For former UCLA player turned assistant Michaela Onyenwere, NCAA title is sweet

PHOENIX – As the clock ticked down in the fourth quarter of the national championship game between UCLA and South Carolina, Bruins assistant coach Michaela Onyenwere appeared restless on the sidelines. 

Despite UCLA leading South Carolina by 20-plus points, the program’s first championship awaiting only the sound of the final buzzer, Onyenwere sat fidgeting with her coach’s notebook, continuing to track player stats as she had all season. 

As the UCLA bench began to erupt with celebration, Onyenwere capped her pen, placed her notes on her chair and allowed herself to feel the emotion of the moment. She clapped and jumped up and down, and as she approached the handshake line, she began to wipe away tears. 

“I came to UCLA in 2017 [as a player] because I believed in the vision, in the culture, in Coach Cori [Close], and I believed in what they saw for me,” Onyenwere said just moments after the Bruins’ championship win. “To be there for four years, to give everything I had and just wear that with pride and then come back and be so full circle is so amazing to me. So, just a sense of pride, a sense of just, wow, I cannot believe we’re in this moment. It’s just so surreal.”

When starting lineups were being announced Sunday afternoon ahead of the title game, Onyenwere stood alongside her former head coach Cori Close.

“She just put her arm around me and she’s just like, ‘You know, I’m just so happy to be a part of this,’ ” Close said. “There’s just been a connection piece with her. I can’t even put words to it. It’s just like she sort of gets it.

“She’s just really special. I didn’t know that she was going to be such a dang good coach.”

Onyenwere didn’t envision herself picking up a clipboard during her offseason. She had spent her WNBA offseasons playing overseas in Spain, Turkey and China. When the opportunity arose to join UCLA’s coaching staff under her former coach, Onyenwere said it was a no-brainer. 

“Obviously in an offseason there’s so many other opportunities,” Onyenwere said. “To come home, to be in L.A., to be coached by coaches that I was coached by as well, and then to be with a national championship-caliber team – it was like, what else more can I ask for?”

UCLA finished the season with a program-record 37 wins and just a single loss. The team finished undefeated (18-0) in Big Ten play, winning the conference regular season and tournament championships ahead of making an NCAA tournament run that ended in historic fashion.

“I’m just so proud of the girls because from day one they set their sights on this, and every single day they showed up and they really trusted the process,” Onyenwere said, proudly donning a UCLA championship T-shirt and hat. “They added to the process and they just stayed committed to one another. I couldn’t have asked for a better coaching experience.”

During her time in Westwood, Onyenwere’s teams appeared in the NCAA tournament but never made it past the Elite Eight, which was the best finish for a Bruins team during Close’s tenure until the 2024-25 season. Onyenwere’s freshman year, the 2017-18 season, featured a roster with a number of current WNBA talents such as Monique Billings, Kennedy Burke and Jordin Canada. 

The 2019-20 UCLA team, led by Onyenwere and WNBA draftee Charisma Osborne, posted a 26-5 overall record, finished second in the Pac-12 regular season to title-favorite Oregon and was ranked No. 10 in the country. That team, however, lost its shot at an NCAA tournament run due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Onyenwere said she had already begun receiving messages from her former teammates, including Canada, celebrating the victory that for so many in the program was long awaited. Onyenwere said she was representing all former players in this championship moment.

“They’re always so supportive, and I think that’s what’s so cool about the Bruin family,” Onyenwere said. “We are really a family and a community, and it doesn’t matter if you played five, 10, 15 years ago – you are one of us.”

Onyenwere ended her career at UCLA as a two-time All-American and three-time All-Pac-12 selection. She was selected sixth overall by the New York Liberty in the 2021 WNBA draft and was named Rookie of the Year after averaging 8.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

This year’s Bruins team featured six graduating seniors, spearheaded by center Lauren Betts, who is currently projected to be a Top 5 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft. Point guard Kiki Rice and guard Gianna Kneepkens also are projected to be selected in the first round.

“To see her [Onyenwere’s] skill on the court and for her to give me tips and advice has been amazing,” Betts said. “On top of that, she’s from Colorado, she went to my high school, and I’ve looked up to this girl since I’ve been playing basketball. She means so much to me, and she’s been such a crucial part in my basketball journey. 

“I can’t believe that I’m finishing my college career as a national champion with her. It means everything.”

Earlier in the season, Onyenwere held an hourslong meeting with those seniors, giving them the floor to pick her brain on what to expect at the next level. Onyenwere, who will begin her sixth WNBA season this spring, offered the class as much advice as she could.

“I was really honest with them about my experiences,” Onyenwere said. “I don’t know everything, but I have been through a lot in my WNBA career. So, just telling them to be confident. … I always tell them if they need anything, I’m here. … That’s just the connection that we’ve built in such a short time.”

As the last pieces of confetti fell from the rafters of Mortgage Matchup Center, with Onyenwere’s players celebrating their victory to her right and her mom, Edith, on the court to Onyenwere’s left, the Bruins assistant couldn’t stop smiling.

“It feels like the stars were aligned for us, and it was written. I’m just so grateful beyond words to even be here,” Onyenwere said, holding a piece of the championship net. “I’m grateful that Coach Cori asked me to come back and be in this position. I’m just so proud to be a Bruin.”

Mia Berry contributed to this report.

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