UCLA’s offseason chatter has centered on the obvious names: Xavier Booker, Trent Perry, Eric Dailey Jr., and the four transfers brought in to reshape the roster. But there’s a returning Bruin who looks ready to matter in a bigger way, even if he hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention.
That player is redshirt sophomore Eric Freeny, a 6-foot-4 guard from Corona, California and a former top-70 national recruit. After sitting out the 2024-25 season, he worked his way into a real role for UCLA last year and finished the season looking like a player whose best basketball is still ahead of him.
Freeny appeared in 28 games off the bench and averaged 11.1 minutes per game. The raw production was modest - 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds per game - but he gave UCLA valuable minutes on defense and also shot 37.5% from three in limited attempts, one of the better marks on the team.
His biggest impact came late. Mick Cronin pointed to Freeny as one of the players who helped fuel UCLA’s late-season turnaround, highlighting his attention to detail and communication as key pieces of the defensive edge he brought.
That showed up in the box score, too. Freeny’s three best games all came in the final couple of weeks, including 10 points and five rebounds against USC and eight points, five rebounds, and two assists against Purdue.
The question now is where he fits when the Bruins set their lineup. Perry and Texas Tech transfer Jaylen Petty are expected by many to handle the guard spots, while Booker and Dailey Jr. are the favorites in the frontcourt. But Sergej Macura, Filip Jovic, and freshman Joe Philon could all push for minutes and change how the rest of the rotation takes shape.
That leaves one opening that could be filled by several different kinds of players, depending on what UCLA wants. If the Bruins want size and mobility, Jovic, Philon, or even Dailey Jr. could slide into that spot. If they want to go smaller, Freeny becomes a real option.
He doesn’t have ideal height for the matchup-heavy role he’d likely face, but he does bring length, athleticism, and the kind of “three-and-D” profile that can help him carve out minutes. The next step is broadening his game so he can become more consistent and a more dependable scoring threat without needing to carry an offense.
At the very least, Freeny looks like a strong candidate to be UCLA’s sixth man this season, with starter potential beyond that. He’s still being overlooked by plenty of people, but the Bruins may have a bigger piece on their hands than the conversation suggests.
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