Women’s basketball guard Jaden Owens transfers to join Baylor Lady Bears
Freshman guard Jaden Owens came to Westwood as a five-star recruit but played just one season with UCLA women’s basketball before announcing her transfer. She averaged less than 10 minutes per game in her debut season. (Niveda Tennety/Assistant Photo editor)
By Jon Christon
April 20, 2020 12:36 p.m.
A freshman guard has left UCLA women’s basketball.
Jaden Owens – a former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American – will transfer to Baylor, the school announced Monday. The Plano, Texas, native averaged 9.9 minutes, 2.6 points and 1.2 assists per game as a Bruin this season.
Owens will be forced to sit out next season because of NCAA transfer rules, but she will have three years of eligibility following the 2020-2021 season.
Welcome to the Baylor Family, Jaden Owens!
Lady Bears add UCLA Transfer and Plano, Texas, native @jadenowens2https://t.co/NO93zHp5bZ#SicEm pic.twitter.com/NpV7koogGc
— Baylor Lady Bears (@BaylorWBB) April 20, 2020
Owens played the most single-game minutes of her UCLA career in her collegiate debut against Weber State when she logged 23 minutes. The contest also marked her career high in points, with seven.
The guard led UCLA in 3-point percentage during conference play, shooting 42.1% from beyond the arc in that span. Despite this, she played just six total minutes in the Bruins’ two Pac-12 tournament games.
In comparison to the other guards on the roster, Owens was seventh in total playing time during conference play. Five of the six guards that played more minutes are set to return next season – including Owens’ fellow 2019 signee and McDonald’s All-American guard Charisma Osborne.
Baylor is coming off a 28-2 season and finished No. 3 in the final Associated Press poll. Owens will join a team with just four guards from the current roster set to return.
