The No. 5 UCLA women’s basketball team has reloaded by bringing in one of the best freshman classes in the country and dipping into the transfer portal – and some of these players could make an immediate impact.
Here is a look at the Bruins’ roster as they travel to Paris for a season-opening game Monday against Louisville.
The returners
The Bruins bring back a battle-tested junior class that includes point guard Kiki Rice, guards Londynn Jones and Gabriela Jaquez and 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts.
Betts, who joined UCLA as a transfer last season, has a presence in the post that’s difficult for opponents to guard and quickly became the team’s leading scorer and rebounder with 14.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
The remaining three returning juniors have been with UCLA their entire college careers and have chemistry that translates to production on the court.
“All of them have had their own areas, but most importantly that class has continued to stay committed to growth and work ethic and getting in the gym,” Bruins head coach Cori Close said. “If there was any pressure that I felt, it was just to help them be their best because they’ve really committed at a high level.”
Rice led the team with 152 assists last season and was the third-leading scorer at 13.2 points per game. Jones shot 36.6% from 3-point range and Jaquez provided a spark off the bench and eventually worked her way into the starting lineup.
The freshmen
UCLA brought in the fourth-ranked recruiting class in the country, according to ESPN.
Kendall Dudley, the No. 18 recruit nationally, played high school basketball with Rice at Sidwell Friends in Washington, D.C., and is a forward whose quickness and decision-making could earn her early playing time.
Avary Cain, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game in her senior season at St. Joseph’s in Santa Maria. Zania Socka-Nguemen, another Sidwell Friends product, is a 6-foot-3 big who can help protect the rim.
The Bruins add some international flair with Elina Aarnisalo, who comes from Helsinki, Finland. She has already been seen taking repetitions at point guard during practice and has shown Close her potential.
“She will be very impactful and will get significant time right off the bat,” Close said of Aarnisalo.
The transfers
Junior forward Janiah Barker, graduate guard Charlisse Leger-Walker and junior forward Timea Gardiner arrived via transfer portal.
Leger-Walker, a New Zealand native, suffered an ACL tear in late January while playing for Washington State and is still recovering from reconstructive surgery. Close does not have a timetable for the 5-foot-10 guard’s return, but did tell reporters that she is not rushing the recovery process.
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Gardiner, a 6-foot-3 transfer from Oregon State, was a critical bench player for the Beavers and was named the Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year. She shot 39.5% from beyond the arc.
The 6-foot-4 Barker comes to UCLA from Texas A&M, where she recorded eight double-doubles as a sophomore.
“She’s got an edge and some instincts that you just can’t coach,” Close said. “They all have a different kind of ‘it’ factor, but she has an ‘it’ factor we haven’t had before.”