The returners

The Bruins will return just five players from the 2025-26 roster next season.

At the core of the returners is UCLA’s trio of freshmen, with 2026 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree forward Sienna Betts headlining the group. A lower-leg injury kept Betts sidelined for the first part of the season, after which she joined the Bruins’ rotation as the only non-graduating athlete to score more than three points a game.

While the six points she averaged certainly took a backseat to the offensive production of UCLA’s starting lineup and Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Angela Dugalić, Betts proved to be a spark in multiple games – notably in the first quarter of the Big Ten Tournament championship – and boasted some of the highest rebounds-per-minutes played numbers.

Guard Lena Bilić complements Betts on the perimeter as a 35.5% 3-point shooter. Her 38 made deep shots off 107 attempts give her the potential to fill the role left behind by a graduating guard class that boasted multiple proficient 3-point shooters.

Rounding out the freshman class is guard Christina Karamouzi, who scored 10 points across the entirety of the season while averaging 2.7 minutes per game.

Senior forward Timea Gardiner, who redshirted this past season while recovering from a knee injury, returns to Westwood for her fifth collegiate season with more experience under coach Cori Close than anyone else on the roster. Not only does her seniority as a Bruin set her up to be a leader on a team largely filled with underclassmen, the knowledge she gained from sitting next to UCLA’s staff on the bench throughout the national championship campaign could prove valuable.

Rounding out the returners is redshirt sophomore forward Amanda Muse. In the three years she has spent at UCLA, the Brentwood, California, local has never averaged more than 10 minutes played per game.

Having yet to string together more than a few brief appearances on the hardwood, Muse will likely face an adjustment period next year, should Close choose to elevate her role in the rotation.

The transfers

UCLA made transfer portal headlines when it picked up sophomore guard Elina Aarnisalo, who, ironically, spent her freshman year in Westwood before joining UNC’s roster the following season. While the choice to bring back in a player who opted to leave the program certainly turned a few heads, having an additional player who is already familiar with the Bruins’ coaching staff likely will make a difference on a returner-deficient roster.

Aarnisalo is joined by two other transfer guards, Arkansas’ Bonnie Deas and TCU’s Donovyn Hunter. Deas started every single game for the Razorbacks last season – crucial experience for a returning squad that spent most of the season on the bench – while Hunter joins the Bruins as their highest-rated transfer addition.

Close initially stated in a press conference that she intended to target five players in the transfer portal, but UCLA has not announced any additional acquisitions since the portal closed April 20.

The traditional post position that senior center Lauren Betts excelled at this past season is phasing out at both the professional and collegiate level, and the Bruins may not be concerned with making a one-to-one replacement. Regardless, UCLA’s current roster certainly skews guard-heavy over an interior presence.

The recruit

5-foot-9 guard Somto Okafor is the only incoming freshman committed to UCLA.

The Barcelona local was initially joined by a fellow international recruit in forward Joyce Isi Etute, who hails from Luxembourg. After announcing her commitment to UCLA on Instagram in October, Etute deleted the post before sharing in January that she would be heading to Texas.

The Longhorns were eliminated by the Bruins in the Final Four earlier this month, after which Etute officially signed with the team.

Okafor arrives in Westwood with both Eurobasket and World Cup experience. At the most recent U19 World Cup, she led Spain with 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

UCLA has increasingly relied on international recruiting, picking up two-thirds of its freshman class from Europe. Aarnisalo and Deas are both also international students, and Okafor will have a strong network of teammates to rely on in her transfer to the collegiate game.