Analyzing Corey Close’s Press Conference & UCLA’s Championship Mindset

In this episode of The MidMajors Podcast, Tacarra and Courtney break down the recent press conference from Corie Close and what it reveals about the mindset and preparation of UCLA Bruins Women's Basketball heading into the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

We analyze Coach Close’s leadership style, the confidence she instills in her players, and the mental preparation strategies that make UCLA a dangerous team during March.

From her emphasis on the “mind gym” and mental conditioning to the importance of senior leadership and team chemistry, this episode dives into how championship-caliber programs prepare for tournament pressure.

What We Discuss

• Coach Corey Close’s communication style and leadership approach
• How UCLA builds confidence and resilience within the program
• The role of mental conditioning and the “mind gym” philosophy
• Why team chemistry and unity matter during March Madness
• The importance of senior leadership during a final tournament run
• How UCLA’s preparation could translate into tournament success
• What we learned from the tone and messaging of the press conference

Key Takeaways

Coach Close emphasizes confidence, positivity, and preparation as UCLA enters tournament play.

Mental training and athlete well-being are central to the program’s culture.

The team’s chemistry and experience could be major factors in their postseason success.

Transcript

SPEAKER_11 0:00

Corey close got the brewings prepped and ready for March. Let's talk about it. Welcome to the Mid Majors podcast where the real hoop talk happens, unfiltered and unapologetic. I am one of your hosts, Dakara, and with me I got my girl Courtney, and we are the Mid Majors. Um, while we're here, make sure you go subscribe. Make sure you go like the video if you haven't already. We are on a little roll today. We are watching press conferences from the coaches headed into the tournament. So now we got Corey close coming up from UCLA.

SPEAKER_10 0:38

So hold on. So you think it's gonna be good or you think it's gonna be bad? And by bad, I just mean like you think it's gonna be some shade.

SPEAKER_11 0:48

So people are saying, people are saying that she has the hardest road. From what I'm seeing. That's what a lot of people are saying. They're feeling that way. I mean, end of the day, she she could be feeling away because she didn't get the overall number one seed. Hopefully, somebody asked that. We'll see. I mean, it could be.

SPEAKER_10 1:05

Why would they get the overall number one seed and they lost? Exactly. That doesn't even make sense.

SPEAKER_11 1:10

Let's see how she feels about it at the end of the day. Um there we go. But I think a little shade for sure. Lil's it's shady and it don't really get shady in California, but it might today. Let's see.

SPEAKER_06 1:26

Good evening, everybody. Great, you can hear me. We've got the 2026 Big Ten Coach of the Year, 2026 sixth player of the year, and the 2026 Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player joining us this evening. Uh, we'll start with an opening statement.

SPEAKER_11 1:44

I don't know why that woo like sent me. Girl up. She's enthusiastic.

SPEAKER_08 1:49

I don't know why that sent me. Yeah, first of all, media, thank you guys. Uh, we're we need you right now to help us pack poly and uh get the buzz going in Southern California. We are the only uh NCA tournament team in college, men or women that are hosting here in Southern California, and we got to be packing that out. So thank you for your help and for being here today. Uh we appreciate that. Uh, you know, I just uh I really people have been asking me, do I care about the number one overall seed? I really don't. I I really think it has no bearing on whether where we're going. And I just uh, you know, we we just care about the next matchup ahead of us. And so bottom line for us is that uh I just really want us to keep a present mindset. What's the challenge in front of us? How do we play our best basketball for that and earn another day? I like that.

SPEAKER_11 2:47

Open up with the shits, go ahead and address the elephant in the room. I love that response. We end of the day, we gotta focus on what's in front of us. This opponent to opponent today. Good job. Yeah, I'm with that one. I'm with that.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Uh Ben Bulch, California Post. Um, you've made some deep tournament runs here in recent years. What have you learned that can help you do it again, keep the focus, the mentality you need to go deep again?

SPEAKER_08 3:17

Yeah, bottom line is we need to uh shut out any noise that uh is not in line with our mission and what we're trying to do. I think so much of what I've learned in the past is how how to narrow the focus, to uh tighten the circle, um, who we're with, what we fill our minds with. Coach Tasha always talks about in the mind gym about how many things are always vying for your attention. And the battle is how do you stay present, focused in the midst of that? And I think we're very level. Um, and there's this is a very business-like approach uh to how we're gonna attack this, but I feel much more equipped as a leader, let alone them as players, um, of what how we're gonna um handle this next run.

SPEAKER_11 4:02

Look, listen, six, listen.

SPEAKER_10 4:05

Wasn't last season the whole thing where it's like you got outcoached, girl. Wasn't that like the the narrative round the the game that they lost? So I mean I like hearing that from her. Me too. Secondly, what is a mind gym? I don't know. I feel like she said uh coach Tasha when they're in the mind gym. I don't know what that is. I don't know. But I'm not mad at it though. From what from what I took for it, is like some type of meditation, some type of like clear your mind. We're gonna get relaxed.

