University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA W. Basketball - 2026-27 Newcomers
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UCLA Women’s Basketball Announces Addition of Seven Student-Athletes
June 25, 2026 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women's basketball program has signed five transfers and two incoming freshmen, as announced by The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close.
All seven student-athletes will join the Bruins ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Elina Aarnisalo, K.K. Bransford, Addy Brown, Bonnie Deas and Donovyn Hunter round out the transfer class, and Lina Jerković and Somto Okafor will be two international additions as freshmen. Bransford, Brown and Hunter will enter their final season of collegiate eligibility; Aarnisalo will be a third-year player in the NCAA and Deas comes to Westwood with three years of eligibility left.
Aarnisalo returns to Westwood after a season with the University of North Carolina; the Finnish point guard transferred out of UCLA following the 2024-25 season. As a sophomore, she played in all 36 games and made 26 starts for the Tar Heels. Aarnisalo was the only Tar Heel to post multiple 20 point outings, going for 20 points at Virginia, 22 points against Duke and 21 points versus Maryland. She averaged 10.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 0.9 steals per game as a sophomore and was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team. Aarnisalo played all 37 games as a freshman at UCLA prior to her departure.
Bransford – a Cincinnati, Ohio, native – joins UCLA after four years at Notre Dame. She was 2025-26 All-ACC Academic Team and a Team Captain for the Fighting Irish. As a senior, Bransford appeared in 24 games with nine starts after missing a chunk of time due to a midseason knee injury. She averaged 7.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks per contest while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. Bransford was also a member of the 2023 All-ACC Freshman Team.
Brown started in all 21 games in which she played but missed 11 games due to injury in the middle of her junior season. She averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game and ended her Iowa State career as the program's 25th all-time leading scorer (1,211 points) with all-time top 10 ISU marks for rebounding average (T-6th, 8.1 RPG) and assists (7th, 460 assists). Brown tallied six double-doubles on the season and Iowa State's first triple-double in 11 years with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes against Norfolk State (Nov. 16). Brown was included on a number of watch lists for her outstanding junior season; she was on the Naismith Trophy Watch List, the Wooden Award Top Watch List, WBCA Wade Trophy Watch List, USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List and the Katrina McClain Award Watch List for the second-consecutive season.
Deas joins the Bruins after spending her freshman season at Arkansas; the Aussie started all 32 games that she played and was the second-leading scorer for the Razorbacks. She averaged 10.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in her first collegiate season. Deas made a splash in her season debut, scoring a career-high 25 points against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 4; she shot 4-for-9 from 3-point range in the win. The Aussie scored in double figures 16 times as a freshman. Deas pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds against Kansas City on Dec. 17. She had a double-digit rebounding total in 13 games as a freshman. The 5-foot-9 guard also tallied 49 steals (1.5 SPG) in her 32 appearances – she had a season-high six steals against Georgia on Jan. 22.
Hunter was one of three Horned Frogs in double figures for the 2025-26 season. As a junior, she averaged 10.2 points per game on .457/.337/.738 shooting splits in 38 games. Hunter started all 38 of her appearances. She averaged 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 33.9 minutes on the floor – her season-high six assists came against Sam Houston on Nov. 9. She also had a season-high five 3-pointers against the Bearkats and made 60 total threes in her junior campaign. Hunter was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and got a nod on the five-player All-Big 12 Defensive Team. She rejoins teammate Timea Gardiner; the two helped lead Oregon State to an Elite Eight appearance in 2024.
Jerković joins the Bruins by way of Slovenia. The 5-foot-9 guard represented her home country at the 2025 U18 FIBA Women's EuroBasket tournament; she averaged 10.4 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in seven appearances at the international tournament.
Okafor suited up for Spain in the 2024 FIBA U16 Women's EuroBasket, averaging 11.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. She also represented Spain in the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in the summer of 2025. Okafor scored a team-leading 12.5 points and wrangled a team-high 6.5 rebounds. She averaged 1.3 assists while shooting 43.3 percent from the field in her six appearances on the international stage.
