Big Ten Commends UCLA WBB Star for Sportsmanship

The Big Ten Conference is recognizing UCLA women's basketball standout Kiki Rice for her work as a teammate this past season.

Rice, along with men's track and field's Michael Pinckney, were named Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2024-25 school year, the Big Ten league office and UCLA athletics announced Thursday.

"The Bruin duo was selected from a group of 430 students honored throughout the academic year who have displayed positive sportsmanship," UCLA Athletics wrote in a media release announcing the award wins. "One member of each varsity sports team on every campus was chosen by his or her institution as a Sportsmanship Award honoree, and two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners were then selected from each institution. All of the Sportsmanship Award winners have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting."

The statement continued, touching on Rice's season and the work she does off the court, "Rice helped UCLA to new program records in best start to a season (23-0), consecutive wins (23) and consecutive wins by double digits (22). The point guard finished her junior campaign with single-season career-best shooting splits in field goal percentage (.485) and 3-point percentage (.365) as the Bruins' second-leading scorer (12.8 PPG). Rice led the Bruins in assists on the year, dishing a career-best 170 dimes in 34 appearances; the Bethesda, Md., native has had 100 or more assists in each of her three seasons at UCLA.

"She was an All-Big Ten first team selection, an Associated Press (AP) All-America honorable mention and a College Sports Communicators Academic All-America first team member. Rice helped the program reach new heights as UCLA achieved its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP poll. UCLA sat atop the rankings for 12-consecutive weeks, setting a new Big Ten record after nine weeks in the No. 1 spot. Rice and the Bruins made their first-ever NCAA Women's Final Four appearance after defeating No. 3-seed LSU in a rematch from the 2024 Sweet Sixteen.

Apr 4, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Kiki Rice (1) controls the ball against Connecticut Huskies guard Kaitlyn Chen (20) during first quarter in a semifinal of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

"The point guard is an active member of the Los Angeles community; she makes regular visits to the Dream Center, which provides support to those affected by homelessness, hunger and lack of education through residential and community outreach programs. Rice and the women's basketball Bruins also volunteer at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, often leading creative and meaningful sessions designed around interests and abilities of patients. On a monthly basis, Rice helps her teammates sort plastic bottles, cans and glass collected across campus before they are transported to local recycling center; funds go directly toward sponsors from Salvation Army, Team Impact and families living at Dream Center."

Rice, Bruins Aiming for Natty Next Season

Senior Writer for SB Nation, Mitchell Northam, ranked the Bruins at the top of his list of six women's college basketball teams that got better in the offseason. Northam, who covers women's college sports at Breakaway, compiled which teams improved the most through recruiting and the transfer portal.

Here's what he had to say about UCLA:

"The Bruins lost six players to the portal after making a Final Four run, including a starter in Londynn Jones and key off-the-bench players in Janiah Barker and Elina Aarnisalo. But they could afford those losses because of the talent coming in.

"Via the portal, Cori Close’s side added perhaps the best 3-point shooter available in Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens, who is coming off a near 50-40-90 season.

"The Bruins are also bringing in a player who is an early favorite to be one of the best freshmen in the country, Lauren Betts’ younger sister Sienna. The 6-foot-4 forward is currently starring for the U.S. national team at the FIBA U19 World Cup, and recently notched 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in a dominant win over China.

"UCLA seems capable of reaching the Final Four again, but a challenging schedule will test this roster early."

The Bruins are coming off a 34-3 record in their first season in the Big Ten and lost to the eventual national champion UConn Huskies in the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Close and her squad are coming into next season with desire exceed last season's results.

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