UCLA women’s basketball signed Slovenian freshman guard Lina Jerkovic for the 2026-27 season, the team announced on Sunday. Jerkovic is just the second incoming freshman to join the squad alongside Spanish guard Somto Okafor.
UCLA is entering a rebuilding phase after winning the national championship last season. Part of that rebuild involved signing five players through the transfer portal and now adding a pair of freshmen to the team.
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The Bruins lost six players to the 2026 WNBA Draft but have five players from the national championship team returning next season. Those five players are sophomores Sienna Betts, Lena Bilić and Christina Karamouzi, redshirt junior Amanda Muse and redshirt senior Timea Gardiner.
Jerkovic represented Slovenia in the 2025 U18 FIBA Women’s Eurobasket. She averaged 10.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and five assists in seven games.
Slovenian guard Lina Jerkovic dribbles the ball. Photo Credit: FIBA Basketball
Cori Close Admitted NIL Has Changed Recruiting Process
In a recent interview on the Women’s Sports Now show, UCLA head coach Cori Close explained how NIL has changed how the program tackles recruiting.
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UCLA now recruits more transfers than incoming freshmen, which explains why Jerkovic is just the second incoming freshman on the Bruins’ roster. Close said freshmen often transfer out of schools, so unless they are expected to make an immediate impact, recruiting them has a low return on investment.
“It’s taking away freshman opportunities. But my job is to lead effectively into this new landscape. And, you know, I think if you’re not able to have a freshman that makes an immediate impact, you’re really paying them and training them to leave. And so, we’ve switched and played, I said we’re probably 60/40 transfers to freshmen in our recruiting now. And, you know, and it’s a long game when you’re recruiting freshmen,
“You’re investing a ton of money, a ton of time, and have greater risk whereas, you know, I call, you know, the transfer portals like being on The Bachelorette, you know? You’re just trying to get a rose, and it’s like speed dating. And so, you know, it’s like a sprint. And so you don’t have to spend as much time and money, and you know what you’re getting,” Close said.
Photo Credit: FIBA Basketball
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The post UCLA Women’s Basketball Adds Second Freshman to Roster appeared first on LA Sports Report.
