UCLA finally did it this past season, winning the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. And then, days later, the team watched essentially its entire rotation get drafted. Six key players from last season's Bruins team wound up in the WNBA, leaving head coach Cori Close to go hard in the transfer portal to build a roster.
And it's a good roster! Time will tell if it's a championship-contending roster, but considering the level of talent lost after last season's title, Close did about as well as she could putting this team together.
Projected UCLA Bruins depth chart for 2026-27
PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starter | Elina Aarnisalo | Donovyn Hunter | Addy Brown | Sienna Betts | Amanda Muse |
Backups | Christina Karamouzi/Somto Okafor | Bonnie Deas | Lena Bilic | Timea Gardiner | Sienna Betts |
The big question entering this season is what UCLA does in the frontcourt, which is by far the shallowest spot on the roster. The team only has three real bigs, which means some combination of Sienna Betts, Timea Gardiner and Amanda Muse will start. Betts is the most obvious pick to man one of those frontcourt spots. While the highly-touted prospect wasn't a huge part of UCLA's team as a freshman, she should be a key part of this year's team. The question is just if the team goes big with Betts at the four ad Amada Muse at the five, or if Betts plays the five and Timea Gardiner at the four to get more shooting on the floor.
The answer is probably the former, but roster construction means we'll see plenty of the Betts/Gardiner pairing. We should also see the team's projected starting small forward, Iowa State transfer Addy Brown, play a little small-ball four as well. Brown has seen her 3-point percentage drop each season of her career, but in theory she's a good option to stretch the floor, and she can also provide the team with some secondary creation. Lena Bilic is behind Brown at the three. She'll need to improve her shotmaking after a disappointing freshman season.
Shooting guard might be the team's deepest spot. Donovyn Hunter is set to start after coming over from TCU, where she averaged 10.2 points per game last season. Hunter's a good defensive wing as well, something that will come in handy on this team. Behind her in the rotation is Bonnie Deas, who comes over from Arkansas. She's a ittle less polished offensively than Hunter and has turnover concerns, but she averaged 1.5 steals per game last season and ranked in the 92nd percentile in rebounding rate.
Elina Aarnisalo will start at point guard. She returns to UCLA after spending last season at North Carolina, where she averaged 10.2 points and 2.9 assists per game last season. Aarnisalo might be the team's best shooter, though she'll likely be asked for more volume this season. Will her 40.4 percent mark from 3-point range last season hold up? Christina Karamouzi and Somto Okafor will battle for the backup role, but there appears to be a pretty large gap between those two and Aarnisalo.
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