Ending the portal period with the acquisition of top-5 transfer talent Addy Brown would have been a triumphant finish for the Bruins.

But coach Cori Close was not done yet. 

Former Notre Dame guard KK Bransford announced her move to UCLA women’s basketball via Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, marking the fifth pick up Close has acquired since leading her team to a national championship earlier this month. 

Bransford played 24 games across the past campaign in South Bend, Indiana, while averaging 7.4 points, four rebounds and 1.3 assists. She made nine starts at the beginning of the year before suffering a right knee injury, returning to the bench a month and a half later during the postseason. 

“KK brings so much for us on a different level,” Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo told The Observer. “She knows the system so well. … She brings that spark off the bench that we really need and we didn’t have.”

The Cincinnati local did not break into the top three leaderboard for any major statistical category on a Hidalgo-dominated Notre Dame season. She shot 50% from the field – higher than her average – across the last three games of the postseason, however, to help fuel her team to an Elite Eight appearance. 

Bransford played in every single game her first season with the Fighting Irish, earning All-ACC Freshman honors. The following year, Bransford returned after missing the first two contests because of injury – rotating in at every position but the five, both off the bench and as a starter. 

A residual lower leg injury led to her redshirting her junior campaign.

As one of the top high school prospects in the nation Bransford was a 2022 McDonald’s All-American alongside senior guards Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice, who were drafted into the WNBA earlier this month. 

What Bransford lacks, as a low-production guard who has never averaged over 30% shooting from the perimeter, she makes up for with versatility. This is highlighted in the variety of roles she has played across her career with the Fighting Irish – a consistent Sweet Sixteen contender.

The position she will take on in Westwood is yet to be determined. Bransford, entering her final year of eligibility, will join the Bruins alongside a transfer class already boasting four guards. 

Close relied on a four-guard starting rotation for the entirety of the Bruins’ national championship run. She could look to do the same next season, as she seemingly prioritizes strengthening her backcourt. 

Apart from Iowa State transfer Brown, UCLA has not picked up a frontcourt player from the portal for its 2026-27 roster. 

[Related: Iowa State forward Addy Brown announces transfer to UCLA women’s basketball]

Five returners, five transfers and one high school recruit are committed to the Bruins for the upcoming campaign – meaning Close can target one more player from the portal if she wishes to maintain a 12-player roster.