For a while, UCLA looked like one of the big losers of women’s college basketball’s transfer portal season.
After making the Final Four for the first time ever, the Bruins saw several key players depart Los Angeles via the portal, including starting guard Londynn Jones and crucial off-the-bench contributors in Janiah Barker and Elina Aarnisalo. Jones went to UCLA’s rival, USC, while Barker landed at Tennessee and Aarnisalo ended up at North Carolina. Young players like Avary Cain (Oregon), Kendall Dudley (Michigan) and Zania Socka-Nguemen (Indiana) left too and ended up at fellow Big Ten programs. Suddenly, UCLA’s highly touted 2024 signing class was gone.
The exodus warranted some cause for concern for Cori Close’s side, but the Bruins are still bringing back four starters, including All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts. They’ll also have Charlisse Leger-Walker finally healthy — the Washington State transfer missed this past season with a knee injury — and the Bruins’ incoming freshmen class includes Betts’ 6-foot-4 younger sister, Sienna, the second-best-ranked recruit in 2025.
For the glass-half-full crowd of UCLA fans, more good news came Friday. For the glass-half-empty folks, some worries were washed away.
The Bruins landed a commitment from arguably the best 3-point shooter in the transfer portal in Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens.
A fifth-year wing from Duluth, Minnesota, Kneepkens ranked ninth nationally in 3-pointers made per game this past season with 3.1. Among the players who attempted at least five 3s per game, Kneepkens had the ninth best shooting percentage from deep range, knocking down 44.8 percent of her attempts from the behind the arc.
She was nearly a member of the 50-40-90 club, shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and 89 percent from the charity stripe to pair with her success from 3-point land. Her 19.3 points per game were 31st in the country.
Simply put, Kneepkens has long been one of the best snipers in women’s college basketball, shooting 43.2 percent from deep for her career. This past season, she led the Big 12 in effective field goal percentage with a mark of 62.7.
Kneepkens’ shooting skills should add a new wrinkle to the Bruins this upcoming season. While they dominated in the paint with Betts, they ranked just 165th nationally in 3-point rate and 79th in 3-point percentage. In its Final Four loss to UConn, UCLA shot just 4-of-16 from 3-point land.
A versatile 6-foot-1 guard who will likely be a WNBA Draft pick next year, Kneepkens also averaged five rebounds, three assists and a steal per game this past season while helping the Utes make the NCAA Tournament. She was a First Team All-Big 12 selection while playing for Gavin Petersen’s high octane offense.
She was a highly sought-after player in the portal. She had narrowed down her choices to Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and UCLA before ultimately picking the Bruins.
With Kneepkens in the fold, Leger-Walker healthy and the younger Betts on the way, UCLA should have enough talent to stay in-contention for a second trip to the Final Four next season.