Two Potential Portal Additions Who Would Help UCLA Next Season

UCLA basketball could enter next season on the outside looking in of the top 25 rankings. Last year, Mick Cronin and the Bruins were considered one of the better teams in college basketball, entering the season ranked 12th in the preseason AP Poll.

The team was inconsistent throughout the year, and the players brought in through the transfer portal largely failed to meet expectations. UCLA entered the NCAA Tournament as a seventh seed, beat USF in the first round, and was then eliminated convincingly by UConn, which went on to reach the National Championship game.

Mar 19, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin speaks with the media before a practice session ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

This offseason, Cronin has once again turned to the transfer portal to reshape the roster. However, the additions made so far do not include the kind of star-level talent that separates a good team from a great one.

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That reality raises an interesting hypothetical. Two of the top five players in the transfer portal rankings are still available, and both have ties to California. While both players are also in the NBA Draft and have less than a week to decide whether to return to school, the odds of either landing in Westwood are slim. That said, it is worth exploring what each player would bring to UCLA if they chose to join.

Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts in the second half during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Allen Graves

Graves completed his freshman season at the University of Santa Clara before entering both the transfer portal and the NBA Draft. His debut season was impressive by any measure, and it came in the context of a program that won 26 games and returned to the…

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Publish date : 2026-05-20 11:00:00

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