UCLA’s 2026 freshman class is starting to look like a real piece of the puzzle, and the latest move up the 247Sports rankings says plenty. The Bruins have climbed to 24th, giving Mick Cronin a group that brings a different kind of balance after last season’s rough ride.
That 2024-25 campaign never really settled in for UCLA. The Bruins opened with preseason expectations attached to a No. 12 ranking, but the year unraveled, they dropped out of the polls, finished 24-12 and were bounced by UConn in the second round of March Madness.
Last offseason, Cronin leaned heavily on the transfer portal and largely passed on high school recruiting. It didn’t pay off the way UCLA hoped, with Donovan Dent falling short of expectations while the freshmen brought in elsewhere were the ones making noise.
This time around, Cronin has taken a broader approach. He has added four players through the transfer portal, but he has also worked the high school ranks and dipped into the international market. The biggest recent addition there was Nikola Kusturica, one of the top international prospects, and that commitment helped push the Bruins’ class upward.
So what does the group actually bring?
Philon is the highest-rated of the freshmen, sitting at No. 77 overall. He’s still growing into a lean frame, but the athleticism jumps off the page. He can guard more than one position, and while his offensive package is still developing, he already has ways to impact games by running in transition and attacking downhill with the ball.
Floyd comes in as a three-star center prospect, and he has a very different profile. At 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, he’s undersized for the position, but he plays with real physicality and doesn’t back down from bigger centers. He’s more of a long-term project, yet the upside is there if UCLA develops him the right way.
Grinvalds was the first international commitment in the class and arrives from Real Madrid with a chance to matter right away. At 6-6, he’ll be in the mix for the starting small forward job. His ability to stretch the floor and defend at a high level makes him one of the more intriguing pieces in the group.
Then there’s Kusturica, the “crown jewel” of the class. Because he reclassified, he’ll need to spend at least two seasons at UCLA before he can enter the NBA draft.
That only adds to the buzz around him. He’s viewed as one of the top prospects for the 2028 NBA draft, and the production backs it up.
For Serbia, he averaged 27 points, and at the FIBA U17 World Cup he posted 2.3 SPG and 1.7 BPG. On both ends, he brings the kind of all-around game that makes people pay attention fast.
In Other News...
UCLAs Projected New Lineup Just Raised The Stakes For Mick Cronin
UCLAs roster picture for next season is starting to come into focus, and the early read from national analysts suggests there is real reason for optimism. Jon Rothstein and Bart Torvik both have the Bruins inside the top 25, with the kind of placement that usually signals a team expected to matter in March, not just survive the regular season. With returning pieces already in place and a couple of new faces expected to step into major roles, Mick Cronin has the sort of mix that can look promising on paper before the hard part begins.
The pressure now is less about talent than timing, because the Bruins have to turn that projected upside into a functional group before the opener arrives. Chemistry will be the central issue for Cronin, especially with multiple rotation pieces needing to mesh quickly and a freshman class that could alter the shape of the lineup right away. For a coach who has built his reputation on toughness and structure, this is the kind of roster that can lift expectations fast, but only if the pieces come together the way the projections suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Why Cole Martin Could Change UCLA's Secondary Ceiling
Cole Martin arrives at UCLA with the kind of rsum that makes a secondary room pay attention. A safety who has already been through Oregon and Arizona State, Martin was a four-star prospect out of Arizona and built his name early with a decorated high school career before making the jump to college football. He also showed he could contribute right away, getting on the field as a freshman at Oregon and flashing enough to keep his trajectory interesting even as he moved on to another stop.
For UCLA, the appeal is obvious: Martin brings experience, pedigree and a versatility that can raise the ceiling of a defense that always needs more reliable pieces in the back end. The Bruins are betting on a player who has already seen different systems, different expectations and different levels of pressure, and that kind of background can matter in a secondary where communication and trust are everything. What remains to be seen is how quickly that promise translates in Westwood, and whether Martin can turn a long, winding college path into a real impact for UCLA. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Star Just Delivered A Massive Draft Night Statement
Even with UCLAs season ending earlier than expected, Roch Cholowsky still left the kind of imprint that keeps scouts and front offices circling. The shortstop paired elite offense with steady defense, and his run at UCLA included back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Year awards along with consecutive first-team All-American honors, a rsum that made him one of the most polished players in the country.
Draft night only sharpened the spotlight on him. For a Bruins program that spent much of the year carrying the burden of being the nations top team before falling short of the super regionals, Cholowskys rise offered a different kind of headline, one that underscored how much talent was on that roster even as the postseason slipped away. The question now is how his arrival will fit into a White Sox organization trying to turn a corner after years of frustration. [Read more 🡒]