UCLA’s Jaylen Clark Out for Season With Achilles Injury, per Report

The Bruins were dealt a major blow to the roster just before the start of the postseason.

With the NCAA men’s basketball tournament rapidly approaching, UCLA, one of the country’s top national title contenders, was dealt a humongous injury blow. 

Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reported Wednesday afternoon that Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Jaylen Clark will miss the rest of the season after suffering an Achilles injury. The report comes just a day after Bruins coach Mick Cronin revealed that the junior guard would miss the conference tournament this week, but was unable to reveal any further details on his recovery timeline, according to All Bruins.

Clark appeared to sustain the injury in the second half of Saturday’s 82–73 win over Arizona when he landed awkwardly after an uncontested lay-up. He limped to the bench and was later helped to the locker room while seemingly experiencing severe discomfort. 

Clark was not only awarded the Pac-12 defensive honor on Tuesday, but was also recently named to the late-season watch list for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. This season, the 6’5” guard has averaged 2.6 steals per contest, ranking him first in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation.

In addition to his defensive prowess, Clark has made a significant leap on offense this season and was averaging 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30 games prior to the injury. 

Clark’s absence will surely be felt a UCLA team that is still looking to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament come Selection Sunday in a few days time. The Bruins are currently on the No. 1 line in Sports Illustrated’s latest projections, but could be a part of a shake-up depending on the results of this weekend’s conference tournaments.