Oregon State transfer Timea Gardiner commits to UCLA

Oregon State transfer Timea Gardiner announced her commitment to UCLA. 

The 6-3 sophomore forward averaged 11.6 points and seven rebounds per game last season for the Beavers, who reached the Elite Eight. She also shot 45 percent from the floor and 40 oercent from beyond the arc.

Due to conference realignment, Oregon State is headed to the WCC for the 2024-25 season, which led to most of the Beavers’ roster looking elsewhere. Eight Oregon State players entered the portal at the conclusion of their season.

Gardiner is a former McDonald’s All-American who earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention honors following her freshman season. She was Oregon State’s highest-ranked recruit in program history, ranked #6 in the class of 2022 as a five-star.

She originally committed to the Beavers over UCLA and now ends up at the latter.

Last season, she worked her way back to health after an injury that kept her sidelined for all but 15 games during her freshman season. Late into the season, she made nine starts for the Beavers and was named the Pac-12’s sixth player of the year, with seven double-doubles this year.

She was one of the most highly-regarded transfers left on the board and will stay on the west coast at UCLA, joining the likes of Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts and a loaded freshman class as the Bruins move into the Big Ten. 

Gardiner tweeted out the announcement on Wednesday evening, with the caption “4s up #gobruins”. 

She was one of the most highly-regarded transfers left on the board and will stay on the west coast at UCLA, joining the likes of Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts and a loaded freshman class as the Bruins move into the Big Ten. 

The Bruins made the Sweet 16 last season and will look to build on growing expectations as they’ll have one of the most talented rosters in the country.