Gianna Kneepkens went from long shot to sure shot for No. 4 UCLA
LOS ANGELES — Gianna Kneepkens was at the top of Cori Close’s wish list.
Close had no spots on the roster available at the time of Kneepkens’ entrance in the transfer portal. But the Bruins’ coach also knew that the chances of her keeping her team fully intact was “slim to none.”
“I just want you to know that if we had a spot, you would be our top priority,” Close said she told Kneepkens. “And I don’t even think she believed that we would have (a roster spot).”
But as the transfer portal went during the 2025 offseason, UCLA lost a handful of players to new programs, and eventually the door creaked open into Westwood.
Kneepkens was a premier shooter from the West Coast basketball scene who had tormented UCLA while playing for Utah in the Pac-12. Over her final two seasons in Salt Lake City, the 5-foot-11 guard had averaged 19 points per game, shooting 52.6% from the field and 46.5% from beyond the arc.
Kneepkens knew that joining UCLA – a roster with returners Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez and a freshly healthy Charlisse Leger-Walker – would reduce her output. That didn’t matter. Kneepkens wanted to win.
As Close put it Friday, Kneepkens has been the “perfect fit” among her Bruins.
“I just wanted to really win and help a team win,” Kneepkens said Friday before No. 4 UCLA (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten) went on the road to play No. 25 Nebraska (14-2, 3-2) on Sunday and Minnesota (11-4, 2-2) on Wednesday. “I also wanted to improve my own game. And I felt like (UCLA) gave me the chance to win a national championship and improve my own game.”
So far through the 2025-26 season, Kneepkens ranks first on the team in effective field goal percentage – a stat that accounts for the value of 3-point shots compared to 2-pointers – while ranking third on the team with 14.3 points per game, just behind Betts (16.3) and Rice (15.3).
Kneepkens has scored in double-digits in all but three games this season, recording 20-point performances in ranked victories over Oklahoma and Tennessee earlier this season. She is connecting on 52.6% of her shots and has cashed a team-high 41 3-pointers at a 46.6% clip, a valuable cog from the outside in the Bruins’ machine that is shooting 51% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc.
But for Close, it’s not just the shooting acumen that Kneepkens has shown – it’s the off-the-ball IQ that stands out.
Over the past few weeks, Close has spoken during post-game press conferences about Kneepkens’ defensive intensity, off-ball screens, offensive and defensive rebounding traits and simply boxing out.
During Friday’s media availability, Close said Kneepkens was the Bruins’ version of the Lakers’ Luka Doncic, while also claiming that the former three-time all-conference guard had the “old woman’s game.”
“Our pushing her on the defensive end and watching her grow there – defense and rebounding, even playing some at the point for us, when she gets defensive rebounds and bringing it down – I’m really proud of the way that Gianna has allowed us to push her to grow defensively,” Close said.
For Close, she believes Kneepkens could have continued to be a great shooter at Utah. But at UCLA, the coaching staff was going to turn up a level on the other aspects of her skill set.
Kneepkens believes that to be the case too.
“I’ve loved it here,” Kneepkens said. “I love the girls. I love being challenged.”
No. 4 UCLA at No. 25 Nebraska
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb.
TV: Big Ten Network
No. 4 UCLA at Minnesota
When: 5 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis
TV: B1G+