SPEAKER_11 4:37

You know these kids got they got they got team psychologists now. Okay. I love that. They're advanced. Okay. I love that. First of all, we're advanced. How are you feeling today?

SPEAKER_10 4:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 4:47

How are you feeling?

SPEAKER_10 4:48

Yeah, you know, we're just checking in.

SPEAKER_11 4:50

You're not finna do that mental health bullshit over here. Hold on.

SPEAKER_10 4:54

Now I say that's bullshit. Yeah, it's not bullshit. It's not bullshit. For our last 10 conversations.

SPEAKER_11 5:01

Okay. You're not finna play that game over here, baby. We got somebody for you. Right. But uh, she, I'm loving the confidence. I'm loving the energy from Coach Close. You know, I'm loving it, it's making me confident in the team. You know what I mean? It's making me confident.

SPEAKER_10 5:16

We maybe we do need to watch Vic so I can get some confidence in Texas. Right. Before I do it. Hey, it makes me good spirits. But maybe, maybe I need to listen to Vic. Okay. We're going to keep going. Okay, go, go, go, go.

SPEAKER_04 5:31

Hi, ladies. Gerard Non Curry Fox 11. Uh, this is for Kiki and Angela. What did that Texas loss back in November do for you guys to where you were able to run off 25 in a row and you enter the tournament running on all cylinders right now?

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Yeah, I think early on in the season playing high competitive teams like that, just focusing on really taking advantage of each possession, not letting anything go, and um coming out ready to compete, coming out ready to play at a high level and um, you know, not taking anything for granted. I think early on, you know, it's it's sometimes tough to play at a high level like that, you know, consistent consistently each possession. But I think that Texas loss taught us that we need to do that. We need to do that in order to achieve our goals to get to where we want to get to. And um, you know, I think that's helped us for sure throughout the season.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Uh, like Kiki said, it's just motivated us, motivated us even more. Uh, after that loss, we had a conversation both uh just as team, but also with the staff included. And we got on the same page of what we want the rest of the year to look like, and we didn't want it to obviously look like last year. Um, and not taking away anything from last year. I do think that we had a great season, but we have bigger and better plans for this year. And again, like Corey said, this is just gonna be a business-like approach, and that's it.

SPEAKER_10 6:47

The skin, the scanning, okay. Okay, and the um media classes are classic. They're class, classing. They're classing, classing. I don't know what they say, okay. Classing, very much. I'm not stumbling over any word, very much prepped, very ready.

SPEAKER_11 7:03

Yeah, very much prepped, very, very demure, very uh, very, very classy, staff included. Staff included. It's it's going well, okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Jack Haslett with the sporting tribune. Um, for Kiki and Angela both. How do you just the roller coaster of emotions from regular season title, the conference tournament, now going into I mean, everything that happened today? How do you stay present-minded?

SPEAKER_02 7:26

Just yeah, I honestly think the biggest thing is just taking it day by day and focusing on how can can we get better each day? Each day in practice, each day we play a game, um, and just really kind of letting everything come to us but not missing an opportunity to get better. I mean, like this week I feel like we've competed in practice, we've gotten better, especially these last two days. And it's how can we stack those days where we you know play at a high level, compete at a high level, make each other better?

SPEAKER_10 7:49

Period.

SPEAKER_03 7:50

Um, similar to what Kiki said, I'm just taking it day by day. And right now I'm just really focused on Cal Baptist. Like, that's our first uh game, and that's gonna be my mindset, like who we're playing against each time. And I'm not gonna look too far ahead. I'm just gonna be staying present.

SPEAKER_11 8:06

That's that Hollywood preparation, okay? Okay, that's that red carpet preparation. That's what that is, huh? Because they can catch you on the street, you gotta be ready, okay?

SPEAKER_10 8:18

Okay, hold on. They they know who they're playing, okay. Now just joking.

SPEAKER_11 8:22

Oh, for real, I'm just being bestie. I'm focusing on Kyle Baptist, and then you know what? I'm just one game ahead. Gride dancer, good job. I'm loving what I'm seeing.

SPEAKER_05 8:32

Hi, Mike Regalato, Brewing 24-7. Uh, two quick questions for for both of you. Um, do you often think about your exit from the tournament last year? Has that fueled anything? And how do you feel? Uh how do you feel compared to this moment last year? Do you feel more prepared, more experienced?

