Player of the Year honors while averaging 17.1 points and 8.8 rebounds.
Angela Dugalić (UCLA / USA): Dugalic helped UCLA reach the Final Four in 2025 and again this season when the Bruins won the national championship. The 6-4 forward won the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Award this season after averaging 9.0 points per game to go with 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. A native of Des Plaines, Ill., Dugalic has represented her parents' homeland as a member of the Serbia National Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gabriela Jaquez (UCLA / USA): The 6-0 guard helped UCLA reach the Final Four for the second consecutive year and propelled the Bruins to their first NCAA national championship with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the title game. Jaquez was a finalist for the 2026 Cheryl Miller Award as the nation's best small forward and an All-Big Ten Second Team pick after averaging a career high 13.5 points per game. She also set personal bests in field goal percentage (53.9) and three-point shooting percentage (39.0).
Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA / USA): In her first season with the Bruins, the Utah transfer helped UCLA win the national title with a team-high 87 made threes. The 6-0 guard was an AP All-America Honorable Mention pick and a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the country's top shooting guard after having twice been a semifinalist for the Cheryl Miller Award as a small forward. She shot 49.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range this season.
Kiki Rice (UCLA / USA): Rice helped UCLA to the Final Four in 2025 and to the 2026 national championship. This season, the 5-11 guard was a semifinalist for both the Naismith Trophy as the National Player of the Year and the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation's best point guard when she ranked eighth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5). An AP All-America Honorable Mention pick, Rice also averaged career-bests of 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
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