UCLA lands New Mexico PG Donovan Dent out of transfer portal

Field Level Media|published: Sat 29th March, 01:42 2025

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Second Round-New Mexico at Michigan State

Mar 23, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; New Mexico Lobos guard Donovan Dent (2) shoots the ball over Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) in the second half during the NCAA Tournament Second Round at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Point guard Donovan Dent, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year who led New Mexico to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, is transferring to UCLA.

Multiple media outlets reported the news Friday night.

ESPN ranked Dent as the top player in the transfer portal, while 247 Sports listed him at No. 2. Earlier reports indicated he was headed to Kentucky before he settled on UCLA, close to his hometown of Corona, Calif.

Dent put up 20.4 points, 6.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game this season as the Lobos went 27-8. Tenth-seeded New Mexico beat No. 7 Marquette 75-66 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament behind 21 points and six assists from Dent. He finished with 14 points and six assists in the Lobos' 71-63 second-round loss to second-seeded Michigan State.

The 6-foot-2 Dent played 104 games and started 72 across three seasons for New Mexico, averaging 13.5 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 boards.

At UCLA, he will become an instant starter at point guard. The Bruins' incumbent at the position, Dylan Andrews, announced this week that he was entering the transfer portal.

--Field Level Media