SPEAKER_02 8:50

Yeah, I I think we all feel more prepared just having have, you know, played a tournament, been there, um, played in the final four. I think we know what it takes to get there. We know what it um, you know, the habits that it takes to get there. And I do think that we are all as a collective group, we feel prepared going to um this moment. And I think you do build on obviously what happened last year, but then again, like once we started the season, this is a new team, a new group, and um having that mindset of we'll take the lessons that we need to take from last year, apply them. Um, how can we use them to benefit us to get better? But also at the same time, like you can't live in the past. And um, living in the past that will hurt us, that will hold us back from you know reaching our full potential as a group this year. So um I think we really we flip the page, it's a new mindset to new group, and I think we've done a really good job of staying present this year.

SPEAKER_11 9:32

We might fuck around and find out with UCLA, okay? They're very mature. We might fuck around and find out with them, okay? Okay. It's giving they're ready. It's giving, it's giving with one team, one dream, one goal. One team, one sound. It's giving, it's giving dreamline. Yeah, one band, one sound. One band, one sound, baby. It's it's giving for sure, okay? It's giving me a yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

Uh we're just going from last year trying to create building blocks. I think the fact that we have a lot of experience, a lot of seniors on these teams, uh, this team really helps us.

SPEAKER_11 10:09

And look at Corey. Like, yeah, yeah. Just how I talked to y'all.

SPEAKER_10 10:12

Yeah, I know, right? Like, she probably like, oh yeah, they ready. Yeah. It ain't going through one ear and out the other. They ready to practice, they ready to go right now.

SPEAKER_11 10:20

They're ready to play right now.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Um, it's something that can be looked over upon. Like where we have six seniors um who sorry, who um are gonna be graduating this year. So I think the fact that this is gonna be our last tournament run, it's gonna be make it even more special. I'm just excited to attack it, and I don't want the season to end.

SPEAKER_10 10:43

I know at a certain point it will, and just that's what I'm talking about. Yeah. Do you hear that? Yep. Uh we have six seniors, and just knowing that it's their last tournament run, I just want to give it all I got. Period. You playing for your seniors, but something that's been built over time. Yes, you get what I'm saying? If we're just going back to what we were talking about, if y'all are watching this video and have not watched our reaction video to Kim Mulkey's press conference, go check that out. We talk in depth about that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 11:13

Actually, it'll be posted at the end of this video. I will post the link on it so you can just click on it. It's gonna either be here, there, one of these, I don't know, but it's somewhere. It's gonna be on the screen. Just click. Gonna be on the screen. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 11:25

I'm trying to I acknowledge that, but I'm trying to keep it in the back of my mind.

SPEAKER_07 11:30

Was there a day in 2025 at some point in the last half of the year that you guys visualize sitting here on a beautiful spring night being the number one seed and having whipped so much tail over the season? And then second question is can you describe what this means to you right now?

SPEAKER_03 11:49

Um, for me at least, not really. I I this is a great feeling, the fact that we are a number one seed, but at the end of the day, I honestly don't care too much about it right now. It's just for me, it's who's our next opponent. Um, I don't really care what your number is, whatever. It's like if you have the four letters across your chest, you're my teammate. Anything else, you're on the other side. Like I'm I'm trying to win right now. Okay.

SPEAKER_11 12:17

I know that's right. I know that's right. Come on, Angela. Come on, Angela. Come on, Angela. I know that's what you check. I know that's right. One band, one band, one found.

SPEAKER_09 12:29

One band, one found.

SPEAKER_08 12:31

That's great.

SPEAKER_09 12:32

Uh, coach for you. You know, every team gets tested in some way in March. You know, given how much success you guys have had, especially recently, when that time does come for you guys, what's going to get to the confidence that they're going to respond and what's that response gonna look like?

SPEAKER_08 12:45

But it's the work we've put in. It's just really that simple. I don't think you can be confident unless you've had to conquer hard things. And the conquering of hard things doesn't always happen uh when you see it in in games. Sometimes it's in practice. You know, our guys have been picking us up full court and denying and pressuring, and we've been working on taking care of the ball more. And I think it's the the times that we've conquered in practice are just as important as times that you've conquered in games. It's the stacking of wins of growth. It's not the stacking of wins in wins and losses on the columns, it's the stacking of wins that you know you're different day by day by the intentional growth and the work that you've put in. And I think we are a more confident team this year, and I think we we understand what it takes, and it's not um fluff confidence, it's confidence that we know we've earned.

SPEAKER_11 13:39

Hey. So so your team is ready, so that y'all been y'all been practicing having a good practice. It it definitely sounds like they're ready.

SPEAKER_10 13:47

Like, yeah. I think all I need to see with this one. Me too. It's not the I need to see with this one. Go ahead and pull up Kim Cowells. I wanna see. I wanna see. Okay, I wanna okay. We're gonna watch who's we watching next.

SPEAKER_11 14:06

No, we can watch Kim Cowwells. Is she does she got one? I don't know.

SPEAKER_10 14:09

I thought you said Kim have one. Does she have one? I'm sure she does. We'll watch it.

SPEAKER_11 14:12

Okay, but I'm gonna end this one again because this is different videos. Okay, okay.