UCLA is heading into the 2026-27 men’s basketball season with a different kind of roster than the one that defined last year. The Bruins are keeping all five eligible players from the previous team, bringing in three transfers and two freshmen, and leaning into a new identity built around effort, defense and rebounding. It’s a clear shift toward the kind of formula Mick Cronin has used successfully before.
The biggest question is whether that formula can hold up offensively. UCLA lost more than 40 points per game with the departures of forward Tyler Bilodeau and guards Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark, and the lone major scoring addition is Texas Tech transfer Jaylen Petty.
Freshman Nikola Kusturica could need time before his game adjusts to the college level, which puts even more pressure on returners Trent Perry, Eric Dailey Jr. and Xavier Booker to take a step forward. Cronin’s system asks players to create for themselves and for others in the halfcourt, so if those jumps don’t come, or if the top options go cold, the offense could wobble.
Still, the Bruins believe defense can carry them, especially in the Big Ten, where it travels. Aggressive defense can also spark offense.
The problem is that at the highest level, UCLA will still need reliable shot creation in the halfcourt, and that may be harder to count on with this group.
Size is another issue that could shape the season. Booker, at 6-foot-11, is the only player in the rotation taller than 6-foot-9, which leaves rim protection and rebounding looking like possible weak spots.
UCLA passed on the inflated big-man market in the transfer portal and instead is banking on length, athleticism and pressure from the wings and perimeter. Dailey, Kusturica, Auburn transfer Filip Jovic, Butler transfer Azavier Robinson and freshman Joe Philon give the Bruins the chance to clog passing lanes and keep opponents from getting clean looks at the rim.
So far, that approach has worked in the exhibitions, with Cal Baptist shooting 29.5% from the field and San Diego shooting 24.2%.
There’s also a real path where the freshmen matter in a big way late in the season. That hasn’t happened for a Cronin team since Amari Bailey, but Kusturica and Philon both have the tools to force the issue.
Kusturica, the 17-year-old Serbian wing, has already flashed the kind of defense and effort that should translate immediately. He blocked two shots in each exhibition game and had five steals against Cal Baptist.
Offensively, he comes in with a reputation too, after averaging 25 points in the FIBA U17 World Cup this summer. The challenge is that those numbers came against a different level of competition and physicality, so his scoring may take time to catch up.
If it does, he could hit his stride right when UCLA needs it most.
Philon may be the surprise name. A late-blooming recruit from Tampa who flew under the radar because of a high school injury, the 6-foot-8 wing has earned minutes through defense and effort.
His length and athleticism let him defend 1-through-5, and his offense, especially his outside shot, could develop as the season moves along. On a Cronin team, freshmen usually don’t play this much, but Philon looks set to be an exception and could become a useful piece when the games matter most.
The other major backdrop is how UCLA handled a chaotic offseason across college basketball. The NCAA expanded the March Madness field to 76 teams, adjusted the transfer portal and introduced the “age-based eligibility model.”
That last change has had the biggest ripple effect, giving student-athletes five years of eligibility from enrollment, or until age 19. It did not apply to players whose eligibility had already expired after the 2025-26 season, though some of those athletes returned through state-court lawsuits.
UCLA lost Dent and Clark, who both ended up at LSU, but did not go that route itself. Instead, the Bruins got younger, and every player on the roster now has at least one year of eligibility left under the new model.
UCLA has already shown it can keep talent in the program, and now it has the chance to develop that talent over a longer runway.
Season opener: No. 22 UCLA vs.
No. 5 Arizona
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
TV/Radio: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max/UCLABruins.com/Listen-Live
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