UCLA Men's Basketball Signs Donovan Dent
April 01, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball program has received a signed grant-in-aid agreement from transfer student Donovan Dent, as announced on Tuesday by Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach.
Dent, a 6-foot-2 guard from Riverside, Calif., will enter UCLA as a senior in 2025-26. He spent the past three seasons at the University of New Mexico, earning Mountain West Conference Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2024-25. Dent led the Mountain West in scoring this season, averaging 20.4 points per game. In addition, he ranked second in the league in assists per game (6.4 apg) while shooting 49.0 percent from the field. Glancing at the national leaderboard, he ranked No. 10 in the nation in assists (6.4 apg) and No. 12 in scoring (20.4 ppg). Dent also received honorable mention All-America acclaim from the Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Named the 2022 California Mr. Basketball award recipient by Cal-Hi Sports as a senior at Centennial High School (Corona, Calif.), Dent will enter the Bruins' program next season as a senior.
"We're excited to welcome Donnie to Westwood," Cronin said. "I have known him since he led Corona Centennial to a state championship. He has established himself as one of the premier guards in all of college basketball. Donnie is a great young man, tremendously creative with the basketball, and he makes everyone on his team better. We are continuing to build out our roster for next season, but signing Donnie is a huge piece for our program."
As a junior with the Lobos in 2024-25, Dent scored in double figures in all 35 games, including a career-best 40-point effort in a 78-71 win over VCU on Dec. 18, 2024. New Mexico went 27-8 overall and won the Mountain West's regular-season crown with a 17-3 league record. He registered at least 20 points in 19 games. Dent concluded the season having produced four point-assist double-doubles, including three games with a season-best 11 assists.
In three seasons at New Mexico, Dent averaged 13.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 104 contests (72 starts). Over the past two years, he averaged 17.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. Dent registered career-high percentages last season from 3-point distance (40.9%) and at the free throw line (78.4%). In addition, he ranked fifth among all players in the Mountain West in minutes per game (35.3).
A standout athlete at Centennial High School, prior to his time at New Mexico, Dent secured a host of accolades during his senior season. He was honored as the John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and named the 2022 Los Angeles Times Player of the Year. He secured CIF co-Player of the Year honors alongside teammate Jared McCain (Southern Section, Open Division) and was a third-team MaxPreps.com All-America honoree.
Dent averaged 16.6 points and 6.6 assists as a senior, leading Centennial High School to a 33-1 overall record. Centennial finished the 2021-22 season ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps.com.