UCLA Women’s Basketball Transfer Portal Exodus Continues Under Cori Close – Are The Bruins In Trouble?

UCLA just made the Final Four. Cori Close won National Coach of the Year. And yet six players have hit the portal in the past two weeks. That disconnect matters — because it points to a growing issue under Close that awards and banners don’t cover up.

UCLA Loses Six Players to Transfer Portal

• Londynn Jones – Starting shooting guard. Set the program’s single-season 3-point record in 2023–24. Production dropped this year.
• Janiah Barker – Junior forward, former five-star from Texas A&M. Never found a role at UCLA.
• Kendall Dudley – Freshman wing. Top-30 recruit, rarely used.
• Elina Aarnisalo – Freshman guard. International signee, faded from the rotation.
• Avary Cain – Freshman guard. Top-40 prospect, now gone after one year.
• Zania Socka-Nguemen – Freshman forward. Backup minutes, now in the portal too.

None of these players declared for the WNBA. That’s the entire freshman class, plus a key rotation piece, choosing to leave. Not because they’re ready for the next level — but because they don’t see a path forward at UCLA. Let me say that louder for those at the back, there is no returning sophomore class at UCLA next year.

Right now, underclassmen clearly don’t believe this is the place they’ll develop, earn minutes, or make an impact. In women’s college basketball, continuity is everything. Losing talent is one thing — losing an entire freshman class is another.

Final Four Success, but Development Gaps Remain

Cori Close can win games. She’s built competitive teams. She’s earned accolades. But the turnover speaks to something deeper: player development isn’t keeping pace with recruiting.

• Top recruits aren’t growing into long-term contributors.
• Role players leave instead of rising up the rotation.
• The team reloads every year — because it has to.

That’s not how elite programs work. That’s how unstable ones operate. Perhaps even more notably, the Bruins haven’t been a popular destination for top players entering the transfer portal.

After signing Lauren Betts in 2022-23, the program has failed to land top talent while watching some of its most valuable players leave for other programs.

Elite transfers aren’t exactly lining up to wear blue and gold and that says just as much about the state of the program as the transfer portal exits.

This Isn’t a Culture Problem — It’s a Development Problem

The culture is strong. Players like Kiki Rice and Lauren Betts are staying. The team plays hard. They win. But the bench doesn’t grow, and the pipeline breaks every spring. That’s not sustainable.

Freshmen aren’t staying. Sophomores aren’t even showing up. Portal exits aren’t isolated anymore — they’re routine.

It’s Still on Close to Fix It

You can praise Cori Close and still point out a flaw in how she runs her program. Development, retention, and internal growth need to be better. UCLA isn’t built to chase titles if half the roster resets every offseason.

The talent is there. The structure isn’t.

Cori Close can coach — we’ve seen it. But if this trend continues, the questions will keep coming: why can’t UCLA keep its own players?