All seven student-athletes will join the Bruins ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Elina Aarnisalo, K.K. Bransford, Addy Brown, Bonnie Deas and Donovyn Hunter round out the transfer class, and Lina Jerković and Somto Okafor will be two international additions as freshmen. Bransford, Brown and Hunter will enter their final season of collegiate eligibility; Aarnisalo will be a third-year player in the NCAA and Deas comes to Westwood with three years of eligibility left.
Aarnisalo returns to Westwood after a season with the University of North Carolina; the Finnish point guard transferred out of UCLA following the 2024-25 season. As a sophomore, she played in all 36 games and made 26 starts for the Tar Heels. Aarnisalo was the only Tar Heel to post multiple 20 point outings, going for 20 points at Virginia, 22 points against Duke and 21 points versus Maryland. She averaged 10.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 0.9 steals per game as a sophomore and was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team. Aarnisalo played all 37 games as a freshman at UCLA prior to her departure.
Bransford – a Cincinnati, Ohio, native – joins UCLA after four years at Notre Dame. She was 2025-26 All-ACC Academic Team and a Team Captain for the Fighting Irish. As a senior, Bransford appeared in 24 games with nine starts after missing a chunk of time due to a midseason knee injury. She averaged 7.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks per contest while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. Bransford was also a member of the 2023 All-ACC Freshman Team.
Brown started in all 21 games in which she played but missed 11 games due to injury in the middle of her junior season. She averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game and ended her Iowa State career as the program's 25th all-time leading scorer (1,211 points) with all-time top 10 ISU marks for rebounding average (T-6th, 8.1 RPG) and assists (7th, 460 assists). Brown tallied six double-doubles on the season and Iowa State's first triple-double in 11 years with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes against Norfolk State (Nov. 16). Brown was included on a number of watch lists for her outstanding junior season; she was on the Naismith Trophy Watch List, the Wooden Award Top Watch List, WBCA Wade Trophy Watch List, USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List and the Katrina McClain Award Watch List for the second-consecutive season.
Deas joins the Bruins after spending her freshman season at Arkansas; the Aussie started all 32 games that she played and was the second-leading scorer for the Razorbacks. She averaged 10.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in her first collegiate season. Deas made a splash in her season debut, scoring a career-high 25 points against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 4; she shot 4-for-9 from 3-point range in the win. The Aussie scored in double figures 16 times as a freshman. Deas pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds against Kansas City on Dec. 17. She had a double-digit rebounding total in 13 games as a freshman. The 5-foot-9 guard also tallied 49 steals (1.5 SPG) in her 32 appearances – she had a season-high six steals against Georgia on Jan. 22.
Hunter was one of three Horned Frogs in double figures for the 2025-26 season. As a junior, she averaged 10.2 points per game on .457/.337/.738 shooting splits in 38 games. Hunter started all 38 of her appearances. She averaged 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 33.9 minutes on the floor – her season-high six assists came against Sam Houston on Nov. 9. She also had a season-high five 3-pointers against the Bearkats and made 60 total threes in her junior campaign. Hunter was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and got a nod on the five-player All-Big 12 Defensive Team. She rejoins teammate Timea Gardiner; the two helped lead Oregon State to an Elite Eight appearance in 2024.
Jerković joins the Bruins by way of Slovenia. The 5-foot-9 guard represented her home country at the 2025 U18 FIBA Women's EuroBasket tournament; she averaged 10.4 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in seven appearances at the international tournament.
Okafor suited up for Spain in the 2024 FIBA U16 Women's EuroBasket, averaging 11.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. She also represented Spain in the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in the summer of 2025. Okafor scored a team-leading 12.5 points and wrangled a team-high 6.5 rebounds. She averaged 1.3 assists while shooting 43.3 percent from the field in her six appearances on the international stage.
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