Cori Rashel Close (born July 29, 1971) is an American college basketball coach who has served as the head women's basketball coach for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

since 2011. Before UCLA, she spent time as an assistant coach at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

and her alma mater,

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

. 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.

College statistics

Source

Head coaching record

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 * March 20, 2025 – Coach Cori Close was named USBWA Coach of the Year * March 24, 2025 – Coach Cori Close was named a finalist for the

Naismith College Coach of the Year The Naismith College Coach of the Year Award (officially known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Ladder Naismith College Coach of the Year) is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate c ...

* April 2, 2025 – Coach Cori Close was the 2025 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the YearConsidine, Madeline
Bruins' Cori Close Earns Another National Coaching Honor.
Sports Illustrated, April 3, 2025, In the midst of a record-breaking season and UCLA’s first NCAA Final Four appearance, Coach Cori Close has been honored as the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year.

References

1971 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from California Florida State Seminoles women's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Milpitas, California UCLA Bruins women's basketball coaches UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's basketball coaches UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's basketball players Long stubs with short prose {{US-basketball-coach-stub