UCLA basketball lands Donovan Dent in program-changing transfer portal move
03/28/2025 09:41 PM
The Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament is in full swing, but the offseason has started for more than 300 college basketball programs across the country. Mick Cronin and UCLA basketball have already turned their attention to next season after a blowout loss to Tennessee in the second round on Sunday.
On Friday, UCLA landed the biggest fish in the transfer portal. Former New Mexico superstar Donovan Dent has committed to UCLA and will play for the Bruins next season, according to Joe Tipton of On3 Sports.
“BREAKING: New Mexico transfer guard Donovan Dent, one of the top players in the portal, has committed to UCLA, he tells @On3sports,” Tipton reported on X, formerly Twitter. “Chose the Bruins over Kentucky and Gonzaga.”
Dent was one of the best players in all of college basketball this season. He was selected as an Honorable Mention All-American and named the Mountain West Player of the Year. For the season, Dent averaged 20.4 points and 6.4 assists per game, leading his conference in scoring and finishing second in assists.
Not only is Dent an incredible talent who will immediately give UCLA a possible Big Ten Player of the Year candidate next season, but he addresses all of the Bruins’ biggest needs from this season. UCLA struggled offensively at times because of poor guard play and a severe lack of perimeter scoring, both things that Dent will immediately help fix.
Dent showed off his skills in the NCAA Tournament this season, knocking off Marquette in the first round with a 21-point, 6-assist performance and following that up with 14 points and six dimes in a second-round loss to Michigan State.
UCLA basketball finished the season as a No. 7 seed in the Big Dance and, despite blowing out Utah State in the first round, didn’t have nearly enough firepower to compete with an elite team like Tennessee. With Dent on the roster, that shouldn’t be the case again next season.
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