For some time, UCLA regarded like one of many huge losers of ladies’s school basketball’s switch portal season.
After making the Last 4 for the primary time ever, the Bruins noticed a number of key gamers depart Los Angeles by way of the portal, together with beginning guard Londynn Jones and essential off-the-bench contributors in Janiah Barker and Elina Aarnisalo. Jones went to UCLA’s rival, USC, whereas Barker landed at Tennessee and Aarnisalo ended up at North Carolina. Younger gamers like Avary Cain (Oregon), Kendall Dudley (Michigan) and Zania Socka-Nguemen (Indiana) left too and ended up at fellow Massive Ten applications. All of a sudden, UCLA’s extremely touted 2024 signing class was gone.
The exodus warranted some trigger for concern for Cori Shut’s facet, however the Bruins are nonetheless bringing again 4 starters, together with All-American and Massive Ten Defensive Participant of the Yr Lauren Betts. They’ll even have Charlisse Leger-Walker lastly wholesome — the Washington State switch missed this previous season with a knee harm — and the Bruins’ incoming freshmen class contains Betts’ 6-foot-4 youthful sister, Sienna, the second-best-ranked recruit in 2025.
For the glass-half-full crowd of UCLA followers, extra excellent news got here Friday. For the glass-half-empty people, some worries have been washed away.
The Bruins landed a dedication from arguably the very best 3-point shooter within the switch portal in Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens.
A fifth-year wing from Duluth, Minnesota, Kneepkens ranked ninth nationally in 3-pointers made per sport this previous season with 3.1. Among the many gamers who tried at the very least 5 3s per sport, Kneepkens had the ninth greatest capturing proportion from deep vary, flattening 44.8 p.c of her makes an attempt from the behind the arc.
She was almost a member of the 50-40-90 membership, capturing 50.4 p.c from the ground and 89 p.c from the charity stripe to pair along with her success from 3-point land. Her 19.3 factors per sport have been thirty first within the nation.
Merely put, Kneepkens has lengthy been top-of-the-line snipers in ladies’s school basketball, capturing 43.2 p.c from deep for her profession. This previous season, she led the Massive 12 in efficient subject objective proportion with a mark of 62.7.
Kneepkens’ capturing abilities ought to add a brand new wrinkle to the Bruins this upcoming season. Whereas they dominated within the paint with Betts, they ranked simply one hundred and sixty fifth nationally in 3-point price and 79th in 3-point proportion. In its Last 4 loss to UConn, UCLA shot simply 4-of-16 from 3-point land.
A flexible 6-foot-1 guard who will seemingly be a WNBA Draft decide subsequent yr, Kneepkens additionally averaged 5 rebounds, three assists and a steal per sport this previous season whereas serving to the Utes make the NCAA Match. She was a First Workforce All-Massive 12 choice whereas enjoying for Gavin Petersen’s excessive octane offense.
She was a extremely sought-after participant within the portal. She had narrowed down her selections to Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and UCLA earlier than finally selecting the Bruins.
With Kneepkens within the fold, Leger-Walker wholesome and the youthful Betts on the way in which, UCLA ought to have sufficient expertise to remain in-contention for a second journey to the Last 4 subsequent season.