UCLA forward Mac Etienne enters NCAA Transfer Portal

UCLA forward Mac Etienne has entered the Transfer Portal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. The 6-foot-9 big man played sparsely throughout his three years with the Bruins and will now look to finish up his two (or more) years of eligibility elsewhere.

For UCLA, a guy that’s never been a meaningful rotation player doesn’t seem like a huge loss, and perhaps it won’t be, but given the current state of the roster, the Bruins need bodies down low. We know Mick Cronin likes to play small-ball with guys like Jaime Jaquez playing center occasionally, but he usually has one or two sturdy big men to lean on.

Granted, there’s plenty of time left to land transfers and make roster improvements, but right now at the center spot, UCLA is looking at a four-star true freshman, Devin Williams, or potential sixth-year senior Kenneth Nwuba, who has never averaged two points a game throughout his previous five seasons.

That’s why fans have to hope freshman big man Adem Bona will spurn the NBA and return for at least another year to start in the UCLA front-court. Of course, the Bruins are also waiting on a decision from Jaylen Clark, who was named the National Defensive Player of the Year by several outlets. If either guy returns, that’d be a huge boost to what’s looking like a questionable 2023-24 backcourt for Mick Cronin.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.