UCLA's Barker Adds to Standout Season With Special Recognition

UCLA women’s basketball junior forward Janiah Barker has been named the university’s Inaugural Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community and Impact Award campus winner, the Big Ten announced this week.

Barker is one of 36 student-athletes from across the conference to be recognized with this inaugural honor.

The Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community and Impact Award was established in 2025 to celebrate student-athletes who demonstrate a commitment to leadership, character, and meaningful engagement beyond their sport.

Each Big Ten institution selected two campus recipients — one female and one male — whose contributions reflect the spirit of Jackie Robinson, the UCLA legend and national icon who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier and left a lasting legacy of social impact, courage and advocacy.

Barker and redshirt senior quarterback Chase Griffin were selected as UCLA’s honorees, recognized for exemplifying the values associated with Robinson’s life and work both within and beyond sport.

The award criteria include demonstrated community impact, collaboration with others to achieve shared goals, consistency in service efforts, and advocacy for important causes.

While nomination materials have not been publicly released, Barker’s selection as UCLA’s honoree signifies her alignment with the values and mission of the award.

Her recognition places her among a select group of student-athletes using their time in college athletics to lead by example both on and off campus.

This honor adds to an already memorable debut season for UCLA women’s basketball in the Big Ten.

The Bruins earned two major conference awards as junior center Lauren Betts was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by a unanimous vote of the coaches and the media panel, and Barker was selected as the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year.

In total, five UCLA players received All-Big Ten recognition, underscoring the team’s impact on the court in its first year competing in the conference.

Barker’s recognition through the Jackie Robinson Community and Impact Award also reflects UCLA’s deep-rooted connection to Robinson himself.

A former four-sport letter winner at UCLA, Robinson is remembered not only for his excellence in athletics, but also for his lifelong work in civil rights and social justice.

As UCLA continues to build its presence in the Big Ten, Barker’s recognition helps set the tone for what the Bruins represent in their new conference home: excellence, leadership, and a strong commitment to values that go beyond sport.

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