UCLA’s Cori Close connected with Geno and UConn, igniting a run of her own

Maybe they haven’t played three times this season like Southern California and UCLA, but familiarity between Bruins coach Cori Close and UConn is as thick as Florida humidity.

Close traces her connection to Huskies coach Geno Auriemma to 13 years ago, when she found herself without an NCAA Tournament team and unwanted free time.

Of course, Close being Close, she set out to do something with the open calendar.

“I had a little more time on my hands after the season was over. And I’m, like, what a unique opportunity … I wonder if people would let me watch them practice?” Close recalled Thursday as the Bruins get set to play UConn in the Final Four in Tampa, Fla.

“So I called Muffet McGraw and I called Coach Auriemma and asked if I could come and watch.

“I spent the first and second rounds watching Notre Dame, their prep. And then I went to Connecticut and spent four days there — watched them practice and prepare. It was just tremendous.”

UCLA is 34-2 and in the national semifinals for the first time since 1979. The 2025 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year, Close has seen plenty of Auriemma and UConn (35-3) over the years.

Close, who coached current UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd as part of the Under-19 2019 World Cup USA Basketball roster in Thailand, kept in close contact with Auriemma after he initially welcomed her to campus as an observer.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have let her in,” Auriemma said with a smile Thursday before disclosing he always appreciates the success of other coaches, and how a shared affinity for fine wine helped tighten the bond with Close.

Auriemma remained open to teaching and Close continued to seek the guidance of the 11-time national champion.

“The next year, in October, I brought my entire staff out to watch (UConn) practice,” Close said. “He’s a master teacher. He’s done it in a style of play that I really enjoy, just personally, especially on the offensive end, and trying to think about as a young, first-year coach at that point what was that going to look like for me? It wasn’t just Coach Auriemma. … Their whole program, just letting someone in in the middle of the NCAA Tournament and learn, I think it’s a huge credit to them.”

Close was hired at UCLA in 2011. She said she still teases Auriemma about the way the NCAA Tournament bracket fell in years past. Regardless of whether she was at UC Santa Barbara or Florida State, Close said her team always found a way into the UConn bracket.

“That got a little old because they were really good,” she said.

The Bruins are 1-7 all-time against UConn after their 2023 win, 78-67, in the Cayman Islands. UCLA is 0-2 against the Huskies in the postseason and their last meeting was the 2019 Albany Regional semifinal (69-61). That year, it was Auriemma piloting the two-loss team at the time of their meeting.

During the 2019 World Cup trip, Close and Bueckers were next-door neighbors for their entire three-week stay in Thailand. Close lost her father while she was overseas and said it was Bueckers and Fudd who helped keep her on two feet.

“Azzi, she just has incredible work ethic. She’s an elite player and she has a very tender heart,” Close said. “And I was the beneficiary of that on that trip, and I’ll be forever grateful.”

In the other national semifinal Friday, Texas and defending champion South Carolina collide for the fourth time this season.

The winners are set for the national championship game Sunday afternoon.

–Field Level Media