UCLA Basketball: Pac-12 Transfer Discusses Recruitment to Bruins

He has the same goals as the Bruins.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA men's basketball fell short of the program's lofty expectations during the 2023-24 season as they finished the year with just a 16-17 record. Even with this disappointment, the Bruins' winning ways is what drew one of their transfers, Tyler Bilodeau, to UCLA this offseason.

“They probably didn’t have the season they wanted to, but UCLA is a winning program," Bilodeau told David Woods of Bruin Report Online. "I believe in this coaching staff, they’re a bunch of winners. They’ve done it before, they’ve been in those situations. That was definitely something I knew we’d be capable of this year.”

Having previously played for an Oregon State team that finished last place in the Pac-12 in 2023-24 with a 13-19 record, Bilodeau was primarily looking to join a winning program when he entered the portal.

“The biggest thing for me was winning," Bilodeau said. "I wanted to win, not only play in the tournament, but take a shot at winning the tournament.”

The Bruins finished last season with a losing record, but had advanced to the NCAA Tournament the three consecutive seasons prior. They advanced as far as the NCAA Final Four in 2021, followed by two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in 2022 and 2023.

Bilodeau is hoping to be part of the Bruins' core that takes the team back to the tournament and title contention. He comes to UCLA after two seasons at Oregon State.

The 6-foot-9 forward posted his best year a season ago, averaging 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He joins transfer additions including Eric Dailey Jr., Skyy Clark, Kobe Johnson, Dominick Harris, and William Kyle III.

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