It may be too early for the 2026 season, especially as the 2025-2026 college basketball season has not even started yet, but there are plenty of mock drafts making all sorts of predictions for the WNBA draft next year. Among these predictions is that UCLA center Lauren Betts, who has shown how dominant she is in the middle after leading the Bruins to their first Final Four in April, will be the No. 1 pick by the Golden State Valkyries.
Back in May, before the WNBA season even started, Bleacher Report released its projected mock draft for 2026, basing it on the projected draft order by Tankathon, which had the Golden State Valkyries probably picking No. 1. For the Valkyries, B/R picked the 6-foot-7 UCLA center after a dominant season and choosing to stay in college.
With the Valkyries just starting their franchise, it is likely that they will get No. 1 and they will use that pick to get somebody that they could build the franchise around, and they see it to be Betts. The center averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game last season and led the Bruins to the Big Ten championship.
Lauren Betts, whose sister, No. 2-ranked prospect from the Class of 2025, Sienna Betts, will look to form a formidable “twin towers” of sorts, with Sienna being the No. 1 power forward of her class and will be complementing her sister in the frontline. However, after just one year together, Lauren may be heading to the WNBA, with 2026 possibly being her year.
The elder Betts sister is known to be a terror in the paint, with her being one of the best rim protectors in the NCAA today. She is good at defending in space and offensively, she has been hailed for her efficiency, being 65% from the field last season.
Lauren Betts Says She Wants To Win a National Championship With UCLA
After her dominant junior year with UCLA, Lauren Betts could have been drafted No. 1 in 2025, but chose to stay and said she wants to play another year. This decision came as her sister Sienna is about to join her in the Bruins frontline. There may also be another reason she opted to stay in college, and that is win a natty.
“I want to win a national championship, obviously, if not this year, then obviously next year, but hopefully we could just do it both times,” Betts said.
Sienna, who was also dominant in high school, is seen to be the one to lighten her older sister’s load once she arrives in UCLA. She is also a McDonald’s All-American, whose 6’4 height also makes her a dominant force in the paint, just like Lauren.
Related: ’12 of Them!’ — UConn Star Paige Bueckers, Huskies Legend Breanna Stewart Celebrates National Title
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