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UCLA Men's Basketball Offers Class of 2025 Forward Nikolas Khamenia

The Bruins join Nebraska, Stanford and Southern Utah in adding the Harvard Westlake (CA) prospect to their recruiting board.

Benjamin Royer

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After a long recruiting runway, coach Mick Cronin and his staff have officially added a local class of 2025 prospect to their board.

UCLA men's basketball became the latest program to offer forward Nikolas Khamenia, the Harvard Westlake High School (CA) product announced Friday afternoon on Twitter. Khamenia – who is a teammate of another UCLA target, class of 2024 guard Trent Perry – became the ninth current sophomore to earn an offer from the Bruins.

Nebraska, Southern Utah and Stanford were the other schools Khamenia had previously earned offers from.

Rivals currently lists Gonzaga as another program with interest in Khamenia.

According to 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Cronin had been keeping an eye on the 6-foot-7 forward for over a year, and Khamenia even visited Pauley Pavilion when UCLA played Stanford on Feb. 16.

In 247Sports' most updated rankings, Khamenia is the No. 9 player in California, the No. 17 small forward in the country and the No. 65 player in his class. 247Sports has Khamenia pegged as a four-star recruit, while Rivals, ESPN and On3 have yet to rate him.

Khamenia was named to the CIF-SS Open Division Second Team for the 2022-2023 season, helping to lead Harvard Westlake to Mission League and Open Division State championships. Khamenia had 18 points and six rebounds in the Open Division State Finals victory over St. Joseph, leading the Wolverines in scoring.

As the only Southern California team currently in the hunt – compounded with their strong relationship with the Harvard Westlake program – the Bruins' staff may be sitting in a decent position with the high-potential wing. However, with two years to go to until Khamenia enrolls in college, there is plenty of time for other schools to get involved.

Johnny Juzang played at Harvard Westlake before committing to Kentucky and eventually transferring to UCLA. Khamenia – or Perry, before him – could follow in Juzang's footsteps and become the next Harvard Westlake product to suit up in blue and gold at Pauley Pavilion.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NIKOLAS KHAMENIA/INSTAGRAM

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Benjamin Royer
BENJAMIN ROYER

Benjamin Royer is a contributing writer at All Bruins, in association with the FanNation and Sports Illustrated networks. Royer is a third-year student at UCLA, where he is a Sports contributor for the school's award-winning student-run newspaper, The Daily Bruin. Royer was previously the Sports Editor at The Valley Star, Los Angeles Valley College's independent newspaper, and he helped develop the Twinger Talk YouTube channel and The Double Play podcast. He is also a professional actor, previously appearing in programs on Showtime, ABC, Disney Channel, FOX and CBS.