UCLA Football: Bruins Land Five-Star Kicker Via the Transfer Portal
The UCLA football program announced a slew of commits on Wednesday including five-star kicker Mateen Bhaghani.
Once a preferred walk-on at Cal, Bhagnani received multiple offers while in the portal but decided to call Westwood his new home.
As a true freshman at Cal, Bhagnani took over the starting job in Week 5 and held onto it for the remainder of the season. He was 8-for-9 in field goals with a long of 43 yards and was a perfect 29-for-29 in point after attempts. He finished the season with 53 points which was second-most for the Golden Bears.
Bhagnani announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Dec. 4, 2023. Surprisingly, he played in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on Dec. 16 and then announced his transfer to UCLA via Twitter on Dec. 18.
The San Diego native attended Del Norte High School where he was named Special Teams Player of the Year twice. He contributed 66 points his senior year by making 8-of-11 field goals, including a school-record 53-yarder that was the longest field goal that season in the San Diego area. He also converted all 50 of his extra points.
He was ranked No. 6 in the class of 2023 by Chris Sailer Kicking and No. 9 by Kohl's Kicking.