Now that the NCAA women’s basketball transfer portal is officially closed, UCLA is the only Big Ten program to keep all its returning players out of the portal.

The Bruins will have three rising sophomores returning in forward Sienna Betts and guards Lena Bilić and Christina Karamouzi. Additionally, rising redshirt junior forward Amanda Muse and redshirt senior forward Timea Gardiner will return to UCLA next season.

UCLA head coach Cori Close has frequently discussed the value of investing time into building the culture of one program.

WNBA rookies Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice spent their entire collegiate careers at UCLA, while Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalić spent three years playing for the Bruins before winning a national championship this season.

“You have to be a really good relationship builder and culture builder if you’re going to have continuity within this environment. You have to be incredibly intentional about that,” Close said on April 4 before the NCAA championship game, per UCLA. “… I don’t think you can have a committed team unless you have a connected team.”

In addition to keeping all of its returning players out of the portal, UCLA acquired three new transfers for next season: Bonnie Deas, Donovyn Hunter and Elina Aarnisalo.

Aarnisalo played her freshman season with UCLA before transferring to UNC last offseason. She will return to Westwood with two years of NCAA eligibility and is expected to be a starter for UCLA next season.

Deas was the first player to commit to UCLA out of the portal this offseason. She was a star freshman for Arkansas last season and is joining the Bruins with three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Hunter was the most recent transfer portal addition on April 13. The rising senior guard from TCU will bring veteran experience to UCLA’s young squad next season.

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