This post was updated April 13 at 9:50 p.m.

A 34-point loss was uncharacteristic.

So much so that it marked the biggest loss ever in the Final Four.

But No. 2 seed UConn’s 23-point win against No. 1 seed South Carolina in the NCAA championship weakened the blow.

And though the Bruins were not showered in blue and gold confetti, next season holds ample potential. UCLA women’s basketball has history-book achievements to cherish from its 2024-2025 season and potentially more waiting for it in the 2025-2026 campaign.

“We’ve obviously gone to new heights this year,” said coach Cori Close. “Really unusual to be in this position at the Final Four and have zero seniors in your locker room and have an opportunity to come back stronger, more connected, learning from this experience and be better the next time.”

Despite not having any graduating players, six Bruins have entered the transfer portal since April 10, including juniors shooting guard Londynn Jones and forward Janiah Barker. The former played in all 37 games this season, starting in 31 of them, while the latter was this year’s Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year.

Additionally, Close’s entire freshman class also entered the portal Monday and Tuesday, with freshman guards Avary Cain and Elina Aarnisalo entering Monday and forwards Kendall Dudley and Zania Socka-Nguemen entering Tuesday.

Despite some losses, the Bruins will gain incoming recruits. Soon, junior center and the team’s leading scorer Lauren Betts won’t be the only Betts on the roster.

High school senior forward Sienna Betts – the 6-foot-4 Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year and McDonald’s All-American MVP – will play alongside her older sister next season. The No. 2 recruit of the 2025 class and Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year averages a double-double 23.5 points and 15.6 rebounds per game.

“I will say that she’s a way better shooter than I am,” Lauren Betts said. “To be honest, I feel for her being younger, I think she is a little bit smarter than I am, too. She’s genuinely one of the smartest basketball players I’ve ever been around.”

Graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker is also expected to return to the court after redshirting her first season with the Bruins. The Washington State transfer earned WBCA All-American honorable mentions her first three seasons with the Cougars before sustaining an ACL injury in her senior season and subsequently transferring to UCLA.

Leger-Walker has been practicing in full with the squad since the early postseason and is anticipated to make her UCLA debut in the 2025-2026 season.

Outside of the Bruins’ roster, some of the sport’s biggest competition presents turnover that could influence the AP Preseason poll.

While USC beat UCLA in two of the three crosstown rivals’ meetings in the 2024-2025 season, the Trojans will be without stalwart guard JuJu Watkins – who’s out with an ACL tear suffered in March Madness’ Round of 32 – and forward Kiki Iriafen, a projected top-five pick in the WNBA draft.

Three Trojan guards, including Avery Howell, have also entered the portal. After earning a No. 1 seed in March Madness, USC’s roster next season will be unfamiliar.

“We were the two teams that played in the Big Ten championship,” Rice said. “We’ll be great next year. USC will be great, and there’ll be a lot of really good teams in the Big Ten.”

The class of 2020’s top-five recruits – a class that includes Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink and Angel Reese – have all left college for the WNBA. Four of the five were drafted at the end of the 2023-2024 season, with women’s basketball figurehead and Iowa alumnus Caitlin Clark being drafted to the Indiana Fever.

UConn guard Paige Bueckers is the last of the cohort to retire from the collegiate level. The Big East Player of the Year is expected to go first overall to the Dallas Wings, but the Huskies will still boast guard Azzi Fudd and forward Sarah Strong.

“Paige has just got an incredible charisma. To me, she’s an incredibly, most efficient scorer, all those things. But her elite skill in my mind that I love the most is watching her vision and passing,” Close said. “Azzi, she just has incredible work ethic. She’s an elite player and she has a very tender heart.”

Next season will look different to the Bruins, both internally and externally. But with promising recruits and no graduating seniors, UCLA is in a unique position compared to other top teams.

“We are very fortunate this year,” Close said. “We don’t have a lot of space. So it actually has not been very difficult for us at all, because we have the potential to have almost our whole roster return.”