UCLA’s title defense is going to look nothing like the team that just cut down the nets, and that starts with the point guard spot.
The Bruins are coming off the best season in program history: a 37-1 record, an 18-0 mark in the Big Ten, and the school’s first national championship. That run was powered by a veteran group that included Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic, and Charlisse Leger-Walker, with Betts setting the tone as the team’s anchor. She averaged 17 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and one steal per game, then capped it off by earning NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after UCLA rolled South Carolina 79-51 in the title game.
Now the roster has turned over, and Cori Close has had to rebuild quickly through the transfer portal. UCLA added five players, and one of the most important pieces is a familiar one: Elina Aarnisalo is back in Westwood after spending a season at North Carolina.
Aarnisalo first left UCLA after her freshman year and headed to Chapel Hill looking for a bigger role. She got it.
In her lone season with the Tar Heels, she became one of the team’s lead guards and took a clear step forward, nearly doubling her scoring from 5.1 points per game with the Bruins to 10.2 with UNC. She also shot 47% from the field and 40% from three.
North Carolina used that guard play to reach the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 4 seed before falling to UConn.
For UCLA, the timing of her return matters. Charlisse Leger-Walker is gone to the WNBA, leaving a major opening at point guard, and Aarnisalo gives Close someone who can step in immediately. She brings a stronger all-around game than the one she left with, plus the kind of perimeter shooting that can stretch defenses and open the lane for players like sophomore Sienna Betts to work inside.
In Other News...
USC Tried A Trojan Hype Post And Bruins Fans Will Love Why
Southern Cals athletic department tried to kick off its football season with a clever tie-in to the release of a film adaptation of The Odyssey, posting on X, Our Odyssey begins Aug. 29. It was meant to sound like a dramatic Trojan rallying cry, but the setup quickly turned into a punchline as users piled on with criticism and jokes about the ancient story the school was trying to borrow from.
For UCLA fans, the best part may be the irony itself. The Odyssey is the Greeks journey home, while the Trojans are the side that loses the war, and that little detail did not escape the internet. The post is still sitting on the Southern Cal account despite the backlash, which only gives the whole thing a little more staying power for anyone across town enjoying the moment. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA May Have Finally Found The Defensive Voice It Needed
UCLAs search for a steadier defensive presence has led it to Sammy Omosigho, a linebacker whose path already suggests why the Bruins believe he can matter quickly. The Texas native arrived with the kind of pedigree that usually travels well, a highly regarded 2023 recruit who stacked up honors in high school before heading to Oklahoma, where he worked his way from special teams into a larger defensive job over three seasons.
What makes Omosigho especially relevant for UCLA is not just the rsum, but the role the Bruins need him to fill. This is a defense that has been looking for a true on-field voice at linebacker, someone who can help organize things in real time, and Omosighos progression in Norman hints at a player ready for that responsibility. Whether he can become the steadying force UCLA wants is the next question, but the fit is obvious enough to keep watching. [Read more 🡒]