After a disappointing 16-17 record during his 2023-24 campaign, in which UCLA failed to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years, head coach Mick Cronin turned to the transfer portal to reshape the team.
The result was four of UCLA’s top five scorers being brought in as transfers. Tyler Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr., from Oregon State and Oklahoma State, respectively, headed the Bruins’ scoring, totaling nearly 25 points per game combined. Kobe Johnson and Skyy Clark were also key pieces in the success of the 2024-25 squad, both finishing top five on the team in rebounds and assists.
Cronin is taking a similar approach for the upcoming season, after the team’s 67-58 second round tournament loss to Tennessee. So far, four new players have been brought in via the portal.
Most notable is Donovan Dent, the Mountain West Player of the Year, who committed to UCLA despite also considering Duke and Kentucky. The New Mexico transfer averaged over 20 points per game with the Lobos last season, taking them to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.
Dent shot 41.3% from three and finished top 10 in the nation in assists. He bested the Bruins early in the season, leading his Lobos in scoring with 17 and adding eight assists in the 72-64 victory.
Alongside Dent are Xavier Booker, Jamar Brown and Steven Jamerson II, rounding out the team’s new additions as of now.
Booker played his first two years at Michigan State, averaging 4.2 points and two rebounds per game. However, in games where he played for 18+ minutes last season, Booker averaged 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 47%. “I believe that Xavier is ready for a breakout season. He is on the cusp of realizing his potential.” Coach Cronin said.
Booker’s stint with the Spartans ultimately ended in disappointing fashion. The former five-star recruit began the year as a starter and ended it outside of the team’s rotation altogether.
Brown, a transfer from Kansas City, spent the first two years of his collegiate basketball career at community college. In his time playing D-I for the Roos, he averaged 16 points per game and was awarded All-Summit League twice. Brown adds a veteran shooting presence, something the Bruins have lacked recently. Last season, he led the Summit League in FT% at nearly 90% and shot over 40% from three.
With Brown and Dent, it seems that Cronin is bringing together the kind of guard play he has dreamed of over the past couple of years.
Jamerson II, a senior in his final year of eligibility, transferred in from San Diego, where he averaged eight points and seven rebounds per game. “We are very happy to bring Steven back home”, Cronin said of the Los Angeles native. Jamerson II finished 7th in the country in offensive rebound percentage last season.
Although there is a lot to look forward to as it pertains to incoming talent, UCLA has also lost a lot to the transfer portal. Most notable was the Bruins’ 7’3” phenom, Aday Mara.
The young Spanish center was one of the team’s most impactful players in last month’s NCAA Tournament. Despite early struggles in his career and certain flaws in his game, he was expected to be the long-term answer for the Bruins. Instead, Mara will be transferring to Big Ten rival Michigan, filling in for their two departing seven-foot centers, Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf.
Dylan Andrews and Sebastian Mack are transferring out alongside Mara. Fans anticipated breakout seasons from the pair, but they were unable to meet expectations, both averaging fewer points than the season prior. Mack is transferring to Missouri, while Andrews heads north to Boise State. The Bruins are also losing rotational piece William Kyle II, who will be joining Syracuse next season.
On top of the Bruins’ losses via the transfer portal, there are graduating seniors Lazar Stefanovic and Kobe Johnson.
The number of players leaving does outweigh those coming in, but more players gone means more opportunities for younger players to find minutes. Two of these are Trent Perry, who played just 11.3 minutes per game last season, and Eric Freeny, who redshirted his freshman year. Both were four-star recruits coming out of high school.
Perry has hefty expectations for the upcoming season, with some even anticipating him being a starter. The 20-year-old freshman has displayed his potential in limited time on the court, but has more to do before he’s ready for a consistent, rotational role. “Now is my time to work”, Perry said at an NIL event at Ackerman Union. “This offseason I’m going hard.”
With a lot of time remaining before next season begins, preliminary predictions for the Bruins appear varied. The flurry of arrivals and departures that come with the modern-day transfer portal leaves analysts and fans alike with no way of knowing whether or not everything will fall into place.
Experts think very highly of the team, with their opening game over six months away. Many believe that the addition of Dent will prove invaluable to an already successful squad.
Two notable publications, CBS and ESPN, have come out with “way-too-early” 2025-26 rankings this past week. UCLA was ranked 8th and 10th in the respective Top 25 lists.
However, these rankings, in the end, are just that: way too early. Last year’s pre-season poll had the future NCAA champion Florida Gators at No.22 while their No.1 team, Kansas, didn’t even make it out of the first round of the tournament.
Only time will tell if Cronin’s new additions can fit within his system or if the Bruins’ losses are simply too much to bear.
—
Featured Image Photographed by Zimo Li/Daily Bruin
