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Highly ranked incoming freshmen signify bright future for UCLA

Kris Wilkes is one of four UCLA men’s basketball recruits ranked in ESPN’s top 50 for the class of 2017. The Bruins’ incoming freshman class is ranked fourth in the country. (Creative Commons photo by TonyTheTiger via Wikimedia Commons)

By Nicholas Yekikian

May 31, 2017 12:21 a.m.

Every year, UCLA Athletics looks to high school seniors to fill gaps left by departing athletes, and this year’s crop of recruits are a highly ranked bunch.

Nearly every team at UCLA whose schedule can be judged in terms of wins and losses posted a winning record over the 2016-17 athletic year – the lone exception being UCLA’s football team, which finished just 4-8.

Men’s basketball, on the other hand, finished 31-5, its best record since 2008. Freshmen Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf led the Bruins to the round of 16 before a solid performance by Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox led to the end UCLA’s season.

UCLA has already signed six recruits for the 2017-2018 season, four of whom sit within ESPN’s top 100.

Leading the freshman class next year as five-star recruits will be point guard Jaylen Hands and small forward Kris Wilkes. Wilkes hails from North Central High School in Indianapolis, and the aptly named Hands is from Foothills Christian High School in San Diego, where he averaged 29.2 points per game.

LiAngelo Ball, the younger brother of NBA-bound Lonzo Ball, has also committed to UCLA. The middle Ball is considered a three-star recruit, but he did average over 30 points per game in his final year of high school at Chino Hills High School.

Joining those three will be power forward Cody Riley, center Jalen Hill and small forward Chris Smith. Only Riley and Hill are within the ESPN top 100, but all three are considered four-star recruits.

UCLA women’s basketball will be welcoming a similar amount of talent.

According to ESPN, multisport athlete Michaela Onyenwere is the 10th-ranked recruit in the nation and third at her forward position. Onyenwere logged over 100 games and averaged over 21 points per contest over her four years on varsity at Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado.

In addition to Onyenwere, UCLA signed guard Chantel Horvat out of Victoria, Australia, and Kayla Owens out of Houston. Both are considered to be five-star recruits and, according to ESPN, add the ability to create mismatches on court.

Women’s tennis will be welcoming Helen Altick and Caroline Dolehide. Both are considered top-10 recruits in the 2017 class rankings by the Tennis Recruiting Network.

Last year’s freshmen made a large impact for the Bruins, but we’ll have to wait until November to see how influential this crop of freshmen-to-be will fare.

 

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Nicholas Yekikian | Alumnus
Yekikian joined the Bruin as a junior transfer in 2016 and contributed until he graduated in 2018. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2017-2018 academic year and spent time on the softball, men's soccer, women's volleyball, track and field, cross country and rowing beats.
Yekikian joined the Bruin as a junior transfer in 2016 and contributed until he graduated in 2018. He was an assistant Sports editor for the 2017-2018 academic year and spent time on the softball, men's soccer, women's volleyball, track and field, cross country and rowing beats.
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