Defending champion UCLA women’s basketball lands top transfer
The UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday that she is committing to UCLA, making the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and 33.8 percent from three-point range with the Cyclones last season. She only played 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the country’s best two-way players on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward shared the spotlight with Audi Crooks for Iowa State in recent seasons and was part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones program.
The Bruins flipped former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former TCU senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the country.
With returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are beginning to form a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter at UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four, but missed all of last season due to injury and has one season of eligibility remaining.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and the addition of another big or Sienna Betts at the five would make for a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before joining TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 Defensive Team and All-Pac-12 Freshman Team honors. Last season, with a Horned Frogs team that made it to the Sweet 16, she finished third with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per game. She also shot 45.7% from the field and 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year at Westwood after originally committing to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries to point guard Kiki Rice early in the 2024-25 season, she was forced to act out early in her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departures of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wants to recruit five players from the portal. She probably needs an extra guard and a little more depth forward coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who saw some playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will have the chance to develop as backups with other experienced Power Four starters now in the fold.
