UCLA adds Gianna Kneepkens in women’s transfer portal: Bruins land star guard after Final Four appearance

Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens has committed to UCLA, the star guard announced Thursday on Instagram. The Bruins are fresh off their first NCAA Final Four appearance and Kneepkens could give the roster an extra boost.

UCLA had one of the top-20 scoring offenses in the nation last season, and the Bruins return their top three leading scorers in Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez. The team lost long-range shooter Londynn Jones to crosstown rival USC, but the addition of Kneepkens certainly helps make up for it.

Kneepkens was one of the most efficient scorers in the nation last season while averaging 19.3 points per game, which was 29th best In the country, on 50.4% shooting. She also shot 44.8% from 3-point range and 89% at the free throw line. 

In addition, Kneepkens contributed five rebounds and three assists per game last season while guiding the Utes to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Before her arrival, Utah had not gone dancing since 2011.

Kneepkens knows the Bruins well because her old and new teams were both in the Pac-12 conference, but also because UCLA coach Cori Close and former Utah coach Lynne Roberts have a close relationship. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, this led to some secret preseason scrimmages between their teams before Roberts left college basketball to coach the Los Angeles Sparks last November.

Kneepkens was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2022 and has been a first-team all-conference selection three out of four years, with the only year she missed being the one in which she only played eight games due to a broken foot.

The Bruins are getting more dangerous not just because of Kneepkens, but also because of the addition of Lauren Betts sister, Sienna Betts, 247Sports’ No. 2 player of the class of 2025. Charlisse Leger-Walker, who transferred from Washington State in 2024, sat out last season while recovering from a torn ACL, and her return is another positive for the UCLA offense. Leger-Walker left the Cougars with 1,743 career points — third best in program history.