Bruins Lose Junior Forward to Transfer Portal

UCLA junior forward William Kyle III has announced that he will be entering the transfer portal. After a limited role with the Bruins, he is seeking a new program to make his mark next year.

UCLA Bruins forward William Kyle III (24) rushes up the court against Wisconsin Badgers forward Carter Gilmore (7) on Friday, March 14, 2025, during the third round of the men's Big Ten tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins have lost their second player to the portal as junior forward William Kyle III has announced that he will be entering the NCAA transfer portal, per Pete Nakos of On3. Kyle has one year of eligibility remaining after his lone season with the Bruins.

NEW: UCLA forward William Kyle III has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, @PeteNakos_ reports.https://t.co/DPpwUanDsI pic.twitter.com/XMBkBQqeVB

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) March 24, 2025

Kyle came over to the Bruins program this past offseason after spending his first two seasons at South Dakota State, having incredible success in the Missouri Valley Conference. Kyle averaged just over 13 points and 6.6 rebounds per game before transferring to Westwood.

The Bellevue, Neb. native did not receive nearly the same production or time on the floor as he did at his previous school, which likely prompted his decision to enter the portal. Kyle averaged 2.9 points on 70.4% shooting and 1.8 rebounds per game in 32 games for UCLA this season.

Kyle's best performance of the year came in a blowout victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes at Pauley Pavilion in mid-January. He posted a season-high 12 points with four rebounds and one steal in 27 minutes of play. He has shown potential to be a force at the highest level of college basketball.

This is the second big man to enter the portal already for the Bruins, including redshirt sophomore Devin Williams, who entered the portal just hours before Kyle. There will certainly be an emphasis for the Bruins to find another key post player in the portal to add to their roster for next season.

It was a tough situation for Kyle to be in as he was competing with several other transfer veterans that were competing for the same minutes. Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau, sophomore Eric Dailey Jr., and sophomore Aday Mara earned much of the time on the floor, leading Kyle to average just 9.5 minutes.

The NCAA transfer portal opened on Monday afternoon, and the Bruins were expected to lose a few pieces, but fans were not sure who until now. Kyle will hopefully find another destination where he can be a featured, go-to big man with more playing time and success than he had in Westwood.

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