The UCLA women’s basketball player departures continue.
Less than one week after the first NCAA Final Four appearance in program history, the Bruins’ entire freshman class has entered the transfer portal and on Thursday afternoon, sources confirmed that Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Janiah Barker is in the portal and multiple reports had guard Londynn Jones entering as well.
Barker, a 6-foot-4 junior, came off the bench throughout the season and had an almost instant impact on the team’s energy and production with her unique style of play. She can play multiple positions and has multi-level scoring abilities while maintaining physicality.
Barker had transferred from Texas A&M and was the third-ranked recruit in the 2022 ESPN HoopGurlz recruiting rankings. Current Bruins Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice were the No. 1 and No. 2 recruits, respectively.
Timea Gardiner, another current Bruin, was the No. 6 recruit and Gabriela Jaquez was ranked No. 19.
Jones, who was ranked No. 22 in that class, started 31 of the Bruins’ 37 games and was fourth on the team in scoring with 8.5 points per game. The 5-foot-4 junior guard shot 34.7% from the floor and 35.1% from the 3-point line on team highs of 72 shots on 205 attempts.
Prior to the portal activity, UCLA was slated to have strong returning freshman and junior classes. Only one player – forward Angela Dugalić – is out of eligibility.
It’s unlikely head coach Cori Close will deviate from a playing style that revolves around Betts, the 6-foot-7 All-American who earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Lisa Leslie Center of the Year honors. Now that freshmen Elina Aarnisalo, Kendall Dudley, Avary Cain and Zania Socka-Ngueman are also likely gone, the coaching staff will be forced to dive into the portal to find pieces that complement Betts just a week after the Bruins (34-3) made their first NCAA Tournament Final Four.
Who is left?
The Bruins maintain the core of their talented junior class in Betts, Rice and Jaquez. They also will bring back Gardiner at forward and Charlisse Leger-Walker, who missed this season due to a knee injury, at shooting guard.
Amanda Muse, a 6-foot-4 sophomore forward, redshirted this season, but it’s unclear what her future at UCLA looks like.
Gardiner came off the bench to shoot 39.5% (64 of 162) from 3-point range last season. Leger-Walker has already gained respect from her teammates as a leader and was participating in practice drills and scrimmages toward the end of the season.
UCLA has two talented incoming freshmen in Sienna Betts and Lena Bilić.
Of the two, Sienna Betts is more likely to earn minutes with the Bruins early. The 6-4 forward is the younger sister of Lauren Betts and the No. 2 recruit in her class. She averaged a double-double (23 points and 16.5 rebounds per game) in her senior year at Grandview High School and was the Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year.
Close has reposted videos and information about Sienna Betts multiple times on her X account. Sienna Betts was even in the room for postgame press conferences at Pauley Pavilion at times this season.
Bilić, a 6-foot-3 Croatian guard, averaged 18 points per game with European club ZKK Tresnjevka 2009.
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