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2023 guard Amari Whiting lists UCLA women's basketball in top 6

The 5-foot-10 Idaho native narrowed her choices down to UCLA and five other West Coast schools

Benjamin Royer

(Photo Courtesy of Amari Whiting/Twitter)

The Bruins are in the running for a highly sought after player from Idaho.

Class of 2023 guard Amari Whiting cut her list of future colleges to six on Tuesday. UCLA women’s basketball made Whiting’s final six alongside Stanford, Oregon, Arizona, Utah and BYU. UCLA will have to compete against five Pac-12 schools for admission into the Bruins’ women’s basketball program.

In ESPN’s rankings for the 2023 women’s basketball recruiting class, Whiting is currently rated as a three-star point guard with a 90 overall grade. With fewer COVID-19 restrictions, more scouts will get a look at the Idaho guard, likely changing her overall grade in the future.

The Bruins had previously offered Whiting on July 19, with the prospect wishing coach Cori Close good luck at the Women’s U19 World Cup in Hungary.

In Whiting’s sophomore season at Burley High School (ID), the guard led her team to a third-place performance at the Idaho state tournament.

The Idaho native averaged 25.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.7 assists per game during her sophomore campaign, catching the eyes of both UCLA and Arizona, who offered Whiting days apart from one another.

Times-News in Idaho named Whiting their 2021 girls basketball player of the year, citing how she broke four individual state records and accrued 660 points throughout the season.

Whiting’s brother Jace is currently a guard for Boise State men’s basketball. Whiting is on track to join the Division I ranks like her sibling in the near future

It is not known whether Whiting has made a visit, official or unofficial, to UCLA since in-person recruiting opened up in June. She did, however, head up to Eugene to meet with Oregon coach Kelly Graves and his staff on campus two months ago, and Ducks Digest reported on how her big day went down.

Whiting could join five-star guard Jada Williams in UCLA’s 2023 recruiting class if she were to select the Bruins for her collegiate future.

Time will tell if Whiting selects UCLA as her home for 2023 and beyond, but being in the top six gives the Bruins opportunity to make their final pitches to the Idaho prospect.

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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.