Cori Close

Cori Rashel Close (born July 29, 1971)^[1] is an American college basketball coach who has served as the head women's basketball coach for the UCLA Bruins since 2011.^[2] Before UCLA, she spent time as an assistant coach at Florida State University and her alma mater, UC Santa Barbara. She was a star player for the UCSB Gauchos, serving as a team captain during the 1992 and 1993 seasons while leading them to the NCAA tournament both years.^[3]

Cori Close

Close in 2014
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	UCLA
Conference	Big Ten
Record	321–143 (.692)
Biographical details
Born	(1971-07-29) July 29, 1971 (age 53) Milpitas, California
Playing career
1989–1993	UC Santa Barbara
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1993–1995	UCLA (Asst.)
1995–2004	UC Santa Barbara (Asst./Assoc.)
2004–2011	Florida State (Assoc.)
2011–present	UCLA
Head coaching record
Overall	321–143 (.692)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Regional—Final Four (2025) WNIT (2015) Big Ten tournament (2025)
Awards
USBWA Coach of the Year (2025) Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year (2025)

College statistics

Source^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Ratios

YEAR	Team	GP	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	BPG	SPG	PPG
1989-90	UC Santa Barbara	13	43.2%	27.3%	65.2%	2.85	2.69	0.00	2.08	6.31
1990-91	UC Santa Barbara	29	41.3%	30.8%	75.9%	2.62	4.28	0.03	1.90	8.97
1991-92	UC Santa Barbara	32	48.8%	31.9%	77.5%	2.28	5.84	0.06	1.88	12.69
1992-93	UC Santa Barbara	31	43.4%	36.8%	79.8%	0.52	8.29	0.06	2.52	15.35
Career		105	44.6%	33.8%	77.2%	1.92	5.74	0.05	2.10	11.66

Totals

YEAR	Team	GP	FG	FGA	3P	3PA	FT	FTA	REB	A	BK	ST	PTS
1989-90	UC Santa Barbara	13	32	74	3	11	15	23	37	35	0	27	82
1990-91	UC Santa Barbara	29	93	225	8	26	66	87	76	124	1	55	260
1991-92	UC Santa Barbara	32	145	297	23	72	93	120	73	187	2	60	406
1992-93	UC Santa Barbara	31	169	389	35	95	103	129	16	257	2	78	476
Career		105	439	985	69	204	277	359	202	603	5	220	1224

Ratios

Totals

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
UCLA (Pac-12 Conference) (2011–2024)
2011–12	UCLA	14–16	9–9	T–5th
2012–13	UCLA	26–8	14–4	3rd	NCAA Second Round
2013–14	UCLA	13–18	7–11	8th
2014–15	UCLA	19–18	8–10	6th	WNIT Champions
2015–16	UCLA	26–9	14–4	T–3rd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2016–17	UCLA	25–9	13–5	4th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2017–18	UCLA	27–8	14–4	T–3rd	NCAA Elite Eight
2018–19	UCLA	22–13	12–6	4th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2019–20	UCLA	26–5	14–4	T–2nd	Postseason not held
2020–21	UCLA	17–6	12–4	3rd	NCAA Second Round
2021–22	UCLA	18–13	8–8	7th	WNIT Semifinals
2022–23	UCLA	27–10	11–7	T–4th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2023–24	UCLA	27–7	13–5	T–2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
UCLA (Big Ten Conference) (2024–present)
2024–25	UCLA	34–3	16–2	2nd	NCAA Final Four
UCLA:		321–143 (.692)	162–83 (.661)
Total:		321–143 (.692)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Awards and honors

• March 23, 2016 – Close was named the 2016 United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division I Region 5 Coach of the Year
• March 6, 2019 – Close was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year by Pac-12 women's basketball media members^[9]
• March 20, 2025 – Coach Cori Close was named USBWA Coach of the Year^[10][11]
• March 24, 2025 – Coach Cori Close was named a finalist for the Naismith College Coach of the Year^[12]
• April 2, 2025 – Coach Cori Close was the 2025 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year^[13]