Lauren Betts has had quite a run lately. She anchored the UCLA Bruins to their first NCAA women's basketball national championship since 1978, took home the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award and then stepped into the pros as the fourth overall pick for the Washington Mystics.
The spotlight is growing fast, and Betts is not just using it for basketball. With Mental Health Awareness Month underway, the 6-foot-7 center is making sure her voice carries beyond the court.
Before Washington faced Dallas on Monday, Betts spoke with reporter Landon Buford during her morning media session and revealed that something bigger is already in the works.
"I don't know if I'm allowed to say, but I am working on an ESPN thing for mental health, so that'll be really cool," Betts said. "Any opportunity I have to speak up about it, I'm always going to take advantage. Even in little interviews like this — any way I can continue to speak on what's important to me and my morals, I think that's going to help a lot of people."
Lauren Betts Opens Up About Her Mental Health Journey
For Betts, this advocacy runs a lot deeper than a calendar month. Her battle with depression didn't start in the pros or even in college. It goes back to years of bullying over her appearance when she was still a kid, long before she had the tools to process what those experiences were actually doing to her emotionally.
There's also a painful irony wrapped up in that story. The same height and physical traits that eventually made Betts one of the most distinctive talents in women's basketball also made her stand out in ways that drew unwanted attention growing up.
What started as hurtful comments in her younger years became part of a much larger mental health battle that she's still working through today. Getting older has brought more self-awareness though.
Betts said she's learned to actually recognize what she's feeling in difficult moments rather than pushing past them or shutting down. She knows better now what she needs and how to take care of herself mentally while managing everything that comes with life at this level of the sport.
That combination of personal experience and growing platform is what's driving her to stay vocal. With an ESPN project already in motion and a WNBA career just getting off the ground, Betts looks ready to carry that message well beyond the basketball court.
