LSU Makes Transfer Portal Splash With UCLA Star Guard

The LSU Tigers men’s basketball team continues to face some roster uncertainty ahead of the first year of head coach Will Wade’s second stint with the program but there’s no doubt the team will have some major talent.

That expectation continues to be the case after LSU’s latest roster addition.

LSU has landed a commitment from UCLA transfer guard Donovan Dent, per reports from On3’s Joey Tipton. Dent was recently granted another year of eligibility following a court ruling in the state of California.

He will join former UCLA teammate Skyy Clark, who committed to LSU earlier this month while also aiming for another year of eligibility.

Dent immediately becomes one of LSU’s best players. Last year at UCLA, he played in 35 games (34 starts) while averaging 13.3 points and 7.6 assists per game to help lead the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed.

Dent played his first three years at New Mexico where he was one of the best players in the Mountain West. In his final season with the Lobos in 2024-25, Dent averaged 20.4 points and 6.4 assists, resulting in him being named Mountain West Player of the Year. That’s the kind of player LSU is getting.

Landing a player of Dent’s caliber this late in the offseason is likely something Wade and the coaching staff didn’t expect. He can score at all three levels, run the offense, play off the ball and has a ton of experience.

During an interview in the spring with college basketball inside Jon Rothstein, Wade admitted that the roster would be filled out with depth pieces later in the process, though Dent hardly classifies as a bench player. He’ll be starting for LSU from Day 1 of the upcoming season barring something unforeseen.

But with all of the international eligibility uncertainty that LSU is facing with some of its prior commitments, Wade and the Tigers have been left scrambling. It’s safe to say that the addition of Dent will give them a sigh of relief.

"One thing I'm focusing on here is we're really going to pay seven or eight guys at LSU this year, and we'll fill out the back half of the roster with some guys who could help us in a pinch. But we want to put our resources into those main guys," said Wade.

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