Lauren Cox


Lauren Elizabeth Cox is an American professional basketball player for the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League. She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears.

High school career

Cox was one of the top-rated high school basketball players in the country. She was the 2016 Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School Player of the Year.

College career

She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears. She was named a preseason All-American by Lindy's Sports, Athlon Sports, and Street & Smith prior to the 2019 season beginning. In November 2019, ESPN ranked Cox as the second-best collegiate women's basketball player in the country behind Sabrina Ionescu. She would be named Big 12 Player of the Year that season.

Professional career

Cox was drafted by the Indiana Fever with the third overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. She played 14 games during the 2020 WNBA Hub season, averaging 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. During the 2021 WNBA season, she played in 11 games for the Fever before being waived on June 27, 2021. Three days later, she signed with the Los Angeles Sparks, finishing the season with them by playing in 15 games and averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.
For the 2021–22 season, Cox joined IDK Euskotren of the Spanish Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. For the 2022–23 season, she remained in Spain and joined Valencia Basket.
Cox had a one-game stint with the Connecticut Sun during the 2023 WNBA season.
For the 2023–24 season, Cox joined Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Femminile.
Cox joined the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League in Australia for the 2024–25 season. She was named WNBL Defensive Player of the Year. She re-joined the Fire for the 2025–26 season, but suffered a season-ending injury on New Year's Eve.

Career statistics

College

Personal life

Cox was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 7. She wears an insulin pump during games. In each season of Cox's Baylor career, the Lady Bears played a preseason type 1 diabetes benefit game. The 2019 edition of the game, in Cox's final season at Baylor, was especially significant for her personally, as the opponent was defending NCAA Division II champion Lubbock Christian, which featured her younger sister Whitney—who had been diagnosed with the disease at age 17—as a freshman reserve. Near the end of the 2019–20 season, the United States Basketball Writers Association announced that both sisters would receive the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award for their basketball and community involvement in the face of their condition.