Lauren Betts has a chance to turn back the clock in her debut experience with the United States’ national senior team.
Lauren Betts may be the present and future of Pacific basketball. A trip east is allowing her to turn back the clock.
The UCLA standout is one of several seedlings invited to the United States women’s national basketball team’s training camp in Durham, NC. The camp proceedings, which run through Sunday, are essentially the first step in the red, white, and blue bid to earn an Olympic gold medal in front of a home crowd in Los Angeles.
Time will tell if Betts is part of the 12-woman contingent that gets a chance to continue a 61-game star-spangled winning streak in Olympic play. For now, Betts is living every college senior’s dream: to go back to where it all began.
“I feel like a freshman … all over again,” Betts said after her first practice with the senior squad. “Obviously, I’m one of the youngest here, so it is really cool to just kind of step out of that leadership role for a little bit and just get to really listen and take all the new information in and just be a sponge.”
Betts Takes in National Team Experience Alongside Bueckers, Clark, Reese
A good amount of camp attention has centered on the “young and turnt” changing of the guard headlined by fledgling WNBA stars like Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese. But, with fellow SoCal hardwood hope JuJu Watkins still sidelined by a torn ACL, Betts is the lone active collegiate rep on the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium this weekend.
Previous national experience, which saw her collaborate with fellow camp participants like Clark, Reese, Sonia Citron, and Rickea Jackson, stems from her tours in the amateur circuit as well as the 2023 AmeriCup. Despite those endeavors, Betts nonetheless probably faces an uphill battle to reach the final roster, especially with this weekend’s camp missing several veteran members from last year’s golden squad (i.e., Napheesa Collier, Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson).
Vibes are high at #USABWNT Camp 👀 pic.twitter.com/4VDyc3fua3
— WNBA (@WNBA) December 12, 2025
Will We See Betts in 2028?
But Betts has embraced a brilliant opportunity to get a bit of a “head start” on her professional career, which will likely begin in the early stages of the next WNBA Draft. Huddles and film sessions (which presented prior championship triumphs from the national squad, such as the last Olympics’ Paris prevailing against France) gave Betts the cliched, if not cherished, realization of just exactly where she was, but that she was already improving her game in anticipation of the cutthroat debut that awaits.
“I think just like trusting myself and just playing basketball,” Betts said of her early takeaways from Durham. “I think when you’re in college, there’s obviously lots of scout. You have to be really intentional with things, and you have to kind of worry about every single move that you make, sometimes, when you’re playing.
“But I think, just being an environment like this, just being able to, you know, understand who’s on the floor with me, and just play the game [has been great]. I think it’s just been really cool how I’ve been able to make a lot of decisions on the go. So I think it’s just expanding my game a little bit and just allowing me to grow my IQ a little bit. It’s just really cool to learn from, like the amazing guards out here as well. They’ve been really helpful.”
Betts Sisters Set to Reunite at UCLA
Betts gaining knowledge through a working weekend should offer a word of warning to UCLA’s upcoming opponents, the next being Cal Poly on Tuesday night in Westwood (7 p.m. PT, BTN). The back of her Bruins jersey may require some extra stitching, as Betts is set to be joined by her younger sister, Sienna, the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Game MVP. The younger Betts’ debut has been delayed by a leg injury endured in an exhibition game, but the sisters will reunite just before UCLA’s conference endeavors tip off in earnest.
“This has been a really up and down process for her,” Lauren said of Sienna. “No one wants to be injured, especially going into your first year in college … She’s been putting in a lot of hard work, and I’m so excited for her to get the opportunity to step on the floor for the first time, because she’s really had an amazing attitude throughout all of this. We’ve all been there for her, and the staff has been amazing. As her older sister, I just can’t wait to watch her experience that for the first time, and I’m just super proud of her.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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