Ucla Unlocked: Are You Ready To Make Room On The Bob Chesney Bandwagon?

Welcome to UCLA shot season.

Yes, it’s July, but nan Bruins are kicking disconnected a preseason gauntlet starring up to coach Bob Chesney’s debut campaign.

First up, Times columnist Bill Plaschke offered his thoughts connected Chesney’s expertise to lead a UCLA renaissance.

We’ve heard Chesney’s accent connected work and winning astatine life earlier applying nan aforesaid relentless effort to football-related activities consistently since he was hired.

But Plaschke reported his accuracy has quickly forged heavy roots successful Westwood, wherever Chesney’s optimism fits successful seamlessly astatine nan schoolhouse built connected John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. There’s besides immoderate very beardown Ted Lasso energy brewing, which makes consciousness since nan characteristic is partially inspired by Wooden values.

Chesney has visited and shouted connected each UCLA team, but he seems to person formed an particularly beardown enslaved pinch national champion women’s hoops coach Cori Close. Plaschke reported Dodgers head Dave Roberts has besides honored his promise to support nan program, gathering pinch Chesney and bringing on Dodgers fable Sandy Koufax on for nan visit.

The file is fascinating and worthy your time.

We’ve heard from immoderate UCLA fans were irritated astir a imaginable Plaschke curse aft he announced Chesney will make nan Bruins winners, but its seems nan Bruin religious are conscionable going to person get utilized to a increasing bandwagon.

The UCLA hype should spell nationalist Wednesday, erstwhile backmost Nico Iamaleava, protect backmost Cole Martin and linebacker Samuel Omosigho subordinate Chesney during Big Ten shot media days.

It’s Chesney’s first chance to meet nan nationalist and location media covering nan Big Ten. He is people an exceptional nationalist speaker and inevitably will beryllium compared to his predecessor, who went viral for his difficulty nan first clip he stepped into nan Big Ten spotlight.

It’s not a adjacent comparison, but Chesney is judge to people precocious marks contempt a patient magnitude of cynicism among Big Ten bluish bloods and whispers passim nan convention that UCLA’s precocious 2027 recruiting ranking is simply a spot inflated. Perhaps that’s nan biggest compliment for UCLA, going from being ignored aliases laughed astatine to taking a fewer jabs complete your glowing reviews.

Shortly aft UCLA returns from media days, nan squad will footwear disconnected preseason camp. We’ll commencement to get a person look astatine nan Bruins’ offseason weight room advancement and nan squad will activity to hole for a deceptively difficult opener astatine California, different agelong overlooked squad pinch sizeable hype entering nan 2026 season.

Betts shines successful Canada

Sienna Betts showed she’s ready to measurement into her older sister Lauren’s formidable shoes during a women’s hoops accumulation crippled against Canada.

The Bruins mislaid 69-55 to nan Canadian nationalist squad Wednesday, but Sienna Betts looked for illustration a formidable focal constituent of nan UCLA attack.

She vanished pinch 20 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Betts sewage valuable but constricted minutes past play arsenic Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic dominated nan overgarment for nan nationalist champions.

Canada and UCLA did not person their afloat rosters disposable for nan tune-up, pinch Bruins Timea Gardiner, K.K. Bransford, Somto Okafor and Lina Jerkovic missing nan game.

The excursion gave a heavy overhauled UCLA roster a chance to look different and formidable title earlier mounting disconnected connected sight-seeing adventures, a squad bonding opportunity that apt will mean much to nan coaching unit than nan last score.

UCLA alums triumph AUSL title

Bruins alum Jadelyn Allchin won Athletes Unlimited Softball League title MVP honors aft helping lead her squad to its 2nd consecutive AUSL title.

UCLA softball awesome Lisa Fernandez is nan Talons’ wide manager. Her roster and nan full convention is packed pinch erstwhile Bruins who are helping AUSL turn astatine a accelerated rate.

Connor Dullinger offered a awesome look astatine nan domiciled nan Bruins person played successful nan maturation of pro softball and explains why Fernandez is reasoning bigger, pushing for world gains truthful that softball tin beryllium a imperishable fixture astatine nan Olympics.

In lawsuit you missed it

UCLA softball has heavy effect connected Athletes Unlimited Softball League

Plaschke: Bob Chesney is going to do nan intolerable astatine UCLA — win

UCLA women clasp caller players, tougher standards successful bid to repetition arsenic champs

UCLA Unlocked: Gabriela Jaquez makes smoothest modulation to WNBA

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Do you person a remark aliases thing you’d for illustration to spot successful a early UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell astatine houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter successful your inbox, click here.