This post was updated May 1 at 11:52 p.m.

Gianna Kneepkens, former Utah standout guard and a three-time Big 12 First Team pick, committed to UCLA women’s basketball on Thursday morning, per ESPN. 

Kneepkens nabbed a Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference selection before her junior season in 2023 – as well as slots on watchlists for the John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the nation’s best shooting guard – but broke her foot just eight games in and was forced out for the season. 

But the Utes’ veteran guard’s senior campaign would almost erase the sting of Dec. 2, 2023. 

As arguably the best 3-point shooter in the transfer portal, Kneepkens departed Salt Lake City on March 28 after posting 19.3 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal a game through her senior campaign. 

The long-range weapon shot above 42% from deep in her final three seasons in Utah and was even a member of the 50-40-90 club with a 50.4% field goal percentage and 89% from the charity stripe. 

Kneepkens’ arrival in Westwood could redeem the loss UCLA may have felt next year with Londynn Jones off to USC. An elite sniper, Kneepkens – already projected as a pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft – will offer yet another option for junior center Lauren Betts on the inside-out action, which the Bruins thrived on last season. 

Uncertainty surrounded coach Cori Close’s 2025-2026 roster – which, despite retaining 80% of its starting lineup and reintroducing formerly injured players, bid adieu to its entire freshman class, starting shooting guard Londynn Jones and reigning Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Janiah Barker. 

The Athletic even tabbed UCLA as “losers” of the 2025 spring transfer portal, as Close’s squad went from a historic Final Four berth to a divorce with six players, all of whom left to the portal, in the span of a week. No players were graduating or declaring for the WNBA Draft, yet many wanted out of Westwood. 

Though reasons for Jones’, Barker’s and the freshman class’s departures remain unknown, one likely explanation is the return of Charlisse Leger-Walker – the New Zealand guard who was rehabbing an ACL injury through the 2024-2025 season – as well as an incoming class featuring 6-foot-4 forward Sienna Betts and 6-foot-3 wing Lena Bilić. 

Sienna Betts, the younger sister of Bruin centerpiece Lauren Betts, is coming off her second-straight Gatorade Player of the Year distinction in the state of Colorado, and recently earned McDonald’s All-American Game MVP honors. Meanwhile, Bilić has been deemed by Close as the “best player out of Europe in her class.” 

Any clouds hanging over Close and her 2025-2026 unit seem to be clearing with Kneepkens joining the ranks. The seasoned scorer, paired with a refreshed supporting cast, returns the Bruins to the thick of Final Four conversation – and perhaps even eyeing a title run.