In-State Guard Morgan Cheli Earns UCLA Women's Basketball Offer

The Bay Area prospect is now being pursued by the Bruins, Washington and Stanford heading into her junior year in high school.

The Bruins hauled in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation this past cycle, and they are well on their way to contending for that distinction again in 2023.

And even without any commits on the books for the year after that, coach Cori Close and her staff are starting to make a push to make it three in a row.

UCLA women's basketball sent a scholarship offer to class of 2024 guard Morgan Cheli on Sunday, her high school team announced on Twitter. The Archbishop Mitty (CA) rising junior is a 6-foot-2 ball-handler who fully broke onto the scene this past high school season.

Cheli had offers from Portland State, San Diego, USC, Cal and Stanford before Washington and UCLA hopped on board after the start of the AAU spring season.

Cheli is not in espnW's Terrific 25 for the 2024 class, and there are no other widely-used star ratings available for players who did not make that cut. But looking at her early offers and where they came from, Cheli should settle in as a consensus four-star prospect once the class of 2024 takes center stage.

As a sophomore at Archbishop Mitty this season, Cheli averaged 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.3 steals per game while leading the team to a 30-2 record and CIFCCS championships.

Those numbers and overall team performance helped Cheli earn a spot on SB Live's Sophomore All-State First Team, as well as their First Team All-NorCal and Second Team All-State. Notably on SB Live's Junior All-State First Team are guard Jada Williams – who is committed to UCLA – and post Breya Cunningham – who has UCLA as one of her two finalists – leaving Cheli in good company on the local recruiting trail.

Cheli is currently suiting up for the Cal Stars on the Nike EYBL circuit, which has sparked several of her recent offers. Cunningham is also a member of Cal Stars, setting up a possible Bruin connection should the forward commit to UCLA.

Former Bruin starter Kelli Hayes stands as a potential blueprint for Cheli, considering Hayes was another 6-foot guard who went to Archbishop Mitty and played for the Cal Stars before appearing in 140 games at UCLA. 

The Bruins have had top prospects come from all over, such as five-stars Michaela Onyenwere from Colorado, Chantel Horvat from Australia and Kiki Rice from Washington, DC. Still, the bulk of Close's top recruits have come from California, including Jordin Canada, Monique Billings, Charisma Osborne and Gabriela Jaquez.

Jaquez and Rice will be juniors by the time Cheli starts her freshman year, and the Bruins could boast a sophomore duo of Williams and Cunningham as well. That young core, bolstered by Cheli or any other top 2024 offerree such as Me'Aarah O'Neal – daughter of Shaquille O'Neal – could give UCLA one of the highest-rated rosters in the nation. 

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