The UCLA Bruins enter the 2025-26 college basketball season as the No. 12 team in the nation, and the stakes couldn’t be any higher for Mick Cronin and his squad after an offseason of retooling. Headlined by the transfer portal addition of reigning Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent, Cronin’s Bruins have a higher ceiling and eyes on a deeper run in March. Dent wasn’t the only addition. UCLA tapped into the portal to bolster a squad of returners with improvements along the margins. Every player is important to a successful postseason run, but let’s dive into the three who absolutely need to be the difference. This one is a given. In fact, the Bruins wouldn’t even be in many of these converstions if it weren’t for what many are regarding as the biggest portal addition of the offseason. Dent is coming off a season with the Lobos where he averaged 20.4 points and 6.4 assists per game, displaying elite scoring and playmaking abilities. Cronin has never had a talent like Dent, and the senior guard’s ski
